Articles: Motion Control
Evolutionary rather than revolutionary changes characterize the motion control market. Motors and motor controllers continue to gravitate toward higher performance and...
Application Briefs: Motion Control
The Onyx guided parachute designed and manufactured by Atair Aerospace (Brooklyn, NY) is an autonomous precision airdrop system. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) uses motors and...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
AMETEK Technical and Industrial Products (Kent, OH) has unveiled its MAE brand hybrid stepper motors in three series for high performance positioning applications. The HY Series steppers, in sizes 16, 17, 23, and 42,...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The N-310 NEXACT ceramic linear motor actuator from Physik Instrumente L.P. exhibits a 10 Newton push-pull force with 20 mm travel and a maximum speed of 10 mm/sec. It provides picometer resolution, millisecond...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The Melexis MLX90283 vibration motor driver IC from Melexis Microelectronic Integrated Systems (Concord, NH) is designed to overcome the problem of single-phase brushless dc motors starting in the incorrect...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The ARMS series direct-drive rotary motion simulators from Aerotech (Pittsburgh) can provide resolutions as fine as 0.02 arcsecond, with accuracy to +/-2.5 arcsecond and repeatability to +/-0.5 arcsecond. The motor...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The BFK458-L stopping and holding brake from Lenze-AC Tech (Uxbrdige, MA) is guaranteed to run for 10,000,000 cycles or two years of service life. The spring-applied brake has a cast iron casing and carries a two-year...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Haydon Switch & Instrument Inc.’s 35000 series double stack hybrid linear actuators measure 1.4 square in. and are available in captive, non-captive, and external linear versions. The size 14 actuators are...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
DSM (Franklin, TN) has introduced the VF-90 linear photoelectric amplifier for space-constrained and OEM applications. Compatible with National Instrument’s CompactRIO and CompactDAQ modular chassis, the amplifier...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The DynaMotor from DynaMotors Inc. (Cleveland, OH) is designed to produce more torque than motors of comparable size. For instance, a NEMA 56 frame TEFC DynaMotor generates 11 foot-lb. of torque at 600 rpm — three...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The ServoClass coupling line from Zero-Max (Plymouth, MA) has been expanded with three new sizes to handle bore diameters from 0.875 to 1.378" and operating torque from 3.937 to 9,843 in. lb. The lightweight couplings...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The BIM-UNT universal magnetic field sensor from Turck (Minneapolis) uses magneto-resistive, board level technology that improves performance. In addition, the sensing face has been placed in front of the sensor to...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Conveyor System Valve
The Series VFD poppet valve for zero pressure accumulation conveyor systems from SMC Corp. of America (Indianapolis) provides a coefficient of volume flow (Cv) of 0.10 with an operating pressure range of 0 to 72 psi to handle large pressure drops found on long conveyor runs. It is designed to be incorporated with a conveyor...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The nuvoDisc flat brushless dc motors from Portescap (West Chester, PA) measure just 32 mm diameter and 11.7 mm long, suiting it to space-constrained applications such as barcode scanners.
Articles: Imaging
Most of us have seen still images or slow-motion video of fast-moving objects, such as a missile in flight or a humming bird flapping its wings. Both scenarios...
Articles: Imaging
The Mobile & Marine Robotics Research Centre (MMRRC) at the University of Limerick in Ireland created a generic solution for underwater development. During...
Application Briefs: Imaging
As thin-film technology advances, it’s increasingly important to monitor the film’s characteristics. That’s because eliminating irregularities in thin films — used...
Application Briefs: Imaging
New MP3 players from a global electronics manufacturer like Sony are destined for a demanding consumer market and cannot be compromised in any way. In Malaysia, the company...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A battery-powered, pen-sized, portable instrument for measuring molecular fluorescence spectra of chemical and biological samples in the field has been proposed. Molecular fluorescence...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
An architecture for back-illuminated complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) and charge-coupled-device (CCD) ultraviolet/visible/near infrared-light image sensors, and a...
Briefs: Imaging
A compact, high-resolution, two-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorometer (EEMF) has been designed and built specifically for use in identifying and measuring the...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A metrology system that contains no moving parts simultaneously measures the bearings and ranges of multiple reflective targets in its vicinity, enabling determination of the...
