The SwRI Workbench for Offline Robotics Development™ (SWORD™) is simplifying robotics motion planning. The user-friendly software allows developers to flow from computer aided design (CAD) to robotics management with ease. Robotics are used in manufacturing and other industries for “dull, dirty, dangerous” tasks. When designers move out of CAD for the next phase of product development, they often encounter complicated robotics software. SWORD works with CAD, allowing users to stay in a familiar software environment, making robotics more accessible and streamlining workflow.

Listen now as SwRI SWORD developers Matt Robinson and Michael Ripperger discuss SWORD capabilities, how the software fits into the production puzzle and how it could benefit businesses, consumers and patients.

Episode 78: SWORD™ User-friendly Robotics Toolkit

SwRI is developing a process to produce graphene from carbon dioxide waste. Graphene is a valuable carbon allotrope with a wide range of applications. It is used in electronics like touchscreens, batteries, coatings, biomedical devices and more. While it can occur under the right chemical and thermal reactions in nature, it is not abundant, and it is difficult to produce synthetically in large quantities. SwRI is working on a large-scale solution, forming graphene from carbon dioxide that has been captured and stored to reduce emissions.

Listen now as SwRI chemical engineer Michael Hartmann and scientist Miles Salas discuss how they are turning carbon dioxide waste into a feedstock for a useful, high-demand material.

Episode 79: Producing Graphene from CO2 Waste

We depend on clean, safe, reliable fuel for our personal vehicles, delivery trucks, emergency generators, aviation and so much more. Testing is critical to ensure fuel quality and safety. SwRI has conducted fuels and lubricants research since the late 1950s. Decades later, this important program continues the vital work of analyzing fuels to keep people safe and drivers moving, while looking ahead at the alternative fuels of the future.

Listen now as SwRI Fuels and Lubricants Research Director Robert Legg discusses how fuel testing impacts everyone, what his team assesses beyond fuels and his top tips for your next trip to the pump.

Episode 80: SwRI Fuel Testing

NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission returned to Earth in September 2023 to drop off a sample of rocks and dust from the near-Earth, carbonaceous asteroid Bennu. The first U.S. mission to collect untouched, pristine material from an asteroid is giving scientists a glimpse into the early solar system and insight into the origins of life on Earth. We featured OSIRIS-REx before collection day in 2020. Now, we revisit the mission with an update on sample collection, the delivery of the “time capsule” to Earth and the research uncovering the secrets of the solar system.

Listen now as SwRI planetary geologist and OSIRIS-REx co-investigator and instrument scientist Dr. Vicky Hamilton discusses mission milestones, the research team’s surprise findings and what OSIRIS-REx is uncovering about the ingredients of life. Plus, Hamilton briefs us on the latest developments of NASA’s Lucy mission.

Episode 81: OSIRIS-REx Findings

SwRI’s NEXTCAR project, funded by the Department of Energy, fuses connected and automated technologies to achieve increased vehicle efficiency. The system demonstrates up to 30% energy savings. NEXTCAR works with all vehicles — electric, hybrid or conventional — without changing the engine or hardware. This is a software solution that goes beyond mapping the best route. The NEXTCAR vehicle can “talk” to its surroundings, like other cars and infrastructure, to determine a full, energy-efficient driving plan. NEXTCAR accounts for details like how many times a driver hits the gas and pumps the brakes, a combination that often consumes more energy. After eight years of research and development, the NEXTCAR connected and automated vehicle technology is complete and ready for the next phase.

Listen now as SwRI engineer and NEXTCAR program principal investigator Stas Gankov discusses the advantages of a personal NEXTCAR driving experience, how the system collects valuable data and his call out for collaborators for the next phase.

Episode 82: Connected, Automated NEXTCAR

SwRI celebrates a first in its 78-year history — the purchase of land and construction of a new facility outside of its San Antonio headquarters. The 33,000-square-foot, $18.5 million building, equipped to advance national defense technology, is strategically located 3 miles from Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia. The building, featuring conference rooms, labs and new equipment, is expanding SwRI capabilities in electronic warfare (EW) research and development. The state-of-the-art Warner Robins space, which officially opened August 20, is a launch pad for innovative ideas and inspiration.

Listen now as SwRI EW experts and Warner Robins engineers Winfield Greene, David Brown and Jarrett Holcomb talk about the new opportunities in the space, the forward-looking EW development underway and why Warner Robins is the ideal community for growth and progress.

Episode 83: Warner Robins Expansion

SwRI picked up two “Oscars of Innovation,” R&D 100 Awards, in the 2025 R&D World Magazine competition. The R&D 100 Awards recognize the most significant technical accomplishments of the year. The prestigious award has honored top tier, revolutionary science and technology for more than 60 years. SwRI was recognized as co-developer on two winning projects, the Copeland Oil-Free Centrifugal Compressor and the Low Mass High Efficiency Medium-Duty Truck Engine. This year, the competition drew entries from 13 countries and regions. SwRI has won 54 R&D 100 Awards since 1971.

Listen now as SwRI engineers Dr. Jason Wilkes and Ryan Williams discuss what makes these technologies stand out as innovations of the year and how SwRI’s expertise contributed to the development of the award-winning compressor and engine.

Episode 84: SwRI’s 2025 R&D 100 Winners

SwRI built a private, secure, high-velocity 5G network to advance wireless research and development, now and in the future. The versatile network operates on campus with fixed infrastructure or in the field with mobile components without relying on traditional mobile network providers. It currently supports 5G projects in cybersecurity, drone technology, edge computing and more, but it is ready to take on 6G and beyond. Future G capabilities will include artificial intelligence, satellite, virtual reality and holographic technology.

Listen now as SwRI RF Sensors and Systems Department Director and 5G expert Jody Little discusses the benefits of a private 5G network, SwRI R&D progress using this new tool and the possibilities of Future G technology.

Episode 85: Private 5G and Future G

Episode 86: 2025 Rewind

The award-winning LotusFlo™ superhydrophobic coating is solving a major problem in offshore oil drilling. Substances often clog pipes, slowing or stopping the flow of oil. This innovative coating applied through a unique plasma process keeps substances from adhering to pipe surfaces. Better flow makes recovering petroleum for fuel and other products more cost-effective, which is a win for consumers too. But that’s not the only perk, LotusFlo is also better for the environment, cutting out the need for harsh chemicals that pollute the ocean. R&D Magazine recently recognized LotusFlo as one of the 100 most significant innovations of 2019. Find out why!

Plus, an SwRI engineer shares his breakthrough moment bringing about cleaner engines and cleaner air. In Ask Us Anything, we’re tackling the popular tech topic, machine learning. 

Listen and learn from the people shaping our world through science, engineering, research and technology.

Episode 17: A Superhydrophobic Solution

Technology Today Podcast launched in November 2018, offering a new way to listen and learn about the technology, science, engineering and research impacting our lives and changing our world. The podcast is presented by Southwest Research Institute, a nonprofit contract R&D organization developing innovative solutions for government and industry clients. Podcast host Lisa Peña is breaking through the tech jargon and talking to the scientists, engineers and researchers building the future of technology. It’s a conversation bringing tech to life and helping us understand how technology, science, engineering and research link to our daily lives.

Episode 17: A Superhydrophobic Solution

Technology Today Podcast

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