NASA is one of the top research entities in the world, producing technologies that range from electronics and new materials, to state-of-the-art robotics and sensors. Readers of NASA Tech Briefs get a firsthand look at these new technologies every month. But how many of you have had the chance to go behind the scenes at NASA and talk face-to-face with the engineers who are inventing these cutting-edge breakthroughs every day, or tour a NASA facility?

As Editorial Director of NASA Tech Briefs, I’ve had the chance to tour a number of the NASA centers and meet many NASA engineers. And that experience is always exciting. You won’t find design engineers who are more passionate about what they do, or enjoy where they work, more than the men and women of NASA. Think about it – where else can you, as an engineer, drive a rover on the surface of Mars, or help develop the spacecraft that will take humans there?

Last year, the Speed2Design Sweepstakes — sponsored by Littelfuse, a Chicago-based producer of electronic circuit protection devices — took lucky winners behind the scenes for an IndyCar weekend race experience. Winners participated in face-to-face TechTalks with IndyCar engineers responsible for building and maintaining racing’s premier performance machines.

This year, they are taking engineers behind the scenes for another truly unique experience: Exploration & Discovery. Beginning today, you can visit the Speed2Design Web site and enter to win a trip to one of two NASA facilities: NASA Ames Research Center in California in August, and Johnson Space Center in Houston, home of Mission Control, in October.

The contest provides a unique, technology-packed experience specifically for the design engineering community. During the TechTalks, winners will spend time in a peer-to-peer discussion with NASA engineers currently working on technological breakthroughs in small spacecraft, intelligent robotics, bioengineering, and the NASA Space Portal.

Ten winners selected at random will travel to NASA Ames, and ten will travel to NASA Johnson. Once there, you’ll attend TechTalks featuring presentations by NASA engineers, go on a tour of the facility, and have lunch and dinner with the group the day of the event. Also included are hotel accommodations, transportation between the hotel and NASA, and a $500 gift card to pay for other travel expenses.

The drawing for the event at NASA Ames is July 18, so if you ever wished you could visit NASA and talk with the engineers who are developing tomorrow’s next great technologies today, visit www.speed2design.com and enter.

The SPIE Defense Security & Sensing Show in Baltimore, which began on Monday and ends today, provided attendees with an exhibit hall full of new products and technologies. If you weren’t at the show, here’s some of what you missed:

LaserMotive (Kent, WA) had the first public flight of an aircraft system powered by laser over fiber. The company demonstrated InvisiTower powering a small quadrocopter. InvisiTower is a new, portable system that can power any multi-rotor helicopter indefinitely using laser power sent via fiber optic cable, enabling aircraft to stay in the air as long as power is available on the ground. The system is small enough to fit in the back of an SUV, and does not require a pilot to fly — just someone to monitor the video coming from it.

Virtusphere (Binghamton, NY) demonstrated the Virtusphere, a simulation platform for training military and law enforcement users preparing for dangerous environments. Virtusphere consists of a 10-foot hollow sphere, which is placed on a special platform that allows the sphere to rotate freely in any direction according to the user’s steps. The user walks, runs, jumps, or crawls inside the sphere, viewing the virtual environment through a head-mounted display. The sensors collect and send data to the computer in real time, and the user’s movement is replicated within the virtual environment.

The MUXed North Finder/Tracker from EMCORE (Albuquerque, NM) is designed for man-portable target locator and tripod target locator systems. It’s accurate from 1 to 4 milliradians, weighs less than a pound, has electrical power requirements of less than 5W, and is insensitive to base motion.

IO Industries (London, Canada) introduced the Flare CoaXPress 12-megapixel camera with frame rates of over 120 fps at the native 4k x 3k resolution. It can be interfaced directly to frame grabbers and recorders.

The MicroraptorHD from Airborne Innovations (Lakewood, CO) is a digital video link that combines a dual camera interface, bidirectional digital video, and command and control link. It’s designed for high-definition video transmission from the smallest micro air vehicles. 

Today we are pleased to have a guest blog on military backplane technology from Justin Moll, vice president of U.S. market development for Pixus Technologies.