Products: Imaging
JENOPTIK Laser, Jena, Germany, offers the ProgRes® CT2 microscope camera with CMOS sensor technology. The ProgRes CT3 is dedicated to bright field and reflective light microscopy, but is also suitable for other...
Products: Imaging
Allied Vision Technologies, Newburyport, MA, offers the Stingray camera, based on a modular design and offering flexible configurations. The Stingray is equipped with a Firewire 1394b port for high-speed data transfer and...
Products: Imaging
Display Driver
Matrox Graphics, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, has released the PowerDesk-SE 2.04 display driver that enables a stretched Microsoft® Windows® desktop across up to eight displays. The driver features a joined graphics card mode, which enables two multi-display graphics cards to work in tandem in several Windows...
Products: Imaging
Cognex Corp., Natick, MA, offers new features for the DataManTM 100 image-based ID readers. New lens accessories provide magnification flexibility to optimize reading performance. A high-density lens kit...
Products: Imaging
Deposition Sciences, Santa Rosa, CA, has released Iso-SphereTM Antireflection (AR) Coated Ball Lenses for fiber optics, telecom, and datacom applications. The ball lenses are an optical method for collimating the...
Products: Imaging
Dialight Corp., Farmingdale, NJ, has expanded its line of LED panel-mount indicators with the addition of the 612 and 616 series for front-panel mounting in 12-mm and 16-mm holes and panel thicknesses up to 6.3 mm....
Products: Imaging
The PresencePLUS® low-angle ring lights from Banner Engineering Corp., Minneapolis, MN, connect to vision sensors or an external power supply to provide optimal illumination of an inspected part by enhancing the...
Products: Imaging
FLIR Systems, North Billerica, MA, offers the ThermoVision® A320 Research infrared camera system. With the integrated ThermaCAM Researcher Software, the camera system provides a flexible solution for...
Products: Imaging
The 16-megapixel GE4900 ultra-high-resolution CCD camera from Prosilica, Vancouver, BC, Canada, runs three frames per second at 4872 × 3248 pixel resolution over a GigE Vision-compliant Gigabit Ethernet interface. The industrial...
Articles: Research Lab
In 2007, we focused on the global climate, and as gas prices soared, more novel technologies emerged in the development of alternative fuel and power sources. Once again, electronics and computers became smaller,...
Application Briefs: Physical Sciences
TEGAM
Geneva, OH
440-466-6100
www.tegam.com
The EarthScope Project is an undertaking funded by the National Science Foundation in...
Application Briefs: Energy
ENTECH
Keller, TX
817-379-0100
www.entechsolar.com
ENTECH has been awarded a contract from NASA’s Glenn Research Center, which will...
Products
Yokogawa Electric Corp., Newnan, GA, has introduced the MV1000 and MV2000 paperless portable recorders with integrated display, recording, and communications functions. The units record on-site changes in temperature,...
Who's Who: Robotics, Automation & Control
The NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) is dedicated to enabling humans and robots to explore and learn about extreme environments, remote locations, and uncharted...
Techs for License
Method of Driving a Field Emission Display
This technology makes possible Field Emission Displays (FEDs) and Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Displays (SEDs) that can use a variety of less expensive cathode materials and types. The technology adjusts the output of the cathodes by using a monitoring circuit between the cathode and the anode...
Techs for License
Cost-Effective Wind Turbine Generator
The Cutcher Wind Turbine Generator provides low- and no-cost power by utilizing tall structures such as rural and urban homes, as well as businesses and buildings. Unlike traditional wind-power generators, the Cutcher Wind Turbine Generator utilizes the wind current that is channeled around buildings and...
Tech Needs
Low-Energy-Curing Technology
A company seeks new and/or advanced curing technologies to incorporate into metal packaging protective coating and decoration processes. Systems could include metal containers for aerosols, beverages, food products, and specialty packaging, all of which require external and/or internal protective coatings. Process...
Tech Needs
Inhibit or Deactivate Plant Enzymes
An organization wants to deactivate or otherwise interfere with the action of enzymes pectin methylesterase and polygalacturonase, which interfere with the processing of certain fruits by degrading fruit pectins. Initial processing of the whole fruit releases the enzymes and release continues during further...
