Magazine Articles - SAE Mobilus

Items (21,977)

How Will TSN Ethernet Impact the Future of Embedded Computing for Aerospace and Defense Applications?

25AERP03_0603/01/2025

Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) Ethernet is a real-time networking capability that is being developed by a growing number of embedded computing companies for the earliest stages of adoption by aerospace and defense manufacturers and their suppliers. According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) TSN working group, it is a set of standards that provides deterministic connectivity within IEEE 802-aligned networks. Nigel Forrester is the Director of Product Strategy for Concurrent Technologies, a UK-based provider of high performance embedded computing solutions for aerospace, defense and many other industries. Check out our interview with Forrester about the potential impact of TSN Ethernet on new and legacy aerospace and defense applications, and how it is being adopted by manufacturers and system integrators below.

Revolutionizing the Traffic Light

21AVEP01_0501/27/2025

Two start-ups are using cameras, sensors and AI to enable more efficient vehicle flow through intersections. Every motorist has experienced the frustration of waiting at a red light when there is no traffic in sight. These days, countless household devices use sensors, cameras and connectivity to understand and respond to the world - so why do most traffic lights languish in the analog age, causing our vehicles to unnecessarily stop and idle? In a spring 2019 report, Guidehouse Insights forecast that just 7% of North America's signalized intersections would use so-called adaptive traffic-control technology in 2020. On a global level, that number was 2.3%.

Berman, Bradley

EDITORIAL: Farewell and thanks, Mr. Birch

21AUTP06_0401/27/2025

“We pay close attention to the SAE magazines because your guy in Europe writes interesting articles,” a BMW engineering executive told me one year at the Frankfurt Motor Show. He was referring to Stuart Birch, our veteran European Editor, who has recently decided - after nearly 37 years of outstanding reporting for SAE International - to hang up his keyboard and spend more time with his wife, Kim, their family and friends in the British countryside, and his classic Porsche 911. Our staff had been dreading the day that Stuart would announce his retirement, foremost because he's been a great friend as well as a colleague. And because journalists with his qualities - professionalism, perspective, a powerful work ethic and great wit - are increasingly rare in the mobility-technology space. As SAE's global audience knew, Stuart Birch delivered compelling technical and business information. He covered product, processes and people with equal poise. And he thrived on the R&D beat: Virtual

Brooke, Lindsay

German OEMs flex 3D manufacturing muscle

21AUTP03_0801/27/2025

A chief impediment for wider adoption of additive manufacturing long has been its limited potential for application in high-volume and high-throughput production. But continuing process and technique developments from automakers and suppliers are moving additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, closer to high-volume Valhalla, while also enabling production of increasingly complex and substantial components. BMW has sporadically fitted specialized 3D-printed parts - both metal and polymer - in series-production models for more than a decade. Recently it has used its Rolls-Royce brand as a platform for introducing 3D-printing innovations in a low-volume but high-expectation environment. And in mid-2020, BMW invested some 15 million euros to establish its Additive Manufacturing Campus near Munich to research and develop new 3D printing processes and other innovations that might accelerate the potential for 3D-printed components at large scale. The company said the facility

Visnic, Bill

Bosch consolidates computing talent in new mobility division

21AUTP03_1101/27/2025

Bosch announced on January 7 during its CES 2021 conference event that it has created a new division labeled Cross-Domain Computing Solutions (CDCC). The CDCC division pools 17,000 of Bosch's automotive software and electronics associates to create a single source for software-intensive systems for future vehicle architectures. According to Bosch, the market for such systems is expected to grow 15% annually between now and 2030, and the organizational move is designed to extend the supplier's market-leading position. Bosch has assigned software, electrical and electronics engineers from the areas of driver assistance, automated driving, car multimedia, powertrain and body electronics to the new unit. “Bosch is an automotive electronics pioneer. Moreover, for quite some time now, it has also been a software company,” said Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of Bosch's Mobility Solutions business sector. “Only a company with wide-ranging electronics and software expertise will be in a position

Seredynski, Paul

ZF builds ‘middleware’ to address vehicle software escalation

21AUTP03_0901/27/2025

Acknowledging the emergence of the “software-defined” vehicle, ZF announced that it is in the process of developing a “middleware” platform designed to facilitate communication between a typical new vehicle's ballooning number of software-controlled components and systems. Company engineers and executives said the first vehicles leveraging the new middleware will be on the road in 2024, but the platform is being created because the industry has to grasp “what the car will look like in the 2030s,” said Dirk Walliser, senior VP - corporate R&D, Innovation & Technology for ZF Friedrichshafen AG. Coinciding with the undertaking to create its middleware platform, ZF also announced it is establishing a Global Software Center to, according to a release, prepare for “new challenges in the triad of software, functions and smart systems” and to proactively pursue “numerous development processes.” Opening in 2021, the Global Software Center will be headed by Nico Hartmann, VP, Software Solutions

Visnic, Bill

A Haptic Patch Can Transmit Complex Information to a Wearer’s Skin

TBMG-5224812/12/2024

Efficient, Sustainable Atmospheric Water Harvesting

TBMG-5222612/09/2024

Imagine being severely dehydrated and water literally appearing out of thin air. In other words: The air you breathe could quickly become the water that wets your whistle. Well, that scenario is one step closer to reality thanks to University of Nevada, Las Vegas spinoff WAVR Technologies.

