Materials & Coatings

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

High-Torque Light-Powered Actuator

These actuators can compete with electrical and pneumatic systems.

Briefs: Motion Control

Soft Robots Turn Rigid on Demand

A new type of control system may broaden robots’ range of tasks and allow safer interactions with people.

Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition

New on the Market: April 2021

Displacement sensors, metal 3D printers, shielding materials, and more.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

High-Temperature Ni-Based Superalloy Composition

The alloy has applications in jet turbine disks and other high-stress and/or high-temperature environments.

Briefs: Packaging & Sterilization

Certain Materials Combined with UV Light Kill Coronavirus

A combination of polymers and oligomers, when combined with UV light, almost completely kills the coronavirus.

Briefs: Energy

Lightweight Green Supercapacitors Could Quickly Charge Devices

The energy storage device can store a charge up to 900 times greater than state-of-the-art supercapacitors.

5 Ws: Imaging

5 Ws of the Internal Injury-Sealing Patch

A medical patch can be folded around minimally invasive surgical tools and delivered through airways, intestines, and other narrow spaces.

Briefs: Materials

Material System Harnesses Evaporation to Keep Items Cool

Inspired by camel fur, a two-layered material could provide extended cooling to preserve the freshness of perishable goods.

Articles: Materials

Evaluating Low-and Ultra-Low-Outgassing Silicones for Space Applications

Highly purified, low-outgassing silicones prevent material degradation in satellites and space vehicles.

Facility Focus: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Facility Focus: Cornell University College of Engineering

See the advanced materials, complex systems, and bioengineering technologies being created at Cornell.

NASA Spinoff: Aerospace

Odor-Eliminating Shoe Inserts Rely on NASA-Tested Activated Carbon Cloth

The inserts use a material that NASA has considered for spacecraft filters.

Briefs: AR/AI

Completely Flat Fisheye Lens

The single piece of glass produces crisp panoramic images.

Articles: Materials

Products of Tomorrow: April 2021

NASA's graphene composites, textile pressure sensors, and a better kind of glass.

Briefs: Materials

Shape-Shifting Nanomaterial

This invention holds potential for a range of biomedical applications, from controlled-release drug delivery to tissue engineering.

Briefs: Materials

Polymer/Ceramic Composite as a Thin-Film Solid Electrolyte

This composite can be used in lithium metal batteries.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Low-Cost Strengthened Glass Substrates

These glass substrates can be used for displays on smartphones and tablets and for other durable, impact-resistant applications.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Ultrasonic Projector

A chip-based technology generates sound profiles with high resolution and intensity to make ultrasound therapy more effective and easier.

Briefs: Medical

Radiopaque Glue Seals Wounds and Guides Surgery

This nanoparticle-based adhesive is visible in common imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT).

Podcasts: Wearables

Here's an Idea: Wearables

In this episode of our Here's an Idea podcast, we speak to engineers who are building a variety of wearables. And some sensors blend in more than others.

INSIDER: Design

Luminescent Windows Generate Energy From Inside and Out

Rice University engineers have suggested a colorful solution to next-generation energy collection: Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) in your windows. The team designed and...

INSIDER: Power

New Wearable Device Turns the Body Into a Battery

Researchers at CU Boulder have developed a new, low-cost, wearable device that transforms the human body into a biological battery. The device is stretchy enough that you can wear it like...

INSIDER: Power

A Fluid Solution to Dendrite Growth in Batteries

Scientists at University of California, Davis, have proposed a solution to dendrite growth in rechargeable lithium metal batteries using microfluidics. The group proved that flowing ions...

INSIDER: Materials

Inexpensive Battery Charges Rapidly for Electric Vehicles

Range anxiety, the fear of running out of power before being able to recharge an electric vehicle, may be a thing of the past, according to a team of Penn State engineers who are...

Articles: Photonics/Optics

Photonics West 2021 Preview

The virtual event offers a mix of live plenary talks, on-demand technical presentations and discussions, online networking and special events.

Articles: Photonics/Optics

Creating High-Precision Glass for NIR Lasers

See what kinds of applications require high-precision laser glass with demanding dimensional tolerances and high-power laser coatings.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

New Flexible and Highly Reliable Sensor

Real-time health monitoring and sensing abilities of robots require soft electronics, but a challenge of using such materials lies in their reliability.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Implantable Sensor Could Measure Bodily Functions — And Then Safely Biodegrade

Sensors need to be flexible, stretchable, biodegradable, safe, and stable for use in the body.