Articles: Software
Research Fellow
Procter & Gamble
Cincinnati, OH
For almost 165 of Procter & Gamble’s 170-year history, nearly all growth came from innovating...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A four-port magic-T hybrid waveguide junction serves as the central component of a high-efficiency two-way power combiner circuit for transmitting a high-rate...
Briefs: Information Technology
A framework for high-level specification of data distributions in data-parallel application programs has been conceived. [As used here, "distributions" signifies means to express...
Briefs: Information Technology
The inductive monitoring system (IMS) is a system of computer hardware and software for automated monitoring of the performance, operational condition, physical integrity, and other...
Briefs: Information Technology
Processing Satellite Imagery To Detect Waste Tire Piles
A methodology for processing commercially available satellite spectral imagery has been developed to enable identification and mapping of waste tire piles in California. The California Integrated Waste Management Board initiated the project and provided funding for the method's development....
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
A circuit and method for transmitting and receiving on-off-keyed (OOK) signals with fractional signal-to-noise ratios uses available high-temperature silicon-on-insulator (SOI)...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Switched Band-Pass Filters for Adaptive Transceivers
Switched band-pass filters are key components of proposed adaptive, software- defined radio transceivers that would be parts of envisioned digital-data- communication networks that would enable real-time acquisition and monitoring of data from geographically distributed sensors. Examples of...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Systems to provide improved tactile feedback to aircraft pilots are being developed to help the pilots maintain harmony between their control actions and the positions of aircraft control...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A waveguide structure for combining the outputs of four amplifiers operating at 35 GHz (Ka band) is based on a similar prior structure used in the X band. The structure is designed to function with low...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Waveguide Calibrator for Multi-Element Probe Calibration
A calibrator, referred to as the "spider" design, can be used to calibrate probes incorporating multiple acoustic sensing elements. The application is an acoustic energy density probe, although the calibrator can be used for other types of acoustic probes. The calibrator relies on the use...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A special-purpose high-voltage power supply can be electronically switched on and off with fast rise and fall times, respectively. The output potential is programmable from 20 to 1,250...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Noncoherent DTTLs for Symbol Synchronization
Noncoherent data-transition tracking loops (DTTLs) have been proposed for use as symbol synchronizers in digital communication receivers. [Communication- receiver subsystems that can perform their assigned functions in the absence of synchronization with the phases of their carrier signals ("carrier...
Briefs: Materials
CHEM-Based Self-Deploying Planetary Storage Tanks
A document proposes self-deploying storage tanks, based on the cold elastic hibernated memory (CHEM) concept, to be used on remote planets. The CHEM concept, described in previous NASA Tech Briefs articles, involves the use of open-cell shape-memory-polymer (SMP) foam sandwich structures to make...
Briefs: Materials
Sequestration of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in a Polymer
Sequestration of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNs) in a suitably chosen polymer is under investigation as a means of promoting the dissolution of the nanotubes into epoxies. The purpose of this investigation is to make it possible to utilize SWCNs as the reinforcing fibers in...
Briefs: Materials
Foam Core Shielding for Spacecraft
A foam core shield (FCS) system is now being developed to supplant multilayer insulation (MLI) systems heretofore installed on spacecraft for thermal management and protection against meteoroid impacts. A typical FCS system consists of a core sandwiched between a face sheet and a back sheet. The core can...
Briefs: Information Technology
PPC750 Performance Monitor
The PPC750 Performance Monitor (Perfmon) is a computer program that helps the user to assess the performance characteristics of application programs running under the Wind River VxWorks real-time operating system on a PPC750 computer. Perfmon generates a user-friendly interface and collects performance data by use of...
Briefs: Information Technology
Application-Program-Installer Builder
A computer program builds application programming interfaces (APIs) and related software components for installing and uninstalling application programs in any of a variety of computers and operating systems that support the Java programming language in its binary form. This program is partly similar in...
Briefs: Information Technology
Using Visual Odometry to Estimate Position and Attitude
A computer program in the guidance system of a mobile robot generates estimates of the position and attitude of the robot, using features of the terrain on which the robot is moving, by processing digitized images acquired by a stereoscopic pair of electronic cameras mounted rigidly on the...
Briefs: Information Technology
Design and Data Management System
The Design and Data Management System (DDMS) was developed to automate the NASA Engineering Order (EO) and Engineering Change Request (ECR) processes at the Propulsion Test Facilities at Stennis Space Center for efficient and effective Configuration Management (CM). Prior to the development of DDMS, the CM...
