Mechanical/​Mechatronics

Blog : Mechanical & Fluid Systems

A Breakthrough in Earthquake Forecasting: Floating Buoy Measures Seafloor Motion

New measurements could help experts guess the location and size of the next earthquake.

Blog : Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Aluminum Joining Methods: Welding vs. Adhesives

Our expert examines the pros and cons of welding, adhesives, and other metal joining methods.

Blog : Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Creating the Future: New Take on Welding Gun Bonds Plastic and Metal — In Seconds

A team in Germany has a quicker, cleaner approach to welding metal to plastic: The HPCI® Joining Gun.

Briefs : Data Acquisition

Robots Can Pick Up Any Object After Inspecting It

For decades, robots in controlled environments like assembly lines have been able to pick up the same object over and over again. More recently, breakthroughs in computer vision have enabled...

Briefs : Aerospace

Flying Robot Mimics Rapid Insect Flight

Flying animals both power and control flight by flapping their wings. This enables small natural flyers such as insects to hover close to a flower but also to rapidly escape danger. Animal flight has...

Q&A : Semiconductors & ICs

Q&A: Innovative Linear Electrostatic MEMS Actuator

Sherry Towfighian and her team made a big improvement on how microphones are manufactured.

Articles : Electronics & Computers

2019 'Create the Future' Sustainable Technologies Category Winner: Wave-Powered Water Desalination

Learn about the world's first wave-driven desalination system.

Articles : Mechanical & Fluid Systems

2019 'Create the Future' Automotive/Transportation Category Winner: A Standalone AC Battery

A prototype of the AC 'Biode' battery has been developed at 20W.

Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition

Passive Smart Container

Although Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is being used widely for pallet and box-level tracking in the commercial sector, significant technology gaps remain for tracking dense quantities at the item...

Briefs : Test & Measurement

Tiny Lensless Endoscope Captures 3D Images of Objects Smaller Than a Cell

Researchers have developed a new self-calibrating endoscope that produces 3D images of objects smaller than a single cell without a lens or any optical, electrical, or...

Briefs : Energy

Battery-Free Sensor for Underwater Use

To investigate oceans, researchers aim to build a submerged network of interconnected sensors that sends data to the surface. Supplying constant power to scores of sensors designed to stay for long...

Articles : Manufacturing & Prototyping

2019 'Create the Future' Manufacturing/Robotics/Automation Category Winner: The HPCI® Joining Gun

A team of inventors found a fast way to join plastic to metal.

Articles : Imaging

Expanding Traditional Machine Vision With High-Speed Digital Imaging

Machine vision systems shed light on processes too small or too fast to see with the human eye.

Facility Focus : Test & Measurement

Facility Focus: National Science Foundation

In recent decades, NSF-funded researchers have discovered quite a bit, including many of the fundamental particles of matter.

Articles : Sensors/Data Acquisition

Bringing Precision Anamorphic Micro-Optics to Consumer-Level Laser Applications

Laser illumination is scaling in a new direction.

Briefs : Photonics/Optics

Optical Neural Network Could Lead to Intelligent Cameras

UCLA engineers have made major improvements on their design of an optical neural network — a device inspired by how the human brain works — that can identify objects or process...

Briefs : Software

Mathematical Technique Quickly Tunes Next-Generation Lenses

Most of us know optical lenses as curved, transparent pieces of plastic or glass, designed to focus light for microscopes, spectacles, cameras, and more. For the most part, a...

Products : Electronics & Computers

Product of the Month: November 2019 Tech Briefs

OnLogic has introduced the Karbon 700 high-performance rugged computer.

Articles : Sensors/Data Acquisition

2019 'Create the Future' Aerospace & Defense Category Winner: A Morphing, Foldable Drone

The Foldable Drone: a Morphing Quadrotor that can Squeeze and Fly

Davide Falanga, Kevin Kleber, Stefano Mintchev, Dario Floreano, and Davide...

NASA Spinoff : Aerospace

Phase-Change Coating Absorbs Heat from Rockets, Pipes, and Beer

The material used on a shuttle's rocket boosters has several terrestrial applications.

Blog : Transportation

A Standalone AC Battery Begins with a Cathode, an Anode, and a 'Biode'

The 'Biode' saves power by eliminating the need for AC/DC conversion.