Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
Novel, Solid-State Hybrid Ultracapacitor Battery
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has developed a solid-state ultracapacitor with a unique combination of high capacitance and battery-like discharge characteristics. The high capacitance in...
Briefs: Energy
Cryo-Fluid Capacitor (CFC) for Solid-State Storage and Supply-on-Demand of Cryogenic Fluids
Storage and transfer of fluid commodities such as oxygen, hydrogen, natural gas, nitrogen, argon, etc. are absolute necessities in virtually every industry. These fluids are typically contained in one of two ways: as low-pressure cryogenic liquids, or as...
Briefs: Materials
Ultra-Strong, Lightweight, Elastic, Electrically Conductive Carbon
The configuration of carbon's electrons allows for numerous self-bonding combinations that give rise to a range of materials with varying properties. For example, transparent, super-hard diamonds and opaque graphite, which is used for both pencils and industrial lubricant, are...
Technology Leaders: Test & Measurement
Don't Let Obsolescence Cause Your Test System to Flatline
If you are testing devices and components that will last a decade or more, and you have to plan technology updates and obsolescence events for test systems that might live even...
Briefs: Energy
Wireless Charging of Moving Electric Vehicles
If electric cars could recharge while driving down a highway, it would virtually eliminate concerns about their range and lower their cost, perhaps making electricity the standard fuel for vehicles. Researchers have wirelessly transmitted electricity to a nearby moving object, which could advance...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Optical Product and Document Security Method
An inexpensive security method for uniquely marking and identifying physical objects such as documents or labels has been developed. This technology uses the mixing of inks in numerous different ratios to print arbitrary marks on a given object. The ink mixture used in a printed mark produces a...
Briefs: Software
Algorithm Boosts Speed of 3D Printers
A major drawback to 3D printing is the slow pace of the process, which ensures details are reproduced accurately. The pace of 3D printing is one of the factors that has prevented the technology from finding a broader audience. A new algorithm was developed that boosts the speed at which the printers...
Briefs: Energy
Wearable Solar Thermoelectric Generator
Energy harvesting is a diverse field encompassing many technologies that involve a process that captures small amounts of energy that would otherwise be lost as heat, light, sound, vibration, or...
Briefs: Materials
Advanced Carbon Aerogels for Energy Applications
Carbon aerogels (CAs) are nano-porous carbons comprising a particularly significant class of carbon nano-materials for a variety of sustainable energy applications. Carbon aerogels are...
Products: Electronics & Computers
New on the Market: February 2018
Fluke Corp., Everett, WA, introduced the Fluke 3560 FC Vibration Sensors and Fluke 3502 FC Gateway for equipment vibration analysis. The sensors enable remote capture of...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Composite Materials Could Improve Respirator Filters
Current gas mask filters counter current threats, but there are large gaps in knowledge about how they do so at the molecular level. Many of the filters were developed to handle a wide...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Ad-Hoc Cache Hierarchies Increase Processing Speed and Reduce Energy Consumption
The efficiency of computer chips has increased by using caches — small, local memory banks that store frequently used data and cut down on time- and...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Additive Manufacturing Unique Serialization
Current methods of identifying a unique part involve adding a unique serial number to the part. There are many reasons that manufactured parts receive a serial number. They enable traceability of a part throughout its lifecycle, and ensure the part is not a counterfeit; however, labels and stamped...
Briefs: Materials
Interlaminar Strengthening Concepts for Polymer Matrix Composites
During the last few decades, one of the most prevalent issues associated with the performance of aerospace composite materials has revolved around low interlaminar mechanical properties. The innovations described in this work outline a number of new and improved techniques for...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
External Diagnostic Method to Detect Electrical Charging in Complex Ion Trapping Systems
Electron-ionized atom trapping technology is widely used in mass spectrometry and atomic clocks. The complexity of the trapping configuration operating in an ultra-high vacuum system is driven by demands for ultimate sensitivity, performance, and fundamental...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Inexpensive Method for Manufacturing Supercapacitor Electrodes
Supercapacitors can store and deliver energy faster than conventional batteries. But to realize advanced applications, supercapacitors need better electrodes, which connect the...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Method of Fabricating Ultra-Short-Gate-Length Thin-Film Transistors Using Optical Lithography
The speed of thin-film transistors (TFTs) relates directly to their gate length, which must be kept as short as possible to lower electron transport time between electrodes, and improve its high-frequency response characteristics. Since current density...
