Magazine Articles - SAE Mobilus
After 3D printing a habitat designed for Mars and working with NASA on print material made from synthetic Moon dust, AI SpaceFactory Inc. has commercialized two separate 3D printers. The Secaucus, NJ-based company’s latest offering, Starforge, is a large-capacity 3D printer that uses innovative print material inspired by SpaceFactory’s work with NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida under an Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity agreement.
Imagine being handed a device that’s meant to help you — but instead feels intimidating, confusing, or painful to use. For millions of patients around the world, that’s the reality of managing treatment at home. Across ailments, the burden of self-administered care is growing, and with it, the importance of designing drug-delivery systems designed with the patient experience at their core.
University of Waterloo researchers are tapping into idled electric vehicles (EVs) to act as mobile generators and help power overworked and aging electricity grids.
Electric drive systems are central to the efficient and clean use of energy for electric and hybrid vehicles. They need to efficiently convert electrical energy into mechanical motion, but coupling mechanical and electrical components into a highly compact system requires a range of complex design and engineering tradeoffs. One challenge is that automotive companies typically use a wide range of design and simulation technologies from different suppliers. This has resulted in multiple iterations of model and data transfers between the design and simulation software, which is inefficient, error-prone, and results in a lack of decision traceability.
NASA is developing a lightweight one-piece regeneratively cooled thrust chamber assembly (TCA) for liquid rocket engines. Liquid rocket engines create thrust through the expansion of combusted propellants within the TCA. Standard manufacturing of TCAs involves individually building the injector, main combustion chamber and nozzle, and then bolting or welding the components together at the joints. However, potential seal failures in these complex joints can cause catastrophic explosions, as in the tragedy of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
Thermal nondestructive evaluation (NDE) is a widely used method for detecting defects such as cracks, corrosion, and dis-bond layers in metallic and composite structures. Traditional thermal inspection methods rely on a high-intensity, broadband light heat source (e.g., flash lamp, quartz lamp) that generates heat that is absorbed by the material, and an infrared camera captures the transient thermal response to generate inspection data. However, inspecting low emissivity surfaces (such as unpainted aluminum and titanium alloys) poses challenges including high reflection of the heat source light that can cause inaccurate measurement of the surface temperature response, produce false defect indications, and potential sensor damage due to high-intensity reflections.
Engineers have developed a smart capsule called PillTrek that can measure pH, temperature, and a variety of different biomarkers. It incorporates simple, inexpensive sensors into a miniature wireless electrochemical workstation that relies on low-power electronics. PillTrek measures 7 mm in diameter and 25 mm in length, making it smaller than commercially available capsule cameras used for endoscopy but capable of executing a range of electrochemical measurements.
Virtual reality (VR) video games that combine screen time with exercise are a great way to get fit, but game designers face a major challenge — adherence to ‘exergames’ is low, with most users dropping out once they start to feel uncomfortable or bored.
MIT researchers have used 3D printing to produce self-heating microfluidic devices, demonstrating a technique which could someday be used to rapidly create cheap, yet accurate, tools to detect a host of diseases.
EPFL researchers have developed a customizable soft robotic system that uses compressed air to produce shape changes, vibrations, and other haptic, or tactile, feedback in a variety of configurations. The device holds significant promise for applications in virtual reality, physical therapy, and rehabilitation.
A research team led by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a new fabrication technique that could improve noise robustness in superconducting qubits, a key technology for enabling large-scale quantum computers.
September is unofficially known in the industry as a key forecasting month. It's when several suppliers lock in their revenue forecasts for the next year. As we approach 2026, there are still several balls in the air with respect to the trajectory of the light vehicle market. Looming U.S. tariffs, negative economic and geo-political shifts, and the impact of changes to U.S. vehicle emission legislation have all brought with them a cloud of uncertainty that hovers over the industry. An industry that requires greater planning clarity, not less. Let's start with the tariffs. As of this writing, the major vehicle and parts importers outside of North America have agreed to 15% U.S. tariffs for vehicles and parts. In the case of Japan and the European Union, this is 12.5 percentage points higher than 2024 levels. In the case of South Korea, it's 15 points more, as there was a free trade agreement in force. While these framework agreements drive some level of certainty, the final details
Researchers have created a groundbreaking prototype for a new kind of leadless pacemaker designed for both children and adults. The innovative micropacemaker would be the first fully leadless system to be placed in the pericardial space surrounding the heart. That would allow the device to be implanted in a minimally invasive way in children and those with congenital heart disease, while also providing a lower-risk leadless pacemaker option for adults.
