Topic

Low-Voltage, Low-Power Pressure Sensors for Monitoring Health

Researchers have found ways to develop soft OECTs for wearable pressure sensors. They first experimented with a solid type of gating substance: a charged, gelatinous substance called an ionic hydrogel. Read on to learn more.

A Novel Technique to Create Energy-Efficient Microelectronics

Microelectronics face a key challenge because of their small size. To avoid overheating, microelectronics need to consume only a fraction of the electricity of conventional electronics while still operating at peak performance. Researchers have achieved a breakthrough that could allow for a new kind of microelectronic material to do just that.

Essential Control and Visualization, Combined

Modern PLC+HMI platforms have overcome weaknesses of older devices and now provide a top-performing and space-optimized option for designers to implement control and visualization for a variety of diverse applications.

Thicker, Denser, Better Electrodes May Hold the Key to Advanced Batteries

The improved method for fabricating battery electrodes may lead to high-performance batteries that would enable more energy-efficient EVs, as well as such benefits as enhancing power grid storage, according to Hongtao Sun, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State.

An Efficient and Cost-Effective Solution for Battery Recycling

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have improved on approaches that dissolve a battery in a liquid solution in order to reduce the amount of hazardous chemicals used in the process.

An All-Liquid Iron Flow Battery for Better Energy Storage

Flow batteries can serve as backup generators for the electric grid. Flow batteries are one of the key pillars of a decarbonization strategy to store energy from renewable energy resources. Their advantage is that they can be built at any scale, from the lab-bench scale, as in this PNNL study, to the size of a city block.

Innovative AI Approach Makes the Most of Sparse Sensor Data

An innovative approach to artificial intelligence (AI) enables reconstructing a broad field of data, such as overall ocean temperature, from a small number of field-deployable sensors using low-powered edge computing, with broad applications across industry, science, and medicine.

‘Attacker’ Device to Protect AVs from Cyberattacks

To help improve the safety and security of AVs, researchers have devised a novel algorithm designed to mimic an attacking device. The algorithm lets researchers identify areas for improvement in autonomous vehicle security.

A ‘Smarter’ Way to Protect an Electric Grid

The team, led by Data Scientist Sumit Purohit, is trying to create a tool that sorts and prioritizes cyber threats on the fly. The idea is to give grid operators a clear blueprint to identify and address the biggest threats first and to protect against them without a mad scramble for resources down the road.

E-Health Patches Monitor Pulse and Blood Pressure

An international team of researchers from Japan and Austria has invented new ultraflexible patches with a ferroelectric polymer that can not only sense a patient’s pulse and blood pressure, but also power themselves from normal movements. The key was starting with a substrate just 1-μm thick.

Shape-Shifting Ultrasound Stickers to Monitor Post-Surgical Complications

When attached to an organ, the soft, tiny sticker changes in shape in response to the body’s changing pH levels, which can serve as an early warning sign for post-surgery complications such as anastomotic leaks. Clinicians then can view these shape changes in real time through ultrasound imaging.

Exosome-Coated Stent Heals Vascular Injury, Repairs Damaged Tissue

The stent delivers regenerative stem cell-derived therapy to blood-starved tissue.

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including OnLogic's new Tacton Series of rugged panel PCs and industrial touchscreen displays; binder's M12 series of surface-mount devices; SINAMICS DriveSim Basic's new software solution; L. S. Starrett's latest Video System in its KMR Series: the new KMR-MX 200; and more.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a new DC-DC power converter developed by engineers at the Kobe University, a haptic device capable of reproducing the softness of various materials developed by EPFL researchers, and three-dimensional embroidery techniques from engineers from NC State University.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: The new multi-purpose ICAM-B charge amplifier from Kistler, which is ideal for use with piezoelectric sensors.

Aitiip Integrates Freeform Injection Molding to Lower Weight and Reduce Production Costs

Aitiip is a leading Spanish research and development institute and serves companies in the aeronautics, automation, industrial, and packaging sectors. The institute possesses strong platforms for the characterization of materials and processes and is known as a powerful integrator of technologies, which is constantly on the lookout for the next transformative technology.

Image Sensors and Cameras Based on Colloidal Quantum Dots for Defense Applications

This article reports on the image sensor technology and the VS20 camera product developed at Emberion. The article describes the image sensor design comprising the sensor stack based on a p-i-n photodiode implementation with PbS QDs sandwiched between thin-film hole transport (HTL) and electron transport (ETL) layers as well as the CMOS ROIC architecture and pixel front-end interfacing the photodiode stack.

How SpaceVPX is Influencing the Design of Next Generation Spacecraft Avionics

SpaceVPX is an embedded computing standard based on bridging the VMEBus International Trade Association (VITA) OpenVPX standards to space applications. OpenVPX is a set of embedded computing system standards that are widely used in safety critical aerospace and defense platforms such as vehicles and weapons.

Pioneering Space Communication with Terrestrial Know-How

For design engineers venturing into the non-terrestrial domain, it is important to partner with a company that not only understands the importance of extensive and rigorous testing, but also possesses the capability for efficient mass production of components.

NASA’s Optical Communications Demo Transmits Data Over 140 Million Miles

This achievement provides a glimpse into how spacecraft could use optical communications in the future, enabling higher-data-rate communications of complex scientific information as well as high-definition imagery and video in support of humanity’s next giant leap: sending humans to Mars.

NRL Research Physicists Explore Fiber Optic Computing Using Distributed Feedback

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) researchers have outlined a novel contribution in fiber optics computing in a paper recently published in Communications Physics Journal that brings the Navy one step closer to faster, more efficient computing technologies.

A New Approach to Assessing the Quality of Aerospace Components

In a study, published in the Journal Waves in Random and Complex Media, researchers from the University of Bristol have derived a formula that can inform the design boundaries for a given component’s geometry and material microstructure.

New Research on Noise Reduction for Next Generation Aircraft Engines

A study published in Journal of Fluid Mechanics, reveals for the first time how noise is generated and propagated from these engines, technically known as boundary layer ingesting (BLI) ducted fans.

‘Nanostitches’ Enable Lighter and Tougher Composite Materials

To save on fuel and reduce aircraft emissions, engineers are looking to build lighter, stronger airplanes out of advanced composites. These engineered materials are made from high-performance fibers that are embedded in polymer sheets. The sheets can be stacked and pressed into one multilayered material and made into extremely lightweight and durable structures.

AI Algorithms Pilot X-62A in First Aerial Dogfight

The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (TPS) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency have reported another major breakthrough for the artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms or “agents” that have been flying their modified F-16 test aircraft known as VISTA X-62A in a series of flight tests since 2022.

Morphing Aircraft Systems

Inspired by natural phenomena, a Purdue research team is developing morphing systems for hypersonic vehicles that respond to their environment.

Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile Flight Test

ITE-12 was the next ‘big-step’ in LRASM’s evolution. The successful test was a graduation exercise for the missiles’ latest configuration and lays the foundation for increased capabilities to come.

Final Delta IV Heavy Rocket Launched

This launch marks the end of an era as it is the final Delta IV Heavy rocket and the end of the Delta program. The NROL-70 mission puts into orbit a national security payload that will deliver critical space-based information to our nation’s warfighters, intelligence analysts, and decision makers.

Lilium Starts Production of eVTOL Jet Batteries

The company describes its battery back as comprised of lithium-ion cells with silicon-dominant anodes that will allow for higher energy, power, and fast-charging capabilities than graphite anode cells. The battery packs are being designed to meet EASA’s aircraft safety requirements.