Briefs: Information Technology
Simple, Script-Based Science Processing Archive
The Simple, Scalable, Script-based Science Processing (S4P) Archive (S4PA) is a disk-based archival system for remote-sensing data. It is based on the data-driven framework of S4P and is used for data transfer, data preprocessing, metadata generation, data archive, and data distribution. New data...
Briefs: Information Technology
Automated Rocket Propulsion Test Management
The Rocket Propulsion Test-Automated Management System provides a central location for managing activities associated with Rocket Propulsion Test Management Board, National Rocket Propulsion Test Alliance, and the Senior Steering Group business management activities. A set of authorized users, both...
Briefs: Information Technology
Online Remote Sensing Interface
BasinTools Module 1 processes remotely sensed raster data, including multi- and hyper-spectral data products, via a Web site with no downloads and no plug-ins required. The interface provides standardized algorithms designed so that a user with little or no remote-sensing experience can use the site. This...
Briefs: Information Technology
Implementation of a Point Algorithm for Real-Time Convex Optimization
The primal-dual interior-point algorithm implemented in G-OPT is a relatively new and efficient way of solving convex optimization problems. Given a prescribed level of accuracy, the convergence to the optimal solution is guaranteed in a predetermined, finite number of...
Briefs: Information Technology
Handling Input and Output for COAMPS
Two suites of software have been developed to handle the input and output of the Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Prediction System (COAMPS), which is a regional atmospheric model developed by the Navy for simulating and predicting weather. Typically, the initial and boundary conditions for COAMPS are provided by a...
Briefs: Information Technology
Modeling and Grid Generation of Iced Airfoils
SmaggIce Version 2.0 is a software toolkit for geometric modeling and grid generation for two-dimensional, singleand multi-element, clean and iced airfoils. A previous version of SmaggIce was described in “Preparing and Analyzing Iced Airfoils,” NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 8 (August 2004),...
Briefs: Information Technology
Rocket Science 101 Interactive Educational Program
To better educate the public on the basic design of NASA's current mission rockets, Rocket Science 101 software has been developed as an interactive program designed to retain a user's attention and to teach about basic rocket parts. This program also has helped to expand NASA's presence on the...
Briefs: Information Technology
Automated Identification of Nucleotide Sequences
STITCH is a computer program that processes raw nucleotide-sequence data to automatically remove unwanted vector information, perform reverse-complement comparison, stitch shorter sequences together to make longer ones to which the shorter ones presumably belong, and search against the user's...
Briefs: Information Technology
Balloon Design Software
PlanetaryBalloon Version 5.0 is a software package for the design of meridionally lobed planetary balloons. It operates in a Windows environment, and programming was done in Visual Basic 6. By including the effects of circular lobes with load tapes, skin mass, hoop and meridional stress, and elasticity in the structural...
Briefs: Information Technology
Fusing Image Data for Calculating Position of an Object
A computer program has been written for use in maintaining the calibration, with respect to the positions of imaged objects, of a stereoscopic pair of cameras on each of the Mars Explorer Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The program identifies and locates a known object in the images. The...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Creep Forming of Carbon-Reinforced Ceramic-Matrix Composites
A set of lecture slides describes an investigation of creep forming as a means of imparting desired curvatures to initially flat stock plates of carbon-reinforced ceramic-matrix composite (C-CMC) materials. The investigation is apparently part of a continuing effort to develop improved...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A shape reminiscent of a dog bone has been found to be superior to other shapes for mechanical-amplification horns that are components of piezoelectrically driven actuators used in...
Briefs: Medical
Benchtop Detection of Proteins
A process, and a benchtop-scale apparatus for implementing the process, have been developed to detect proteins associated with specific microbes in water. The process and apparatus may also be useful for detection of proteins in other, more complex liquids. There may be numerous potential applications, including...
Briefs: Medical
Recombinant Collagenlike Proteins
A group of collagenlike recombinant proteins containing high densities of biologically active sites has been invented. The method used to express these proteins is similar to a method of expressing recombinant procollagens and collagens described in U. S. Patent 5,593,859, “Synthesis of human procollagens and...