NASA’s Inspection Technology for Spacecraft Tests Quality of Seacraft Hulls

TBMG-5222312/05/2024

Shipbuilders didn’t have the option of fiberglass when the nonprofit American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) was established 160 years ago to help safeguard life and property on the seas. Fortunately, technology to help better ensure the safety of ocean vessels has also come a long way in that time, in part because people have become a spacefaring species.

Army Completes Satellite as a Managed Service Research Project

TBMG-5213312/01/2024

Intelsat McLean, VA melissa.longo@intelsat.com

Precision Robotics Offers Hope for Heart Disease Treatment

TBMG-5216512/01/2024

The Hospital for Sick Children/University of Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada

DEVCOM CBC Innovates and Integrates through Autonomous Technologies

TBMG-5212912/01/2024

The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC) is paving the way and helping the Army transform into a multi-domain force through its modernization and priority research efforts that are linked to the National Defense Strategy and nation’s goals. CBC continues to lead in the development of innovative defense technology, including autonomous chem-bio defense solutions designed to enhance accuracy and safety to the warfighter.

3D-Woven Thermal Protection System

TBMG-5218812/01/2024

Over the past decade, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and its team of development partners have developed several unique thermal protection system (TPS) technologies designed to protect spacecraft from the extreme heat conditions and entry environments that space missions face. Working closely with the NASA Ames Research Center, Bally Ribbon Mills (BRM), along with several other partners, have developed a new generation of unique strong and robust materials produced using three-dimensional (3D) weaving.

Aviation Safety Expert Unites Industry to Safeguard Aviation Supply Chain

TBMG-5212812/01/2024

In the summer of 2023, a receiving clerk in the procurement department of TAP Air Portugal, a Lisbon-based airline, made a curious discovery: A $65 engine part that should have appeared brandnew showed signs of significant wear. The clerk checked the documentation from the London-based parts supplier and noticed that the submitted documentation was also suspicious.

Researchers Use Ancient Japanese Art Method to Create Tunable Antennas

TBMG-5212312/01/2024

AI-Trained Vehicles Can Adjust to Extreme Turbulence on the Fly

TBMG-5212512/01/2024

In nature, flying animals sense coming changes in their surroundings, including the onset of sudden turbulence, and quickly adjust to stay safe. Engineers who design aircraft would like to give their vehicles the same ability to predict incoming disturbances and respond appropriately. Indeed, disasters such as the fatal Singapore Airlines flight this past May in which more than 100 passengers were injured after the plane encountered severe turbulence, could be avoided if aircraft had such automatic sensing and prediction capabilities combined with mechanisms to stabilize the vehicle.

What is Drone Jamming and How Can it Be Countered?

TBMG-5212412/01/2024

Deliberate RF jamming of drones has become one of the most common battlefield tactics in Ukraine. But what is jamming, how does it work and how can it be countered by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the field?

These Speedy Cold Spray Machines Can 3D Print Vehicle Parts in War Zones

TBMG-5212212/01/2024

New Battery Cathode Material Could Revolutionize EV Market and Energy Storage

TBMG-5214212/01/2024

A multi-institutional research team led by Hailong Chen, an Associate Professor with appointments in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Materials Science and Engineering, has developed a new, low-cost cathode that could radically improve lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) — potentially transforming the electric vehicle (EV) market and large-scale energy storage systems.

Researchers Discover a Surprising Way to Jump-Start Battery Performance

TBMG-5214012/01/2024

A lithium-ion battery’s very first charge is more momentous than it sounds. It determines how well and how long the battery will work from then on — in particular, how many cycles of charging and discharging it can handle before deteriorating.

Making a Material Difference in Aerospace & Defense Electronics

TBMG-5213712/01/2024

Biohybrid Robotic Hand Research Platform

TBMG-5215912/01/2024

Brain-machine interfaces enable direct communication between a brain’s electrical activity and an external device such as a computer or a robotic limb that allows people to control machines using their thoughts. Researchers have developed a novel biohybrid neuroprosthetic research platform comprised of a dexterous artificial hand electrically interfaced with biological neural networks.