As fast as modern electronics have become, they could be much faster if their operations were based on light, rather than electricity. Fiber optic cables already transport information at the speed of light, but to do computations on that information without translating it back to electric signals will require a host of new optical components.
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using advanced manufacturing techniques to revitalize the domestic production of very large metal parts that weigh at least 10,000 pounds each and are necessary for a variety of industries, including clean energy.
Researchers have developed a handheld device that could potentially replace stethoscopes as a tool for detecting certain types of heart disease.
Sensors are used everywhere — from smartphones and wearable devices to industrial systems and logistics. But traditional sensors often rely on rigid components and batteries, limiting their applications in soft systems. To address this, researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan, have developed a smarter alternative. Using a paper-folding technique in combination with a triboelectric nanogenerator, they created a novel energy-harvesting sensor with promising potential for next-generation soft devices.
I was recently visiting a friend as she was cleaning out some of her father's things. As we were going through stories and old photos, we came across an undated picture of a young child, perhaps a year old, sitting in a contraption of a stroller that wouldn't meet any safety considerations parents have today. We were spending time with physical objects that were decades or, in some cases, over a century old. Tin toys. Miscellaneous trinkets. And, most interestingly, stacks of old pictures and faded postcards, glimpses into another time, one long past. It wasn't just the look on the kid's face in this contraption that caught my eye. It was the need to create things like the contraption itself, representing the endless drive humans have to do stuff with the stuff around us, especially if the end result has wheels.
Author's third book delves deeper into SDVs. An experienced engineer with a history in software development and systems engineering, Plato Pathrose is turning from ADAS to SDVs with his latest work. Pathrose's third book, Software Defined Vehicles, will be published in September 2025 with SAE International. “This is both a technology and a business book,” Pathrose told SAE Media. “It aims to offer a comprehensive perspective on one of the most transformative trends in the automotive industry. Software Defined Vehicles explores how software is reshaping the design, function, and value of modern vehicles.” From concept, architecture, and connectivity to over-the-air updates and vehicle personalization, Pathrose's latest book dives deep into the technologies driving this shift. It also addresses the business implications, including new revenue models, ecosystem strategies, and the changing role of OEMs and suppliers.
Electrogenic has developed EV conversion kits for seven models that are of interest to classic vehicle collectors. But it's a smaller, lower-cost version for Africa that might offer the real solution. Electrogenic founder and CEO Steve Drummond believes EVs are here to help. “Saving the World One Car at a Time” is even painted on the company's headquarters near Oxford, England. The original business plan was to develop electric powertrains for smaller automakers that couldn't shoulder the expense of in-house development. That's still a big part of Electrogenic, which also does EV conversions for Britain's military.
The third-generation Nissan Leaf represents the automaker's efforts to bring the world's first mass-market modern EV up to date. This meant making changes to the powertrain - better winter charging, new NACS connectors - while keeping some things the same. SAE Media spoke with Jeff Tessmer, senior manager, R&D engineer, technology planning and research at Nissan Technical Center North America, about these updates.
Even after more than 100 years, the internal combustion engine still holds promise, especially with a tank of H2 or biofuel. The internal combustion engine (ICE) often gets overlooked in sustainability discussions. Yet, in light of current decarbonization goals, ICEs continue to play a crucial role in shaping future road transport. The transition to low- and zero-emission technologies varies in pace across the globe, influenced by economic pressures, regulatory uncertainty, and infrastructure challenges. The conversation frequently focuses exclusively on the development of new propulsion systems and infrastructure. However, upgrading and optimizing existing technologies, such as the ICE, alongside the option of new systems, presents a faster and more scalable path to decarbonization. In the century since its introduction, the ICE has undergone continuous refinement, resulting in a reliable propulsion system. It is supported by a robust ecosystem comprising manufacturing assets, supply
To meet the need for better 3D imaging that works during live surgery, researchers recently developed a new kind of surgical microscope called the Fourier light-field multiview stereoscope, known as FiLM-Scope.
Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a thin film sensor that measures temperatures up to 1200 °F, and whose prototype successor may achieve measurements up to ~3000 °F — which was the surface temperature of the Space Shuttle during its atmospheric reentry.
Researchers have developed a soft, thin-film auditory brainstem implant (ABI). The device uses micrometer-scale platinum electrodes embedded in silicone, forming a pliable array just a fraction of a millimeter thick. This novel approach enables better tissue contact, potentially preventing off-target nerve activation and reducing side effects.