Briefs: Medical
Remote Sensing of Parasitic Nematodes in Plants
A method and apparatus for remote sensing of parasitic nematodes in plants, now undergoing development, is based on measurement of visible and infrared spectral reflectances of fields where the plants are growing. Initial development efforts have been concentrated on detecting reniform nematodes...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Direct Coupling From WGM Resonator Disks to Photodetectors
Output coupling of light from a whispering- gallery-mode (WGM) optical resonator directly to a photodetector has recently been demonstrated. By "directly" is meant that the coupling is effected without use of intervening optical components. Heretofore, coupling of light into and out of...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Multiple-Parameter, Low-False-Alarm Fire-Detection Systems
Fire-detection systems incorporating multiple sensors that measure multiple parameters are being developed for use in storage depots, cargo bays of ships and aircraft, and other locations not amenable to frequent, direct visual inspection. These systems are intended to improve upon...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Using Digital Radiography To Image Liquid Nitrogen in Voids
Digital radiography by use of (1) a field- portable x-ray tube that emits low- energy x rays and (2) an electronic imaging x-ray detector has been found to be an effective technique for detecting liquid nitrogen inside voids in thermal- insulation panels. The technique was conceived as...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Plasmoid Thruster for High Specific-Impulse Propulsion
A report discusses a new multi-turn, multi-lead design for the first generation PT-1 (Plasmoid Thruster) that produces thrust by expelling plasmas with embedded magnetic fields (plasmoids) at high velocities. This thruster is completely electrodeless, capable of using in-situ resources, and...
Briefs: Information Technology
Analysis Method for Quantifying Vehicle Design Goals
A document discusses a method for using Design Structure Matrices (DSM), coupled with high-level tools representing important life-cycle parameters, to comprehensively conceptualize a flight/ground space transportation system design by dealing with such variables as performance, up-front...
Briefs: Information Technology
Improved Tracking of Targets by Cameras on a Mars Rover
A paper describes a method devised to increase the robustness and accuracy of tracking of targets by means of three stereoscopic pairs of video cameras on a Mars-rover-type exploratory robotic vehicle. Two of the camera pairs are mounted on a mast that can be adjusted in pan and tilt; the...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Sample Caching Subsystem
A paper describes the Sample Caching Subsystem (SCS), a method for storing planetary core and soil samples in a container that seals the samples away from the environment to protect the integrity of the samples and any organics they might contain. This process places samples in individual sleeves that are sealed within a...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Multistage Passive Cooler for Spaceborne Instruments
A document describes a three-stage passive radiative cooler for a cryogenic spectrometer to be launched into a low orbit around the Moon. This cooler is relatively lightweight and compact, and its basic design is scalable and otherwise adaptable to other applications in which there are...
Briefs: Information Technology
GVIPS Models and Software
Two reports discuss, respectively, (1) the generalized viscoplasticity with potential structure (GVIPS) class of mathematical models and (2) the Constitutive Material Parameter Estimator (COMPARE) computer program. GVIPS models are constructed within a thermodynamics- and potential-based theoretical framework, wherein...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Stowable Energy-Absorbing Rocker-Bogie Suspensions
A report discusses the design of the rocker-bogie suspensions of the Mars Exploration Rover vehicles, which were landed on Mars in January 2004. Going beyond the basic requirements regarding mobility on uneven terrain, the design had to satisfy requirements (1) to enable each suspension to...
Blog
Data Conversion Shortcut
Mechdyne Corporation's VRCO Inc. subsidiary has demonstrated real-time interaction with professional 3D design tools in the 100 megapixel C6 Virtual Reality Room at Iowa State University's Virtual Reality Applications Center (VRAC) – the world's highest-resolution virtual environment. VRCO's Conduit software...
Blog
Smog Chemical Detector
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a tool to quantitatively measure elusive atmospheric chemicals that play a key role in forming photochemical smog. The device measures atmospheric hydroperoxyl radicals - short-lived, highly reactive intermediates involved in...
Blog: Materials
Techs of the Week
A high-temperature ceramics-based composite exhibits superior heat and oxidation resistance and frictional properties. The material comprises a dense carbon-fiber-reinforced SiC-infiltrated composite or a dense SiC-infiltrated composite with granular carbon dispersed. It shows excellent machineability and frictional properties....
Blog
Neutron Scatter Camera
To help solve the problem of identifying smuggled special nuclear material (SNM), researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in California say a neutron scatter camera under development may be able to detect radiation from much greater distances and through more shielding than current detection...