Advancing Implantable Medical Device Reliability with Enhanced Laser Joining Technology

TBMG-5217712/01/2024

Factors and Requirements for Adhesive Selection in Medical Devices, Part 1

TBMG-5214912/01/2024

The global medical device market is projected to reach a value of $656 billion USD by 2032 with a CAGR of 3 percent over the coming decade.1 The preceding decades of globalization and increased prosperity has provided advancement in both medical technology and access to advanced medical care for a greater proportion of the world’s population. Further, an aging population in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia will increase the need for healthcare-related services and medical devices in the coming decades. At present, the North America market continues to dominate the industry, accounting for approximately 43 percent of the market’s revenue share; however, markets in the Asia-Pacific region have the highest expected growth rates in the coming decades.1 Growth and innovation in the medical device market will be critical in the years to come.

The Future Is Flexible: How One Component Represents Tomorrow’s Manufacturing

TBMG-5218412/01/2024

With 2025 on the horizon, it’s appropriate to revisit a simple but profound truth: It doesn’t matter how fast you go if it’s in the wrong direction.

Cat’s Eye-Inspired Vision System for Autonomous Robotics

TBMG-5218012/01/2024

Researchers led by Professor Young Min Song from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) have unveiled a vision system inspired by feline eyes to enhance object detection in various lighting conditions. Featuring a unique shape and reflective surface, the system reduces glare in bright environments and boosts sensitivity in low-light scenarios. By filtering unnecessary details, this technology significantly improves the performance of single-lens cameras, representing a notable advancement in robotic vision capabilities.

Enabling Robots to Interpret Surroundings Quickly and Accurately

TBMG-5218212/01/2024

Imagine having to straighten up a messy kitchen, starting with a counter littered with sauce packets. If your goal is to wipe the counter clean, you might sweep up the packets as a group. If, however, you wanted to first pick out the mustard packets before throwing the rest away, you would sort more discriminately, by sauce type. MIT engineers have developed a method that enables robots to make similarly intuitive, task-relevant decisions.

Solving the Battery Recycling Challenge

TBMG-5214812/01/2024

Revolutionizing Seafood Production with Adaptive Robots

TBMG-5217812/01/2024

Robotic automation technology is reshaping food manufacturing, packaging, and handling by driving significant improvements in efficiency, quality, and flexibility. By integrating advanced artificial intelligence, computer vision, and proprietary force-sensing technology, Flexiv has introduced cutting-edge automation to the food processing sector.

Product Showcase

TBMG-5217312/01/2024

AI in Motion Control: Optimizing Servo Systems

TBMG-5218612/01/2024

Modeling and Analyzing Inter-Satellite Relative Motion

TBMG-5219712/01/2024

From a mission operations perspective, swarms pose a planning challenge due to the limited scalability of ground operations. The capabilities needed to support swarm missions go beyond operator-specified geometry, alignment, or separation, but also crosslink communication with maintaining position in the formation. To address scalable control of orbital dynamics, NASA Ames Research Center has patented Swarm Orbital Dynamics Advisor (SODA) — a solution that accepts high-level configuration commands and provides the orbital maneuvers needed to achieve the desired type of swarm relative motion.

Contract Manufacturing: Accelerating Product Development

TBMG-5217212/01/2024

Design and material choices can have a long-term impact on an original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) production costs and product quality. When an OEM works together with an experienced contract design manufacturer (CDM) from the start of a project, many negative impacts to cost and quality can be avoided.

Dormant Capacity Reserve in Lithium-Ion Batteries Detected

TBMG-5214312/01/2024

Lithium iron phosphate is one of the most important materials for batteries in electric cars, stationary energy storage systems, and tools. It has a long service life, is comparatively inexpensive and does not tend to spontaneously combust. Energy density is also making progress. However, experts are still puzzled as to why lithium iron phosphate batteries undercut their theoretical electricity storage capacity by up to 25 percent in practice. To utilize this dormant capacity reserve, it would be crucial to know exactly where and how lithium ions are stored in and released from the battery material during the charging and discharging cycles. Researchers at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) have now taken a significant step in this direction. Using transmission electron microscopes, they were able to systematically track the lithium ions as they traveled through the battery material, map their arrangement in the crystal lattice of an iron phosphate cathode with unprecedented

DC-DC Converters for High Reliability eVTOL Auxiliary Power Systems

TBMG-5214712/01/2024

High-Efficiency Hollow-Core Fiber Optic Cable

TBMG-5216112/01/2024

Researchers have designed a six-hole micro-structure antiresonant air-core fiber (AR-HCF) with a large core diameter of 78 μm. The researchers say it is the first time that 2.79 μm high energy pulsed laser has been transmitted with good efficiency at room temperature.

