Fuel cells have not been particularly known for their practicality and affordability, but that may have just changed. There’s a new cell that runs on cheap fuel at temperatures comparable to automobile engines and which slashes materials costs. Though the cell is in the lab, it has high potential to someday electrically power homes and…
New Carbon Fiber Recycling Process Could Help Firms Reduce Waste
Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a method to recycle nearly 100 percent of the materials in certain types of thermoset carbon fiber composites. The new method involves soaking the composites in an alcohol solvent, which slowly dissolves the epoxy that binds and gives shape to the carbon fibers. Once dissolved, the carbon…
Multiple UAVs Perform Autonomous Formation Flight
These days, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) typically fly alone with a team of ground operators controlling their activities through teleoperation or waypoint-based routing. But one aircraft can only carry so many sensors, limiting its capabilities. That’s one reason why a fleet of autonomous aircraft can be better than one flying alone. In one of the…
Inkjet-Based Circuits Developed at Fraction of Time & Cost
Researchers from Georgia Tech, the University of Tokyo and Microsoft Research have developed a novel method to rapidly and cheaply make electrical circuits by printing them with commodity inkjet printers and off-the-shelf materials. For about $300 in equipment costs, anyone can produce working electrical circuits in the 60 seconds it takes to print them. The…
Control Scheme Dynamically Maintains Unstable Quantum Systems
A simple pendulum has two equilibrium points: hanging in the “down” position and perfectly inverted in the “up” position. While the “down” position is a stable equilibrium, the inverted position is definitely not stable. Any infinitesimal deviation from perfectly inverted is enough to cause the pendulum to eventually swing down. It has been known for…
Acoustic Time Delay Device Could Reduce Size and Cost of Phased Array Systems
Radar systems today depend increasingly on phased-array antennas, an advanced design in which extensive grids of solid state components direct signal beams electronically. Phased array technology is replacing traditional electro-mechanical radar antennas – the familiar rotating dish that goes back many decades – because stationary solid state electronics are faster, more precise and more reliable…
Trees Used to Create Recyclable, Efficient Solar Cell
Solar cells are just like leaves, capturing the sunlight and turning it into energy. It’s fitting that they can now be made partially from trees. Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University researchers have developed efficient solar cells using natural substrates derived from plants such as trees. Just as importantly, by fabricating them on cellulose…
Aerial Platform Supports Development of Lightweight Sensors for UAVs
A research team at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is developing an airborne testing capability for sensors, communications devices and other airborne payloads. This aerial test bed, called the GTRI Airborne Unmanned Sensor System (GAUSS), is based on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made by Griffon Aerospace and modified by GTRI. “Developing new sensor…