Sensors/​Data Acquisition

Backside Illumination Gets Fast

A new high-speed sensor pushes the boundaries in light-starved conditions.

Monitoring Additive Manufacturing with an Optical Microphone

Learn about a membrane-free, broadband microphone for the highest ultrasound frequencies.

New Products: September 2021 Photonics & Imaging Technology

Automotive camera monitors, curved CMOS sensors, fiber lasers, and more.

Standard Digital Camera and AI to Monitor Soil Moisture

Researchers are using a standard RGB digital camera to accurately monitor soil moisture.

Mapping Performance Variations to See How Lithium-Metal Batteries Fail

Brookhaven National Laboratory scientists have identified the primary cause of failure in a state-of-the-art lithium-metal battery.

Graphite-Based Sensor for Wearable Medical Devices

Researchers have developed graphene-based sensing technology using G-Putty material — a highly malleable graphene blended putty. The printed sensors are 50 times more sensitive than the...

Imitating Human Hands to Make Better Sensors

This work could help severely injured people, such as soldiers, regain the ability to control their movements.

Universal Tactile Sensing with Electromechanically Coupled Conductors

These tactile imaging sensors can measure pressure distribution without using pressure-sensitive materials.

5 Ws of Puncture-Proof Soft Electronics

The durable soft electronics could be used in wearable electronics and soft robotics and could someday be part of a stretchable smartphone.

Atom-Based Radio Communications

An atom-based sensor can determine the direction of an incoming radio signal.

Multiplexed Optical Antennas

These antennas dramatically increase the amount of information that can be simultaneously transmitted by a coherent light source.

Algorithm Designs Soft Robots That Sense

A deep-learning technique optimizes the arrangement of sensors on a robot’s body to ensure efficient operation.

Wearable Sensor Helps ALS Patients Communicate

A skin-like device can measure small facial movements in patients who have lost the ability to speak.

Human Reflexes Keep Two-Legged Robot Upright

The robot can walk, run, jump, and interact with the environment in synchrony with a human operator.

Sustainable 3D-Printed Magnets

An alternative, environmentally friendly production method creates permanent magnets.

Wireless, Wearable Transmitter

The wearable antenna bends, stretches, and compresses without compromising function.

Wearable Sensors Detect Gas Leaks

The ultra-compact, wearable hologram sensor immediately notifies the user of volatile gas detection.

Solid-State Carbon Dioxide Sensor

Applications include wearables, airplane cabin monitoring, medical diagnostics, and indoor air quality measurement.

Say Goodbye to the Dots and Dashes to Enhance Optical Storage Media

To modernize optical storage, Purdue researchers are replacing Morse code with colored “digital characters.”

Engineering the Flow of Light

A novel nanostructure produces uniquely shaped light.

3D-Printed Biodegradable Battery

The battery can withstand thousands of charge and discharge cycles and years of storage before being composted.

Product of the Month: September 2021 Tech Briefs

The SHT40 Smart Gadget comes with a humidity and temperature sensor.

Touch-Sensing Glove Feels the Pressure

A new pressure-sensor from MIT detects small and fast changes in pressure at the fingertip, such as from lightly rubbing fingers together.

Brain-Inspired Highly Scalable Neuromorphic Hardware

Researchers from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) fabricated brain-inspired highly scalable neuromorphic hardware by co-integrating single transistor neurons...

Using Silicone Wristbands to Measure Air Quality

A study by researchers at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health shows that inexpensive and convenient devices such as silicone wristbands can be used to yield quantitative...