Maximizing the Potential of TPU Extrusion in Medical Tubing Applications

TBMG-5216412/01/2024

Whether for vascular catheters or implantable devices, medical tubing must meet tough standards for flexibility, strength, and biocompatibility. That’s why more manufacturers are turning to thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) that strike the ideal balance between these key properties, making them an excellent choice for high-performance medical tubing. Unlocking the best that TPUs have to offer means optimizing the extrusion process. This article looks at why TPUs are a top pick, the common obstacles in extrusion, and the ways manufacturers can fine-tune their process to get the most out of different grades.

Analog Transformation Complements Open System Designs to Optimize Modern Defense Systems

TBMG-5212112/01/2024

Mastering Physical Contact with New Algorithm for Robots

TBMG-5218112/01/2024

Penn Engineers have developed a new algorithm that allows robots to react to complex physical contact in real time, making it possible for autonomous robots to succeed at previously impossible tasks, like controlling the motion of a sliding object.

Second Life of Lithium-Ion Batteries Could Take Us to Space

TBMG-5214412/01/2024

The global use of lithium-ion batteries has doubled in just the past four years, generating alarming amounts of battery waste containing many hazardous substances. The need for effective recycling methods for spent lithium-ion batteries is becoming increasingly critical. In the journal ChemElectroChem, scientists from various Polish research institutions, including Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology (PBS), the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the PAS in Warsaw, and Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, presented a promising solution to this issue.

Crafting Safe, Long-Cyclable Lithium Metal Batteries for High Temperatures

TBMG-5213912/01/2024

Existing commercial battery technologies, which use liquid electrolytes and carbonaceous anodes, have certain drawbacks such as safety concerns, limited lifespan, and inadequate power density particularly at high temperatures. This has prompted researchers to search for solid electrolytes that are safe and compatible with lithium metal anodes, which are known for their high theoretical specific power capacity.

High-Powered Lasers: A Call for Fiber Delivery

TBMG-5216312/01/2024

A new feature of the modern high-powered laser is the need to transmit various wavelengths through fiber optics. Fiber optics have emerged as the primary method for transmitting laser light due to its ease of setup and disconnection. Moreover, it safeguards end users from light exposure or eye contact, as the light is conveyed through an enclosed conduit.

Bioelectronic Device Offers New Hope in the Fight Against Bacterial Infections

TBMG-5216912/01/2024

University of California – San Diego San Diego, CA

3D-Printed Reactor Core Makes Solar Fuel Production More Efficient

TBMG-5219312/01/2024

In recent years, engineers at ETH Zurich have developed the technology to produce liquid fuels from sunlight and air. In 2019, they demonstrated the entire thermochemical process chain under real conditions for the first time, in the middle of Zurich, on the roof of ETH Machine Laboratory. These synthetic solar fuels are carbon neutral because they release only as much CO2 during their combustion as was drawn from the air for their production. Two ETH spin-offs, Climeworks and Synhelion, are further developing and commercializing the technologies.

4D Printing of Shape Memory Polymers

TBMG-5219112/01/2024

Researchers have successfully demonstrated the four-dimensional (4D) printing of shape memory polymers in submicron dimensions that are comparable to the wavelength of visible light. 4D printing enables 3D-printed structures to change their configurations over time and is used in a variety of fields such as soft robotics, flexible electronics, and medical devices.

Lifesaving Spongelike ‘Bandage’ Rapidly Stops Hemorrhaging

TBMG-5216812/01/2024

University of Central Florida Orlando, FL

2024 Create the Future Design Contest: Honorable Mentions

TBMG-5215312/01/2024

Cable Carriers Promote Efficiency in an Autonomous Hospitality Robot

TBMG-5218712/01/2024

Since the COVID-19 pandemic that advanced contactless service, robots are increasingly being seen conducting routine deliveries around hospitals and hotels. Developed by Robotise Technologies, JEEVES is one such autonomous service robot used in hotels, healthcare facilities, offices, airports, and other settings. Its main duty is to transport materials and products.

Where Do EV Batteries Go When They Die?

TBMG-5213812/01/2024

At Cox Automotive’s EV Battery Solutions center in Oklahoma City, the conglomerate most famous for its KBB, Autotrader, and Manheim auction brands, has become a go-to for EV battery research, repair, remanufacturing, and recycling.

Safe, Inexpensive Method to Propel Small Satellites

TBMG-5219512/01/2024

The first CubeSat was launched in 1999; since then, more than 1,000 have been launched. The small size and relatively low cost have made CubeSats popular choices for commercial launches in recent years. The rapid development and application of nanosatellite technology has vastly accelerated mission complexity — sparking interest in robust, low-power, and high-specific-impulse micropropulsion systems.

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