Tech Briefs

Tech Briefs TECH BRIEFS is where Design Engineers come for new ideas & actionable solutions to their toughest challenges. as well as top universities and companies.

As informed sources proliferate and compete for the attention of time-strapped engineers, Tech Briefs’ unique, compelling content ensures your marketing message will be seen and read. Our coverage includes NASA and major federal R&D labs (Department of Energy, Department of Defense, etc.) Our mission is to report "engineering solutions for design and manufacturing." Go to techbriefs.com for expand

ed editorial coverage. If it is an engineering breakthrough that will help to create great products, it’s reported in Tech Briefs.

Harvard's BRIDGE Brings Video Analytics to ParasportsA research team has developed BRIDGE, a simulation technology that ...
06/03/2026

Harvard's BRIDGE Brings Video Analytics to Parasports

A research team has developed BRIDGE, a simulation technology that reinterprets traditional non-disabled basketball footage into realistic wheelchair basketball video representations.

The system is designed to give para-athletes and coaches access to video analysis resources that are commonplace in non-disabled sports but are rare in parasports.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/oijQ50Z74SP

Why 3D ICs Are Essential for Next-Gen AIThe escalating complexity of artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, particularl...
06/02/2026

Why 3D ICs Are Essential for Next-Gen AI

The escalating complexity of artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, particularly those leveraging transformer-based models, is outpacing the capabilities of traditional transistor scaling. This has led to a fundamental shift in chip design philosophy: instead of adapting software to existing hardware, silicon is now being architected specifically for AI workloads. This "AI-first chip design" paradigm demands hardware that can handle massive parallelism and high-speed data movement within strict power and thermal limits.

3D-IC technology directly addresses these demands by vertically integrating multiple dies, such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) with logic, using through-silicon vias (TSVs). This vertical integration dramatically increases bandwidth (e.g., HBM3 and HBM3E stacks delivering 800 GB/s to over 1 TB/s per stack) and reduces latency, making it indispensable for advanced AI accelerators and high-performance computing.

However, this advancement comes with significant design challenges, such as:

Find out: https://ow.ly/EaH850Z6CgI

Radiation-Tolerant Microcontrollers for Expanding LEO Satellite NetworkVorago Technologies recently announced a “world...
06/01/2026

Radiation-Tolerant Microcontrollers for Expanding LEO Satellite Network

Vorago Technologies recently announced a “world first” with the launch of four radiation-tolerant microcontrollers purpose-built for low-Earth orbit (LEO) applications at a fraction of the cost of traditional space-grade components.

The new Radiation-Tolerant by Design (RTbD) microcontrollers use Arm® Cortex® M4-based cores and join Vorago’s growing family of low cost microcontrollers. The devices integrate advanced radiation protection directly into the silicon to improve the reliability and efficiency of satellite constellations and other space systems.

On this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast, we speak with Bernd Lienhard, CEO of Vorago Technologies, about how radiation-tolerant and radiation-hardened semiconductor technologies are enabling the next generation of satellite constellations, autonomous defense systems, and resilient space infrastructure. The conversation explores how growing demand for AI-enabled edge computing, secure communications, and scalable space architectures is reshaping semiconductor requirements for aerospace and defense applications.

Listen now: https://ow.ly/gmBT50Z67Er

A Proof‑of‑Concept Quantum BatteryThe results point to a surprising advantage for quantum batteries."We show that we can...
05/29/2026

A Proof‑of‑Concept Quantum Battery

The results point to a surprising advantage for quantum batteries.

"We show that we can utilize the quantum advantage of quantum batteries, which is instantaneous charging, in a device which can be easily integrated into an electrical circuit. This is the first time this has been shown for a device of this class and is a critical step toward the development of a commercially competitive quantum battery."

Learn more: https://ow.ly/qVak50Z5xgg

COTS Edge AI Accelerators for SWaP-C Constrained Defense and Space SystemsThe convergence of highly capable edge AI mode...
05/28/2026

COTS Edge AI Accelerators for SWaP-C Constrained Defense and Space Systems

The convergence of highly capable edge AI models and advanced commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) edge AI accelerators is reshaping how computation is deployed across defense, aerospace, and commercial platforms. Mission-critical decisions increasingly must be made at the edge, onboard vehicles, satellites, and infrastructure nodes, where latency, connectivity, and power availability are constrained.

Edge AI is also beginning to incorporate compact generative approaches to support greater autonomy. This shift is accelerating the adoption of COTS edge AI accelerators as an alternative to centralized processing and legacy radiation-hardened compute architectures.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/69GK50Z56Ma

Women remain underrepresented in engineering, but their impact has never been more powerful. Across industries, women en...
05/28/2026

Women remain underrepresented in engineering, but their impact has never been more powerful. Across industries, women engineers are breaking barriers, shaping innovation, and redefining what leadership looks like in STEM.

Launched in May 2026, Rising Star Awards has entered its third year with renewed momentum and purpose. This prestigious awards program celebrates exceptional women engineers who are making bold contributions today while paving the way for the innovators of tomorrow.

This year’s program features six award categories, each recognizing a unique dimension of excellence and impact across the engineering landscape:

Aerospace & Defense
Automotive/Transportation
Electronics
Manufacturing/Materials
Medical/Biotech
Robotics/Automation/AI

Nominations for the 2026 Rising Star Awards are now open. Submit your entry here: https://ow.ly/VQFC50Z5ffl

Hardening AI for the Cosmos: New Flash Memory Defies Cosmic RadiationResearchers have shown that NAND flash memory made ...
05/27/2026

Hardening AI for the Cosmos: New Flash Memory Defies Cosmic Radiation

Researchers have shown that NAND flash memory made with ferroelectric materials can withstand radiation levels up to 30 times higher than more conventional NAND flash memory.

“If you send traditional flash memory to space, the radiation interacting with flash memory’s trapped electric charge can easily corrupt the data,” said Asif Khan, Associate Professor, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). “In contrast, ferroelectric NAND flash storage does not store data as trapped electrical charge but rather stores it as polarization in the material. And polarization is very resilient to radiation effects.”

Learn more: https://ow.ly/8Rh750Z4Fh0

NASA Fires Up Powerful Lithium-Fed Thruster for Trips to MarsWith further development, thrusters like this could be part...
05/26/2026

NASA Fires Up Powerful Lithium-Fed Thruster for Trips to Mars

With further development, thrusters like this could be part of a nuclear electric propulsion system powering human missions to Mars.

“At NASA, we work on many things at once, and we haven’t lost sight of Mars. The successful performance of our thruster in this test demonstrates real progress toward sending an American astronaut to set foot on the Red Planet,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “This marks the first time in the United States that an electric propulsion system has operated at power levels this high, reaching up to 120 kilowatts. We will continue to make strategic investments that will propel that next giant leap.”

Learn more: https://ow.ly/Ukm850Z4af0

Brain-Inspired Memristors Could Slash AI Energy Use by 70 PercentResearchers, led by the University of Cambridge, develo...
05/21/2026

Brain-Inspired Memristors Could Slash AI Energy Use by 70 Percent

Researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, developed a form of hafnium oxide that acts as a highly stable, low‑energy ‘memristor’ — a component designed to mimic the efficient way neurons are connected in the brain.

Current AI systems rely on conventional computer chips that shuttle data back and forth between memory and processing units. This constant movement consumes large amounts of electricity, and global demand is exploding as AI adoption expands across industries.

Brain-inspired, or neuromorphic, computing is an alternative way to process information that could reduce energy use by as much as 70 percent by storing and processing information in the same place, and doing so with extremely low power. Such a system would also be far more adaptable, in the same way our own brains are able to learn and adapt.

“Energy consumption is one of the key challenges in current AI hardware,” said Lead Author Dr. Babak Bakhit, from Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy. “To address that, you need devices with extremely low currents, excellent stability, outstanding uniformity across switching cycles and devices, and the ability to switch between many distinct states.”

Learn more and read an exclusive Tech Briefs interview with Bakhit: https://ow.ly/Vwze50Z2E9k

Cooling the Cloud: A New Way to Manage GPU PowerIn an effort to meet the rising energy demands of data centers, engineer...
05/20/2026

Cooling the Cloud: A New Way to Manage GPU Power

In an effort to meet the rising energy demands of data centers, engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new chip design that could improve how graphics processing units convert and manage power. The technology demonstrates a more efficient way to perform a critical task in electronics: converting high voltages into lower levels required by computing hardware. In lab tests, a prototype chip performed the type of voltage conversion used in modern data centers with high efficiency.

The advance, published in Nature Communications, could lead to the development of smaller, more energy-efficient systems for advanced computing.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/gRLb50Z28Sb

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