Excerpts
This is the last in our series of excerpts from "Better Be Running! Tools to Drive Design Success" by Dr. Ronald Hollis, President, CEO, and Co-founder of Quickparts.com (Atlanta,...
Blog
Carbon-Neutral Hydrogen
Hydrogen as an environmentally friendly fuel source may be closer than we think, according to Penn State researchers. The researchers are employing microbial fuel cells to convert cellulose and other biodegradable organic materials directly into hydrogen, using naturally occurring bacteria in a microbial electrolysis cell...
Blog
Spacial Students
NASA has selected 18 middle and high school teams across 12 states to fly in the 2007-2008 Student Launch Initiative rocketeering challenge. The annual challenge is designed to inspire young people to pursue careers in science, engineering, math, and technology - fields vital to NASA's ongoing mission in space.
The...
Blog
Tech Needs of the Week
RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) is a storage architecture that offers data security in case of system failure. A company seeks patented technologies fundamental to the architecture of RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 6, and also in patented technologies that relate to them, such as hot swap, hot spare, RAID level...
Blog
CO2 Storage
Storing carbon dioxide below the Earth's surface could be a safe, long-term solution to one of the planet's major contributors to climate change. University of Leeds research shows that porous sandstone, drained of oil, could provide a safe reservoir for carbon dioxide. The study found that sandstone reacts with injected fluids more...
Blog: Photonics/Optics
Assessing Crash Warnings
Engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed and tested a laser-based ranging system to assess the performance of automobile collision warning systems. Industry and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will use the technology to develop safety systems that alert drivers to...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Since their introduction in 1991, PC/104 standard based systems have been widely adopted in various applications. Unmanned aircraft control, onboard vehicle control and navigation...
Blog
Technology Business Briefs
Low Cost Substrate Coating for High-Quality Ink-Based Printing
A novel approach of a coating method and composition of various substrates such as paper, canvas, polymeric films, etc. by utilizing a unique coating composition containing a dye-fixing compound.
Click here for more info.
Blog
Current Attractions
The MV1000 and MV2000 paperless portable recorders from Yokogawa Electric Corp. (Newnan, GA) have been named NASA Tech Briefs Product of the Month for December. The recorders have integrated display, recording, and communications functions. They record on-site changes in temperature, voltage, current, flow, and pressure.
Blog
Child's Play
Before you run out and buy the latest electronic games and devices for your kids this holiday season, Temple University and University of Delaware psychologists want you to think simple. They say the overarching principle is that children are creative problem-solvers and discoverers, and they are active. Children build their...
Blog
Sensitive Prosthetic Arms
Advances in limb prostheses have not obscured the fact that these devices still lack a sense of touch. Now, scientists from Northwestern University in Chicago have shown that transplanting the nerves from an amputated hand to the chest allows patients to feel hand sensation there. The findings could pave the way toward...
Blog
Techs of the Week
A cantilevered microbeam temperature sensor is free from the residual or induced stress characteristic of standard bridge-type strain gauges. The microbeam is supported at one end, and the other is free to oscillate relative to the substrate and is isolated from changes in strain caused from flexure of a diaphragm. The beam's...
Blog
T-Ray Radiation
The hassle of going through airport security and taking off shoes, watches, belts, and other items could be alleviated with a safe form of electro- magnetic radiation called T-rays, or terahertz radiation. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, along with collaborators in Turkey and Japan, have...
Blog
High-Frequency Receiver
Researchers at Chalmers have succeeded in combining a receiver for high frequencies with an antenna on a small chip. Measuring just a few square millimeters, the receiver integrates an antenna, low-noise amplifier, and frequency converter, monolithically integrated on gallium arsenide.
The receiver is designed to...
Blog
Plug-In Power
The University of California-Davis has licensed a new plug-in hybrid vehicle technology to Efficient Drivetrains Inc. (EDI) of Palo Alto, CA. EDI was founded in 2006 to commercialize the technology brought about by decades of work by Andy Frank, professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering at UC Davis.
Unlike...
Blog
Tech Needs of the Week
Technology is required to enable real-time detection of defects during the welding process. This could be achieved by a system that monitors parameters during the welding process and then analyzes changes, ascertains the presence and location of a weld defect, and if possible, its nature. Potential solutions should be...
