Sensors

Robotic Arms Connected Directly to Brain of Partially Paralyzed Man Allows Him to Feed Himself

Two robotic arms — a fork in one hand, a knife in the other — flank a seated man, who sits in front of a table, with a piece of cake on a...

Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science

Columbia University is a private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan, Columbia, is the...

Method Pinpoints Microscale Damage in Metal

The process predicts when and where microscopic cracks will occur before they become catastrophic.

Product of the Month

Product of the Month: August 2022 Tech Briefs

Q&A: Artificial Skin Could Lead to a New Generation of Touch-Sensitive Robots

A team of engineers from the University of Glasgow led by Professor Ravinder Dahiya developed an artificial skin with a new type of processing system based on...

Charting a Safe Course Through a Highly Uncertain Environment

An autonomous spacecraft exploring the far-flung regions of the universe descends through the atmosphere of a remote exoplanet. The vehicle, and the researchers who programmed...

Where is Sensor Technology Headed? Look in the Mirror

Sensor technology design and manufacturing demands continue to rise to the needs of our continuously connected world.

Roboticists Go Off Road to Compile Data That Could Train Self-Driving ATVs

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University took an all-terrain vehicle on wild rides through tall grass, loose gravel, and mud to gather data about how the ATV...

What Can Engineers Learn from Nature?

A number of the engineers I’ve interviewed have taken their inspirations from nature. As one said to me, nature has been evolving and perfecting its designs over thousands of years — we should take...

New Silicon Nanowires Could Speed Up Computer Processors

Scientists at Berkeley Lab have discovered a physical phenomenon that is the basis for a new material that has 150% better thermal conductivity than conventional materials used in...

LEGO-Like Artificial Intelligence Chip

Imagine a more sustainable future, where cellphones, smartwatches, and other wearable devices don’t have to be shelved or discarded for a newer model. Instead, they could be upgraded with the latest...

Powerful Family of Two-Dimensional Materials

A team from the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering has developed a new family of two-dimensional materials that researchers say has promising applications, including in advanced...

How to Measure 20 Million Volts

As I was scrolling through research lab press releases for a Q&A column, one caught my eye: “Remote High-Voltage Sensor Unveiled at Sandia Gamma Ray Lab.” High voltage is not the sexiest of technology...

Smart Design for Pneumatics Proves Vital

While the U.S. historically has had much lower energy costs than in other parts of the world, today’s volatile energy market combined with the initiatives of many corporations to reduce carbon...

Assessing Five Key Areas of Modern Hydraulic Power Units

Any manufacturing facility that uses hydraulics powered by conventional fixed-speed hydraulic power units (HPUs) has engineers and personnel who know all too well how large, noisy,...

Flow Measurement in Smart Medical Inhalers

Inhalers are among the most commonly used devices for treating respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). With each inhalation through the inhaler, the device...

Breakthrough Lightweight AR Eyeglasses

With AR eyeglasses, the screen of a mobile device can be transitioned to the lens of a pair of eyeglasses. The problem with that is that even though the technology has been around for a while, the...

Edge Processing with Embedded Artificial Intelligence

We are currently moving into the next automation age. It is a world where your personal devices will help you track your health in real time, while conveniently connecting with your doctor....

New Products

Octoplant Data Management Platform AUVESY-MDT, Landau in der Pfalz, Germany, is releasing octoplant, the next level of development of the versiondog and AutoSave solution. Octoplant is a new data management platform that...

Protecting Electric Vehicle Charging Systems with Advanced Current Sensing

While battery range and charging times are getting the most attention when it comes to electric vehicle (EV) charging systems, safety and reliability are a critical...

Forecast 2022 for Sensors/MEMS

This article is a marked departure from my annual reporting on the past year’s performance of the health of the MEMS industry vis-à-vis my MEMS Industry Commercialization Report Card. [1] Here, I have...

5Ws of the Green Submarine

Who A fully automated net positive submarine fleet, powered entirely on hydrogen, could help cleanse the oceans of toxic pollution. Developed by London-based startup Oceanways, the submarine was named among the...

Materials for Next-Generation LED-Based Data Communications

Light-emitting diode (LED)-based communications techniques allow computing devices, including cellphones, to communicate with one another using infrared light. However, LED techniques...

Autonomous Assemblers Assemble

In-space and planetary surface assembly for human exploration is a challenging domain that encompasses various technological thrusts to support human missions. NASA is developing autonomous assembly agents to...

A Smartwatch-Based System Detects Heat Strain

A new device from Lincoln Laboratory can now alert trainees when they are heading toward injury. The device continuously estimates a person’s core body temperature to determine their risk level...

Sensors Converge 2022

Sensors Expo is returning to the McEnery Convention Center, San Jose, CA from June 27 – 29, with its new name — Sensors Converge. There are nine conference tracks that highlight the different applications for...

Products of Tomorrow

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.