3U OpenVPX is the 800 lb gorilla in all types of heavy signal processing Mil/Aero applications for SIGINT, C4ISR applications, etc. that are deployed in mobile (air, land vehicle, sea) systems. Some benign environment ground-based systems in a communications station or command center will also use OpenVPX (often 6U), but increasingly they will use less ruggedized open architectures such as AdvancedTCA. Many other applications utilize CompactPCI, VME64x, or MicroTCA. As a supplier of these advanced backplane systems, we are always thinking about what technology might displace these highly successful technologies (and what new concepts are going to confuse an already fragmented market niche even more?). But, let’s focus on the smaller size technologies.

3U OpenVPX is such an ideal technology for compact applications for RADAR, SONAR, signal intelligence (SIGINT), weapons tracking, measurement, etc., that it will be hard to displace. Its open architecture, proven technology, VME compatibility, Eurocard rugged form factor and connectors, compact size, wealth of products and options, (phew! deep breath….), high IO, and high speed design are unmatched. However, there are some applications where there is very limited space and even 3U OpenVPX doesn’t fit well. Enter Small Form Factor (SFF).

We reviewed participating in any of the 3 leading SFF initiatives in VITA (VMEbus International Trade Association): VITA 73, 74, and 75. The small size is attractive for mobile robotics (such as mobile IED robots), very small mobile surveillance systems, etc. The concepts are very interesting, but frankly it was frustrating that individual companies were taking their stakes in different specifications instead of working together on one common standard. There is already enough confusion about VME vs. VXS vs. VPX. Then VPX became OpenVPX. Huh?? Now with SFF, you have three VITA-based open specifications that are significantly different. Talk about a niche of a niche of a niche. No thanks!

At DesignCon a few weeks ago, I reviewed the connectors proposed in the VITA 74 specification. The connector offers some features similar in scope to OpenVPX (using the Multi-Gig RT series connectors) including the speed, pin count, differential or signal ended signaling options. Plus, the compact size and light-weight they allow for modules are great advantages. But when I inquired about test data, particularly to MIL-STD-810F for shock and vibration, I was referred to other (non MIL-spec) test reports that had different parameters.

In general the SFF architectures are a mixed bag. Some are proven in the field and some are not. None of the SFF initiatives have the wealth of products and options, compatibility, and are as proven and trusted as OpenVPX. If only one or a couple of companies are truly leading the SFF initiative, then where is the “openness” of the specification? Overall, we’ll stick with OpenVPX. I can see SFF being used in smaller, mobile applications, but as for taking over VPX’s realm of the process-heavy applications, I see for the near future SFF being selected mainly in cases where the size and space requirements absolutely demand it.

Justin Moll is vice president of Pixus Technologies, a company that specializes in the design and manufacture of electronic packaging solutions for the global embedded computer market. Contact Justin at justin.moll@pixustechnologies.com

Today we’re pleased to have a guest blog from Eileen Markowitz, president of Thomas Industrial Network.

To engage this new generation of manufacturers, we must restore — and elevate — the perception of manufacturing in America.

When I was growing up, it seemed like everyone believed that United States manufacturers made the greatest products in the world. From our home appliances to our cars, we all chose Made in America products for their quality and their value. No other country put as much pride, innovation, and workmanship into their design.

U.S. manufacturing was a flagship of our economy, and nothing could knock it from its pedestal — or so we thought.

Of course, the sentiment has changed since then as the economy has grown more global, and countries like China compete on price. But the pendulum is swinging back — or should I say forward — as Made in America quality once again becomes a status symbol for consumers and a competitive advantage for manufacturers here at home.

My company recently conducted its annual Industry Market Barometer® survey of U.S. manufacturers on the growth and outlook of the industrial sector, as well as strategies companies are employing to get there. The findings confirm this transformation. We heard from more than 1,600 manufacturers, and nearly 8 out of 10 indicated they expect growth next year.

By standing behind their Made in America quality, these manufacturers are even taking back business from the Chinese. Our research shows that U.S. manufacturers are entering new markets, expanding into new regions, and increasing their exports. With their gears fully in motion, American companies are looking to hire more workers to meet new market demand.

And that’s where this engine of economic growth suddenly starts to sputter.

Our research supports what we are all seeing every day: Despite an unemployment rate of close to 8 percent, manufacturing jobs are going unfilled. Nearly half of our respondents want to bring in line workers, skilled trade workers, and engineers. But the people who are qualified for these jobs are either untrained or uninterested.

This is a symptom of a larger problem. Despite the resurging interest in U.S. products, American manufacturing is in need of a brand makeover.

