Smart Mouthguard
Flexible Hybrid Electronics
Smart mouth guards can detect the threat of physical exhaustion and dehydration in athletes and warfighters, thanks to emerging flexible hybrid electronics technology. The flexible, plastic mouth guard is laden with sensors that can continuously monitor lactate concentrations in saliva and give early warning of imminent injury. The emerging...
Local Motors Olli
Composites
A process for the viable commercial production of 3D printed cars has arrived. Local Motors created Olli, the first 3D-printed low-speed driverless minibus, in 2016. To date, Olli vehicles have been constructed and deployed to roughly a dozen campus settings such as business parks, hospitals and universities. Olli has about 90 percent fewer parts...
Nufabrx
Fabrics
An entirely new category of wearable technology, HealthWear, is on retail shelves near you. It includes products such as wool socks that relieve pain and prevent shin splints, and spandex elbow compression sleeves that dispense medicine. The breakthrough technology was developed by Nufabrx in partnership with AFFOA, the DoD-sponsored Manufacturing...
Lab Grown Ligaments
Biomanufacturing
A torn or damaged anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee is a serious injury suffered across many sports and physical activities. Many surgical repairs for tears of the ACL use a tendon — most commonly the patellar tendon — in place of the ACL (a ligament). This mismatch in tissue types creates a system that is not designed to perform in the...
Rapid Charging  EV Station
Power Electronics
Imagine an electric vehicle charging experience that is just as accessible and convenient as gas fueling. It’s almost here. Researchers have used silicon carbide (SiC) technology to produce rapid charging EV stations that are 60 percent faster and one-tenth of the size of current versions, significantly lowering the barrier to entry for charging...