Briefs: Energy
EOS MLS Level 2 Data Processing Software, Version 4
This software reads MLS Level 1 products — the Earth Observing System (EOS) Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) calibrated measurements of microwave radiance products and operational meteorological data — and produces a set of estimates of atmospheric temperature and composition. The software...
Facility Focus: Imaging
The MITRE Corporation
The MITRE Corporation was chartered in 1958 as a private, not-for-profit organization to provide engineering and technical guidance for the federal government. Today, with locations in McLean, VA and Bedford, MA, MITRE...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
SolidSense: Gas Analyzer on a Chip
The SolidSense sensor platform measures all EPA-regulated gas emissions (nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons), in addition to ammonia, with high accuracy and sensitivity. The chip-scale gas...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Aluminum Electroplating Using Bromide Salts
Corrosion of structural materials is a serious problem for industrial and civil infrastructure worldwide, costing billions of dollars, and hampering gross domestic product. Corrosion also presents...
Briefs: Software
The NiceC Programming Language
NiceC is an improved version of ANSI C. It attempts to clean up C as much as possible using syntax translation. A type checker for NiceC is under development. The NiceC programming language is translated to, and fully compatible with, ordinary C. Thus it can be used as a drop-in replacement for C. The main benefits...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
One-Step 3D Printing of Catalysts
While 3D printing has found applications in many areas, its use as a way to control chemical reactions, or catalysis, is relatively new. Current production of 3D catalysts typically involves various methods...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Bend- and Twist-Sensing Optical Fiber
A method was developed for concurrently measuring bending and twisting along an optical fiber using only the properties of light guided within the fiber. The method exploits polarization-dependent...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Development of Sodium Lidar for Spaceborne Missions
The metal layers at mesospheric altitudes are excellent tracers of neutral atmosphere dynamics, and have been used since the 1960s to study the chemistry and dynamics of the mesosphere. Ablation from meteors is believed to be the chief source of metals such as Na, Mg, K, Fe, and Ca in the...
NASA Spinoff: Aerospace
Space-Based Bone Scanner Expands Medical Research
Spinoff is NASA's annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and services in the fields of...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
APT Web Tool
Project planning data collected by the Analysis, Planning, and Tracking (APT) system during the planning cycle previously was available to users via an email request to a data administrator who would pull data from the database, format as requested, and respond via email. Access to the data was limited by the availability of the...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Aerosol-to-Liquid Particle Extraction System (ALPES)
Agents that could be used in chemical and biological warfare tend to disperse widely in the air when released. Quickly collecting a concentrated sample of these agents is critical to detecting them before they reach harmful dose levels in the air. Also, methods of detection such as by...
Articles: Aerospace
Products of Tomorrow: February 2018
This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Compact Active Vibration Control System
NASA Langley Research Center has developed a point sensor and piezoelectric actuator system to actively sense and reduce vibrations in flexible structures. The system uses a directional piezoelectric...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Conductive, High-Toughness Oxides Deposited by Plasma Spray-Physical Vapor Deposition (PS-PVD)
Oxide coatings deposited in Glenn Research Center's Plasma Spray-Physical Vapor Deposition (PS-PVD) facility can be processed to be mechanically tough (erosion-resistant) and electrically conductive at room temperature. The electrically conductive...
Briefs: Software
Echo Analysis Environment for Analyzing Large, Complex Datasets
Analyzing data piecemeal is usually uninformative. Analysts need tools to evaluate multiple pieces of data simultaneously that are related by a common thread. Identifying that...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Sensor Detects Nuclear Weapon Solvent
A new sensor picks up signatures of tributyl phosphate, a solvent used to enrich uranium, including for use in a nuclear weapon. Enzymes can detect tributyl phosphate signatures, but the lifespan of the enzymes is too short to make them practical for sensors.
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Depth Sensors for Time-of-Flight Imaging
Time of flight is an approach that gauges distance by measuring the time it takes light projected into a scene to bounce back to a sensor. In time-of-flight imaging, a short burst of light is fired...
Briefs: Materials
Optical Method for Detecting Displacements and Strains at Ultra-High Temperatures During Thermo-Mechanical Testing
NASA's Langley Research Center has developed an optical method for detecting displacements and strains at ultra-high temperatures during thermo-mechanical testing. This innovation will provide displacement and strain measurements in...