While Americans are proud of the quality of our products, many have a far different perception of manufacturing jobs. They’re blind to the reality that today’s manufacturing jobs blend design with technology and robotics, and many pay extremely well.

Respondents to our survey stress the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) curricula, along with support for technical and vocational schools. One of them notes that we must “get the message out that manufacturing isn’t dead in the U.S.; it has just gone high-tech.”

U.S. manufacturers have a passion for their industry. Eight out of 10 of those we surveyed would choose their industries all over again, and they want to share their enthusiasm with the next generation. Great things are possible when bright, ambitious young people have the opportunity to apply skills and knowledge to real-world applications. To engage this new generation, we must restore — and elevate — the U.S. manufacturing brand.

Eileen Markowitz is president of Thomas Industrial Network, an information and technology company that connects manufacturing and industrial buyers and sellers. Contact Eileen at emarkowitz@thomasnet.com.

Back in 1975 I was in my final year of engineering school, preparing for what I assumed would be a long and fruitful career solving problems and designing new ones. Meanwhile I was spending most of my free time honing my skills as an aspiring journalist with the college’s weekly newspaper. Truth be told, I spent a lot more time in the newspaper’s office than I did in the physics or chemistry labs, which should have given me a clue about my future, but what did I know at that age?

Led Zeppelin was arguably the biggest rock band in the world back then and when they announced their U.S. tour, every venue sold out in a matter of minutes. So, figuring I had nothing to lose, I called up their record company and somehow managed to talk my way into a pair of free press tickets to their show at New York’s Nassau Coliseum. Never having covered a concert before, I knew nothing about backstage passes or the photographer’s pit at the foot of the stage, so row 18 on the floor in front of the stage sounded okay to me.

Considering how little I really knew about photography at that point – I’d only been using a 35mm camera for a couple of years – I didn’t do too badly. In fact, I got downright lucky with one shot. It was midway through the song “Dazed and Confused,” and I know that because you can see Jimmy Page using a cello bow on his Gibson Les Paul guitar. It was a trick he used to great effect in concert. John Bonham’s drum kit is glowing as if it’s on fire, and Robert Plant is striking one of his patented rock god poses. But what makes the shot so unique is that off to the left, behind the drum kit, you can see three laser beams piercing the clouds of colored smoke.

Today lasers are a common theatrical tool, but back then they were a rare phenomenon. So much so that I recently wondered, was Led Zeppelin the first rock group to incorporate a laser in their stage shows? Apparently that’s been a matter of debate for years. Some people think The Who were first when they spectacularly introduced a Spectra-Physics 164 argon laser into their show at Granby Halls in Leicestershire, England on October 18, 1975, but the Led Zeppelin photo was taken on February 13, 1975, so it’s quite possible they were the first group to use one on tour.

With my curiosity piqued, the question then became, whose laser was it? Given what I’d learned about The Who’s set-up, Spectra-Physics were the obvious suspects, so I contacted my friends Marlene Moore and Patti Smith of Smith Miller Moore, the ad agency that does PR work for Spectra-Physics, and asked if they could do some digging for me. Unfortunately a lot of water has passed under the bridge in 37 years, and although the folks at Spectra-Physics thought it was highly likely that it was one of their units, they couldn’t be certain. The mystery deepened when Moore showed the picture to another laser expert, Dr. Austin Richards of FLIR, who thought it looked like an early krypton laser.

My search for the truth finally paid off when I tracked down a gentleman named Jack Calmes, who heads up an architectural and theatrical lighting company called Syncrolite in Dallas, TX. In the 70s Calmes was one of the founders of a company called Showco that did sound and lighting for most of the major rock acts of that era, including Led Zeppelin and The Who. I figured if anybody would know, he would, so I e-mailed him a copy of the picture and asked if he remembered whose laser Led Zeppelin used on that tour. A few hours later I had my answer.

“Our first laser with Led Zeppelin was a 500mW Coherent radiation krypton laser,” said Calmes. “Not sure exactly when that was – perhaps in 1974/75. It is very possible that your picture was our early krypton. It was one unit behind the drum riser. Thereafter we bought only Spectra-Physics lasers, and I also sold some to The Who as well. By the end of the 70s we had the fiber optic bow and pyramid scan over Jimmy Page for Dazed and Confused.”

So there you have it. Thank you, Mr. Calmes, for solving a mystery that was 37 years in the making.