Materials & Manufacturing

5Ws of the Light Sail

A light sail developed by Cornell’s Space Systems Design Studio (SSDS) could one day propel small spacecraft through interstellar realms.

Rapidly Printing with Liquid Metal

MIT researchers say their technique, liquid metal printing (LMP), is at least 10 times faster than a comparable metal additive manufacturing process. It involves depositing molten aluminum along a predefined path into a bed of tiny glass beads.

Readers Select 2023 Products of the Year

See the products of the year: The Talaria TWO Module Ultra-Low Power Wi-Fi optimized solution for cloud-connected IP video IoT devices by InnoPhase IoT; Hexagon's Elements, simulation software to better understand the increasingly complex behavior of systems in modern products; and Nexa3D's highest throughput additive production system, the QLS 820.

Additive Manufacturing Model-Based Process Metrics

Inventors at the NASA Langley Research Center have developed a novel method to model and ingest point-wise process data to evaluate an additive manufacturing build and its file for issues by highlighting potential anomalies or other areas where the build may have issues with fusion of the material.

Circumferential Scissor Spring Enhances Precision in Hand Controllers

Innovators at NASA’s Johnson Space Center have designed a circumferential scissor spring mechanism, that when incorporated into a hand controller, improves the restorative force to a control stick’s neutral position. The design also provides for operation on a more linear portion of the spring’s force deflection curve, yielding better feedback to the user.

A Soft Robotic Hand Uses AI to Improve Hand Dexterity

A first-of-its-kind robotic glove is lending a “hand” and providing hope to piano players who have suffered a disabling stroke. Developed by researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, the soft robotic hand exoskeleton uses artificial intelligence to improve hand dexterity.

Miniscule Robots of Metal and Plastic

A technique enables manufacturing of minuscule robots by interlocking multiple materials in a complex way.

Wearable Health Sensor for Monitoring Muscle Atrophy

Researchers at The Ohio State University have fabricated the first wearable sensor designed to detect and monitor muscle atrophy. This new study published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering suggests that an electromagnetic sensor made out of conductive “e-threads” could be used as an alternative to frequent monitoring using MRI.

Wireless Electronic ‘Stickers’ Gauge Forces Between Touching Objects

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed electronic “stickers” that measure the force exerted by one object upon another. The force stickers are wireless, run without batteries and fit in tight spaces. That makes them versatile for a wide range of applications.

Making Conductive, Biodegradable Wires from Designed Proteins

The miniscule wires — the size of transistors on silicon chips or one thousandth of the breadth of the finest human hair — are made completely of natural amino acids and heme molecules, found in proteins such as hemoglobin, which transports oxygen in red blood cells.

First Transformable Nanoscale Electronic Devices

The nanoscale electronic parts in devices like smartphones are solid, static objects that once designed and built cannot transform into anything else. But a team from University of California Irvine has reported the discovery of nanoscale devices that can transform into many different shapes and sizes even though they exist in solid states.

Quantum Leap in Material Science

Significant progress in industry, especially in manufacturing and material science, is expected to be driven by quantum computing. Using sophisticated simulations and optimization techniques, the technology promises to accelerate the discovery of new substances and improve production procedures.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including: a new wireless smart textile technology that can boost hand mobility of stroke patients, a metal-free magnetic gel, and a new fuel cell that harvests energy from microbes living in dirt.

An Electrifying Improvement in Copper Conductivity

A common carbon compound is enabling remarkable performance enhancements when mixed in just the right proportion with copper to make electrical wires. It’s a phenomenon that defies...

A New Carbon Material Sets Energy-Storage Record, Likely to Advance Supercapacitors

Guided by machine learning, chemists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed a record-setting carbonaceous supercapacitor...

Are Shapeshifting “Soft Machines” In Our Future?

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have furthered a new type of soft material that can change shape in response to light, a discovery that could advance “soft...

Scientists Design a Two-Legged Robot Powered by Muscle Tissue

Compared to robots, human bodies are more flexible, capable of fine movements, and can efficiently convert energy into movement. Drawing inspiration from human gait, researchers...

DNA Origami Folded into Tiny Motor

Scientists have created the world’s first working nanoscale electromotor, according to research published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The science team designed a turbine engineered from DNA...

Understanding Energy Dissipation for Improved Space Weather Forecasting

Insaco manufactured custom tooling to meet the unique part specifications for NASA’s DISSIPATION mission, which will enable better understanding of how the energy imparted by solar winds into the atmosphere is dispersed.

Hot Rocks Store Energy

Sandia engineers convert excess renewable electricity into heat that gets stored in piles of gravel.

Behold: The First Battery Prototype Using Hemoglobin

Researchers have developed a battery that uses hemoglobin as an electrochemical reaction facilitator, functioning for around 20-30 days.

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Home How to Enter Terms & Conditions Meet the Judges Hall of Stars Sponsors   Nominations for the 2025 Rising Star Awards have closed. All entries are being evaluated by a panel of judges...

RISING STAR AWARDS 2025 WINNERS ANNOUNCED

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