Blog
Smart Studying
Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses often employ graphs, diagrams, and figures, putting students with visual disabilities at a significant disadvantage. The company Livescribe has created a smartpen and paper technology that aims to bring these subjects to life for blind students.
Andy Van Schaack, a...
Blog: Medical
Mega MRI
The world's most powerful medical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine at the University of Illinois at Chicago has passed safety tests and will soon offer doctors a real-time view of biological processes in the human brain. The MRI, called the 9.4 Tesla (9.4T), will allow physicians to observe metabolic processes in real...
Blog
Technology Business Briefs
Panoramic Video Patent Portfolio.
Ten issued US patents for sale. Several U.S. applications: Computer Graphics Processing and Selective Visual Display Systems, Television, and Optics.
Watermarking, Cryptography & Anti-Piracy Patent Portfolio.
Eleven issued US patents for sale. Several U.S....
Blog
Current Attractions
Each month, NTB highlights tech briefs related to a particular area of technology in a special section called Technology Focus. Here are some of the technologies featured in the December issue focus on Data Acquisition.
Blog
Lasers Find Pollutants
Finding the source of pollutant emissions is no easy task when one has to look inside a dirty combustion chamber. But an Iowa State University researcher may have a solution.
Terry Meyer, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Iowa State, is using laser-based sensors to capture images at upwards of...
Blog
Techs of the Week
A method to detect image position errors includes forming a first pattern with a symbol embedded therein and a second pattern which, when positioned on the first pattern, exposes the symbol if the misalignment between the first and second patterns exceeds a position error tolerance. The symbol is perceivable with the unaided...
Blog
Optical Blood Monitor
An optical device that peers through the eyes of a mouse enables scientists to monitor the cells passing through its bloodstream, holding hope for researchers treating cancer and other diseases.
The device, developed by researchers from the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and...
Blog
Single Photon Source
High-performance, single photon sources are closer to reality. A single photon can be used to implement secure optical communication, also known as quantum cryptography.
According to scientists, a single photon signature that took eight hours five years back can now be achieved on a millisecond time scale. This was...
Blog
Cancer Protein
Researchers from Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered another reason why the Myc protein - one of the most commonly activated proteins in cancer - is so dangerous. Myc can stop the production of at least 13 microRNAs, small pieces of nucleic acid that help control which genes are turned on and...
Blog
Tech Needs of the Week
A company is seeking a powder slurry coating technology, where substrates are coated with powder slurry in an organic binder and then heat treated to diffuse the coating onto the substrates. Any proposed powder slurry coating technology should involve a powder composition based on Co-based or Ni-based alloys. It should be...
Blog: Medical
Perilous Paunch
Abdominal obesity is a known independent risk factor for heart disease. Based on results of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer cohort study (Epic-Norfolk), researchers have found that using the waist-hip ratio rather than waist measurement alone is a better predictor of heart disease risk.
The research was...
Blog
NASA Briefs
The John H. Glenn Research Center introduces the Portable Unit for Metabolic Analysis (PUMA), an instrument that measures quantities indicative of human metabolic function. The PUMA makes time-resolved measurements of temperature, pressure, flow, and the partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide in breath during inhalation and...
Blog
Internet Instrumentation
Software is currently being developed at Ohio State University that will one day help scientists operate big-budget research instruments, such as high-powered microscopes and telescopes, over the Internet. The need for such capability, which is being driven by the high cost of doing research, is growing rapidly. By using...
Top Stories
Videos: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Stratolaunch Approaches Hypersonic Speeds in First Talon-A Flight
Blog: Automotive
A Hack to Trick Automotive Radar
Blog: Medical
3D Ice Printing Artificial Blood Vessels
Blog: Power
Tesla Valve-Inspired Design Could Improve the Performance of Rotating...
Podcasts: RF & Microwave Electronics
Countering Illegally Operated Drones at Airports, Stadiums, and Prisons
Blog: Energy
Fast-Charging Li Battery Could Make ‘Range Anxiety’ a Thing of the Past
Question of the Week
Blog: Artificial Intelligence: Meet Human Intelligence
Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: Defense
From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness
Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace
April Battery & Electrification Summit
Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024
Upcoming Webinars: Materials
Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...
Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement
Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan