A new measurement method for 3D shape acquisition has been developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF. With their “MWIR-3D sensor”, they can scan objects three-dimensionally, regardless of whether they are made of transparent plastic or glass. Even objects with shiny metallic or jet-black surfaces can be detected without any difficulties. Combining different materials is also no problem for the new 3D infrared sensor. In the field of 3D sensor technology, this degree…

University of Rochester researchers combine freeform optics and a metasurface to avoid ‘bug eyes’. “Image” is everything in the $20 billion market for AR/VR glasses. Consumers are looking for glasses that are compact and easy to wear, delivering high-quality imagery with socially acceptable optics that don’t look like “bug eyes.” University of Rochester researchers at the Institute of Optics have come up with a novel technology to deliver those attributes with maximum effect. In a paper in Science Advances, they…

Additive manufacturing … House key, wallet, health insurance card, hotel key card — a smart finger ring could replace all these in the future. Produced by a 3D printing process, the ring has an integrated RFID chip, tamper-proof, sealed and invisible. The technology of integrating electronics during 3D printing can of course be used for other applications too. The multifunctional ring was developed by a research team at Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV. Now, where’s my…

The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden has been developing robust, reliable and versatile ultrasonic sensors for many years. Due to their small size, the so-called MUTs, Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers, enable energy-saving, multifunctional, environmentally friendly and extremely compact sensor systems. At the digital trade fair SENSOR+TEST, the world’s leading forum for sensor, measurement and testing technology, which is free of charge for visitors, the institute will present its latest developments to the public from May 4 – 6,…

A new method facilitates accurate analysis of magnetic field effects inside complex nanostructures. Researchers in the Nanoscience Center of University of Jyvaskyla, in Finland and in the Guadalajara University in Mexico developed a method that allows for simulation and visualization of magnetic-field-induced electron currents inside gold nanoparticles. The method facilitates accurate analysis of magnetic field effects inside complex nanostructures in nuclear magnetic resonance measurements and establishes quantitative criteria for aromaticity of nanoparticles. The work was published 30.4.2021 as an Open…

Fraunhofer SCAI has greatly improved its successfully marketed AutoPanelSizer software. The new version now optimizes plans for cutting rectangular parts much faster. New features and the utilization of multiple processor cores ensure even more efficient cutting plans. As a pure optimization kernel, the software can be integrated into existing plant control systems or ERP/MES systems. Cutting panels into smaller rectangular parts belongs to the daily routine in many factories. In the woodworking industry and in industries requiring metal or glass…

A new design of ultra-small silicon chip called a multiplexer will effectively manage terahertz waves which are key to the next generation of communications: 6G and beyond. Researchers from Osaka University, Japan and the University of Adelaide, Australia have worked together to produce the new multiplexer made from pure silicon for terahertz-range communications in the 300-GHz band. “In order to control the great spectral bandwidth of terahertz waves, a multiplexer, which is used to split and join signals, is critical…

Like a chameleon of the night sky, the Moon often changes its appearance. It might look larger, brighter or redder, for example, due to its phases, its position in the solar system or smoke in Earth’s atmosphere. (It is not made of green cheese, however.) Another factor in its appearance is the size and shape of moon dust particles, the small rock grains that cover the moon’s surface. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are now…

Scientists characterized how these states depend on local chemical composition, narrowing the search for where to look compositionally to enable quantum computing. Scientists characterized how the electronic states in a compound containing iron, tellurium, and selenium depend on local chemical concentrations. They discovered that superconductivity (conducting electricity without resistance), along with distinct magnetic correlations, appears when the local concentration of iron is sufficiently low; a coexisting electronic state existing only at the surface (topological surface state) arises when the concentration…

A group of astronomers, led by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn, Germany, has discovered 8 millisecond pulsars located within dense clusters of stars, known as “globular clusters”, using South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope. Millisecond pulsars are neutron stars, the most compact star known, that spin up to 700 times per second. This result comes from the synergic work of two international collaborations, TRAPUM and MeerTIME, with the…

In a step toward enabling ultrafast wireless data transmission, researchers explore non-line-of-sight path issue for link discovery method using terahertz radiation. If a base station in a local area network tries to use a directional beam to transmit a signal to a user trying to connect to the network — instead of using a wide area network broadcast, as base stations commonly do — how does it know which direction to send the beam? Researchers from Rice University and Brown…

TUD to cooperate with an IAP spin-off … Many researchers are familiar with the problem: Before there are any new findings, there is an unknown measuring device. In order to control it, different libraries, protocols and command sets need to be followed. If you ever have to combine several devices from different manufacturers, you virtually have to take an additional course in computer science. This is because, in each case, a separate software is required for the special interaction. Axel…

Anyone with children knows that while controlling one child can be hard, controlling many at once can be nearly impossible. Getting swarms of robots to work collectively can be equally challenging, unless researchers carefully choreograph their interactions — like planes in formation — using increasingly sophisticated components and algorithms. But what can be reliably accomplished when the robots on hand are simple, inconsistent, and lack sophisticated programming for coordinated behavior? A team of researchers led by Dana Randall, ADVANCE Professor…

Researchers have developed the first LiDAR-based augmented reality head-up display for use in vehicles. Tests on a prototype version of the technology suggest that it could improve road safety by ‘seeing through’ objects to alert of potential hazards without distracting the driver. The technology, developed by researchers from the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and University College London (UCL), is based on LiDAR (light detection and ranging), and uses LiDAR data to create ultra high-definition holographic representations of…

The future of particle acceleration has begun. AWAKE is a promising concept for a completely new method with which particles can be accelerated even over short distances. The basis for this is a plasma wave that accelerates electrons and thus brings them to high energies. A team led by the Max Planck Institute for Physics (MPP) reports a breakthrough in Physical Review Letters. For the first time, they were able to precisely time the production of the proton microbunches that…

Scientists have found fragments of titanium blasting out of a famous supernova. This discovery, made with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, could be a major step in pinpointing exactly how some giant stars explode. This work is based on Chandra observations of the remains of a supernova called Cassiopeia A (Cas A), located in our galaxy about 11,000 light-years from Earth. This is one of the youngest known supernova remnants, with an age of about 350 years. For years, scientists have…