Mobileye announced in June that its ongoing work with Volkswagen will deliver the automaker's first production SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles sometime in 2026. The first of these vehicles will be the Volkswagen ID. Buzz AV, which will use the Mobileye Drive autonomous platform and will most likely deploy first in the U.S next year. The ID. Buzz AV is one of four programs Mobileye is working on with VW, Dan Galves, chief communications officer at Mobileye, told SAE Media, and the variety and size of the programs will be key to making AVs scale. The vehicles in each of these programs use the same Mobileye core, with similar cameras and sensors and the same system on chip (SOC), even as the details differ.
Metabolic imaging is a noninvasive method that enables clinicians and scientists to study living cells using laser light, which can help them assess disease progression and treatment responses. But light scatters when it shines into biological tissue, limiting how deeply it can penetrate and hampering the resolution of captured images.
Artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT are notorious for being power-hungry. To tackle this challenge, a team from the Centre for Optics, Photonics and Lasers (COPL) has come up with an optical chip that can transfer massive amounts of data at ultra-high speed. As thin as a strand of hair, this technology offers unrivaled energy efficiency.
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have achieved a long-sought milestone in photonics: creating tiny optical devices that are both highly sensitive and durable — two qualities that have long been considered fundamentally incompatible.
A wearable wristband could significantly improve diabetes management by continuously tracking not only glucose but also other chemical and cardiovascular signals that influence disease progression and overall health.
For years researchers at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have been developing tools to accelerate the materials discovery and development of new energy storage technologies, including those that can predict the performance of the batteries systems for long-term grid services.
Medical tubing is an essential component of countless healthcare applications, from intravenous (IV) and oxygen lines to catheters and diagnostic equipment. These tubes, often made of clear flexible polymers, must be produced to exacting standards: free of contaminants, strong under pressure, and biocompatible. However, the joining process to connect these tubes can introduce significant manufacturing challenges.
The engineering of combination products has evolved into a systems-level challenge, where the success of drug delivery depends equally on molecular compatibility, device integrity, and material behavior under physiological stress. Materials science in particular has become a critical determinant in whether such products can simultaneously satisfy therapeutic, safety, and regulatory performance thresholds.
A fiber sensor inspired by the shape of DNA, developed by researchers at Shinshu University, introduces a new design for more durable, flexible fiber sensors in wearables. Traditional fiber sensors have electrodes at both ends, which often fail under repeated movement when placed on body joints. The proposed double-helical design, however, places both electrodes on one end, allowing the sensor to endure repeated stretching and movement, effectively addressing a key limitation of conventional wearable sensors.
Twisted moiré photonic crystals — an advanced type of optical metamaterial — have shown enormous potential in the race to engineer smaller, more capable and more powerful optical systems. How do they work?
The increased functionality of today’s medical devices is astounding. Optical devices, for example, analyze chemicals, toxins, and biologic specimens. Semiconductor devices sense, analyze, and communicate. Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices utilize inertial methods to detect motion, direct light, and move components over short distances. Radiofrequency (RF) devices communicate wirelessly to other devices directly and remotely over the Internet. Handheld acoustic devices scan the body and build a virtual 3D model that shows conditions in the body. The innovation currently happening in the medical device industry is staggering, limited only by imagination and finding technical methods to implement the vision.
After years of development, Orbis Electric is introducing its HaloDrive axial flux e-motor /generator that it says is “slimmer, lighter, lower cost and more powerful than existing motors and generators.” Orbis also claims it does all that while matching the torque of a V8 internal combustion engine. The company, based in Santa Rosa, California, introduced HaloDrive in a news release and online. Cited as top-line innovations: An injection-molded plastic stator and a tunable gearset. The company said that the unit has what it called greater thermal stability than other e-motors.
Engineers have harnessed quantum physics to detect the presence of biomolecules without the need for an external light source, overcoming a significant obstacle to the use of optical biosensors in healthcare.
A toothbrush-shaped ultrasound transducer can provide a less invasive screening for gum disease. In proof-of-concept demonstrations on animal tissues, the device produced measurements similar to those of a manual probe.
Researchers have developed a 3D microprinted sensor for highly sensitive on-chip biosensing. The sensor, which is based on a polymer whispering-gallerymode microlaser, opens new opportunities for developing high-performance, cost-effective lab-on-a-chip devices for early disease diagnosis.
Researchers in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) have invented a new type of tunable semiconductor laser that combines the best attributes of today’s most advanced laser products, demonstrating smooth, reliable, wide-range wavelength tuning in a simple, chip-sized design.
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