Briefs: Energy
Superalloy Surface Treatment for Improved Performance of Power Turbines
To produce power more efficiently and cleanly, the next generation of power turbines will have to operate at extreme temperatures and pressures. Currently, single-crystal, nickel-based superalloys are used in such extreme environments. MCrAlY coatings (where M = Co, Ni, or...
Q&A: Energy
Q&A: Georgia Tech's Dr. Shannon Yee Demonstrates Simple Biosensors, Powered by Body Heat
Using flexible conducting polymers and novel circuitry patterns printed on paper, researchers in Dr. Yee’s laboratory have demonstrated...
Briefs: Materials
Solid-State Humidity Sensing Element
Researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center have developed a solid-state humidity sensing element that offers ultra-high sensitivity across a wide range of humidity levels. The sensing element is...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Radar Scanner Tests Wind Turbine Blades for Defects
Wind power has become an indispensable part of an environmentally friendly power supply. Therefore, it is important for this growth market that wind turbines become more efficient, more...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Shoebox-Sized Chemical Detector
A chemical sensor prototype was developed that can detect single-fingerprint quantities of substances from a distance of more than 100 feet away, and could be shrunk to the size of a shoebox. The portable...
Briefs: Imaging
MorphoHawk Mathematic Morphology Software for Image and Data Analysis
Computers and automated systems have accelerated productivity and improved quality and reliability for nearly everything, and are destined to take on increasing roles as time moves on. One major limiting factor for automated systems is their inability to categorize and...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Fourier Transform Spectrometer System
NASA's Langley Research Center and Science Applications International Corporation have developed a method of processing data from Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTS) measurements that improves upon existing methods. This method is simpler, more accurate, faster, and less expensive than previous methods. It...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Comparison Between Wave Soldering and Reflow Soldering
As contemporary electronics embrace light weight, increasing efficiency, and high speed, each link of the manufacturing process also conforms to this philosophy, including printed...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
New Optics See More with Less
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has developed a technology that combines a panoramic refracting optic (PRO) lens with a unique detection system to acquire a true 360-degree field of view. Although current imaging systems can acquire panoramic images, they must use up to five cameras to obtain the full field of...
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Smart Fabric Stores Information Without Electronics
Conductive thread — embroidery thread that can carry an electrical current — often is combined with other types of electronics to create fabric that lights up or communicates. This...
Application Briefs: Imaging
Optical Bonding of Automotive Smart Surfaces
Behr Hella Thermo Control (BHTC) of Lippstadt, Germany, manufactures automotive interior components. As the demand for smarter cars increases, BHTC encountered a new automotive interior challenge:...
Articles: Motion Control
Driver Design in Piezoelectric Motors
For most electrical engineers, the simple term “motor” means one thing: an electromagnetic rotary-motion unit. Engineers who need linear rather than rotary motion consider adding a mechanical...
Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Simplifying Cloud-Based Remote Access and Data Logging
Smart manufacturing capabilities should be built into machines, particularly those with advanced functionality such as motion control. Even if the factory is not currently connected to...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Electrical Requirements for Direct Current Electric Actuators
Servo control systems require accurate control of motion parameters such as acceleration, velocity, and position. This requires a controller that can apply current (torque) to...
Briefs: Motion Control
Hydraulically Amplified Actuators
Soft robots are made from soft materials that react to applied voltage with a wide range of motions. Such soft robots contain tremendous potential for future applications, as they adapt to dynamic...
Using 3D printers, researchers have created a metamaterial from cubic building blocks that responds to compression forces by a rotation. Usually, this can only be...
Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
New Products: February 2018 Motion Design
ThinGap (Camarillo, CA) introduced the PM model TGO77 large-bore compact ring motor for precision and highspeed applications. The brushless, frameless motor has an outside...
Briefs: Motion Control
Software Brings Movement to Linear Actuators
Linear actuator manufacturers have a history of strong mechanical design expertise, which is the core of any linear actuation; however, giving motion to modern powered equipment goes beyond a...
Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Strengthening Data Cabling for Next-Generation Motion Control Applications
The wide variety of industrial applications each independently calls for a level of robustness from the physical (PHY) layer, all the way up to applications. Time...
5 Ws: Sensors/Data Acquisition
5Ws of the Quanta Image Sensor
Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Would you wear a moisture-managing ski jacket?
Today's INSIDER featured an electronic textile technology designed to keep skiers warm and dry. What do you think? Would you wear a moisture-managing ski jacket?
3D printing uses computer control to fuse layers of polymers or powders into a three-dimensional object. Rutgers University researchers found a way to add to a fourth dimension –...
INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Initially Moon-Bound, A New Demolition Probe Breaks Ground on Earth
An electrically-driven demolition probe originally funded by NASA enables a more precise, quieter fracturing method that its creators hope will give construction workers on...
Blog: Materials
New Uses for Electro-Osmosis, Beyond the Ski Jacket
Beyond the slopes, creators of a moisture-managing, sweat-getting ski jacket envision new places for the “electrified” apparel.
INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A Bright Idea for Reducing Waste: Color-Changing 3D Printables
Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Would you use color-changing 3D printables?
In today’s INSIDER, MIT researcher Professor Stefanie Mueller said that her laboratory’s color-changing 3D printables support new customizable objects and accessories, as well as opportunities for product designers showing off their prototypes.
Blog: Software
Sharks on a Plane? Skin Scales Lift Aircraft Design
To improve a flying vehicle, sometimes you have to turn to a reliable model that has been operating for hundreds of millions of years.
Blog: Test & Measurement
Your Readers' Choice Products of the Year
INSIDER: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Agile New Robot Takes ‘Roach’ Approach
Question of the Week: Robotics, Automation & Control
Will cockroach-inspired robots support search-and-rescue?
This week’s INSIDER featured a robot that moves like a cockroach. By studying the fundamental principles of object traversal, the technology’s inventors want to apply the idea to search-and-rescue robots. What do you think? Will cockroach-inspired robots support...
INSIDER: Semiconductors & ICs
A Spin on Semiconductors Paves the Way for Brain-Inspired Computing
INSIDER: Energy
How to Charge a Smartphone – Using Lasers
If you forgot your charger today, engineers from the University of Washington have a solution for you — and it’s lasers.
Blog: Green Design & Manufacturing
How Will the Rise of Electric Vehicles Impact the Power Grid? An Engineer Simulates the Effects
Blog: Electronics & Computers
How Can Reconfigurable Hardware Secure Connected Cars?
Question of the Week: Photonics/Optics
Can Lasers Offer a Viable Charging Option?
Today’s INSIDER featured a laser system from the University of Washington — a technology that can charge a smartphone from across the room.
INSIDER: Imaging
Robo-Picker Grasps and Packs
Engineers from MIT and Princeton University have developed a robotic pick-and-place system that consists of a standard industrial robotic arm outfitted with a custom gripper and suction cup. An...
INSIDER: Energy
"Green" Device Generates Electricity from Motion
A wireless triboelectric nanogenerator (W-TENG) generates electricity from motion and vibrations. It consists of a biodegradeable polymer and graphene. When the two materials are brought...
Products: Test & Measurement
Product of the Month: March 2018
Keysight Technologies, Santa Rosa, CA, introduced the PathWave software platform that integrates design, test, measurement, and analysis to enable product development from...
Top Stories
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
A Robotic 'Digger Finger' Senses Buried Items
INSIDER: Materials
Inexpensive Tin Packs a Big Punch for the Future of Supercapacitors
INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Ultra-Thin Terahertz Source Paves the the Way to Next Generation of...
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
'Self-Aware' Sensing Material Powers Itself
Videos: Motion Control
Solid Rocket Motor Factory in a Box
Blog: Energy
With 'Ghost'-Like Physics, Optical Rectennas Generate Power from Wasted...
Question of the Week
Will Recyclable Electronics Catch On?
Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Best Practices for Quality Assurance in Automotive SPICE
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Testing Against Infinite Scenarios: Maximize ADAS/AD Validation...
Tech Talks: Robotics, Automation & Control
Developing Realistic Scenes to Enable Virtual Automated Driving...
Upcoming Webinars: Defense
Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement
Reducing Battery Thermal Runaway Risks Through Testing and...
Upcoming Webinars: RF & Microwave Electronics
Trending Stories
Articles: RF & Microwave Electronics
Lightweighting in Aerospace Component and System Design
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Valves for Pneumatic Cylinders and Actuators
NASA Spinoff: Propulsion
Nanotechnology Repairs Engine Damage in Cars
Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Improved Surface Characterization with AFM Imaging
Blog: Wearables
With A.I., Robotic Exoskeletons Gain Self-Control
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
