Blog: Materials
What is 'Metallic Wood?' Nickel, Plus Nano-Pores
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Product of the Month: February 2019
MakerBot, Brooklyn, NY, introduced the Method 3D printer that bridges the gap between desktop and industrial 3D printing. The printer includes a circulating heated chamber, dual performance...
Special Reports: Propulsion
Powertrain - February 2019
The latest powertrain innovations for cars and commercial vehicles are featured in this Special Report, a compendium of recent articles from the editors of Automotive Engineering and Truck & Off-Highway...
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Artificial Intelligence Device Identifies Objects at the Speed of Light
Numerous devices in everyday life use computerized cameras to identify objects — think of automated teller machines that can “read” handwritten dollar amounts when...
Products: Electronics & Computers
New on the Market: February 2019
The Lee Company, Westbrook, CT, offers single- and multi-orifice lube nozzles in a variety of configurations. The nozzles may include HI-BAR® safety screens for additional...
5 Ws: Sensors/Data Acquisition
5 Ws of My Skin Track UV
The device can optimize treatment of neonatal jaundice, skin diseases, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and reduce risk of sunburn and skin cancer.
Briefs: Software
CHEBY Toolkit for Processing and Editing Chebyshev Files
This software fits trajectory ephemerides and thrust profiles with a Chebyshev polynomial representation, and stores this fit in data files suitable for upload to a spacecraft. In addition, a number of utility modules are provided to assist with inspection and diagnosis of issues with data...
Briefs: Energy
Material Removes Ice Buildup Without Power or Chemicals
From airplane wings, to overhead power lines, to the giant blades of wind turbines, a buildup of ice can cause problems ranging from impaired performance all the way to catastrophic...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Interactive Software Simplifies Complex Mold Design
Molding is a popular method for the mass production of objects. Essentially, two (or more) mold pieces are fit together, leaving the shape of the desired object as a hole. During...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Single-Crystal SiGe/Sapphire Epitaxy
NASA's Langley Research Center has developed a new low-temperature method of SiGe/sapphire growth that produces the same single-crystal films with much less thermal loading effort to the substrate. This eliminates the time-consuming and costly high heating, long thermal soak times, and interfacial Si layer....
Facility Focus: Energy
Facility Focus: Savannah River National Laboratory
The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) — located in Aiken, SC — is the applied research and development laboratory at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site...
Mandal, along with Professors Yuan Yang and Nanfang Yu, built upon earlier work demonstrating that many simple plastics and polymers are excellent heat radiators that...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Micro-Mirror Optical Tracking and Ranging System
An innovative optical sensing and tracking system was designed to detect, track, and determine object distance and direction in a wide, full, solid angle (160 × 160°) with an extremely high...
Briefs: Nanotechnology
Method Increases Adhesive Properties of Silicone
Geckos, spiders, and beetles have special adhesive elements on their feet, enabling them to easily run along ceilings or walls. The science of bionics tries to imitate and control such...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Biometric-Based User Authentication
Rapid adoption of mobile platforms such as smartphones and tablet computers has increased the range of applications and data on mobile devices. The use of these devices to communicate sensitive or confidential data requires, among other things, strong front-end user authentication procedures and/or protocols...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Ultrasensitive Chip-Based Sensors
An optical whispering gallery mode resonator was developed that can spin light around the circumference of a tiny sphere millions of times, creating an ultrasensitive, microchip-based sensor for multiple applications.
Application Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Aluminum Extrusions Help Ski Maker Achieve Olympic-Sized Goals
Whitehouse Station, NJ
www.minalex.com
In PyeongChang, South Korea this month, competitors representing 89 countries will be competing for Olympic gold....
NASA Spinoff: Aerospace
Offshore Oil Workers Learn Survival Skills in Astronaut Training Pool
Spinoff is NASA's annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Thermal-Compensating Optics Housing
Existing optics mounts sandwich the optic axially between two metal components, which can lead to optical surface damage and misalignment when exposed to fluctuating temperatures. Thermal-compensating...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Capacitive Pressure Sensor System and Packaging
Pressure sensors play an important role in engine maintenance and monitoring systems by diagnosing problems before they happen. To capture the most accurate data, however, these sensors must be...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
High-Voltage Power Line Multi-Sensor System
Government infrastructure facilities such as water treatment facilities, power plants, laboratories, and the like may be targets for terrorist attacks. Similarly, oil pipelines, power grids,...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Scalable Manufacturing Process for Creating Spools of Graphene
For many researchers, graphene is ideal for use in filtration membranes. A single sheet of graphene resembles atomically thin chicken wire, and is composed of carbon atoms joined...
Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Products of Tomorrow: February 2019
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: Test & Measurement
Steering-Mirror-Assisted Laser Fine Pointing
Pointing precision is a critical element of instrumentation for optical communications and ranging in space, affecting laser design, link power budgets, and SWaP. While star trackers possess...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Self-Powering Sensor Using a Nano-Energy Harvester
Existing nanosensor technologies depend on an external power source (typically a battery) to operate. Chemical and biological sensors based on nanowire or nanotube technologies exhibit...
Articles: Electronics & Computers
Executive Forum: Electronics Design
As ubiquitous as electronics are today, they are finding even more uses as Internet of Things (IoT) applications expand. Tech Briefs posed questions to electronics industry executives to get their views on...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Film Blocks Electromagnetic Interference
Electromagnetic interference (EMI) can harm smartphones, tablets, chips, drones, wearables, aircraft, and human health. EMI is increasing with the explosive proliferation of devices that generate it. A technique was developed to produce relatively low-cost EMI-blocking composite films.
Application Briefs: Communications
Connectors Prove Pivotal in Nanosatellite-Based Communication Network
Farlington, Portsmouth, UK
www.harwin.com
There are certain areas of the planet that are simply too sparsely inhabited for it to be economically viable...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Printing Technology Uses Sound Waves to Control Size of Liquid Droplets
Liquid droplets are used in many applications, from printing ink on paper to creating microcapsules for drug delivery. Inkjet printing is the most common technique used...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Plasma Generator Using Spiral Conductors
NASA's Langley Research Center has developed a patented SansEC sensor technology for use in many different areas, including tall structures and wind turbines. The SansEC technology is a proven wireless sensing platform capable of measuring the electrical impedance of physical matter in proximity to the...
Briefs: Software
Rocket Nozzle Side-Load Analysis Software
Lateral nozzle forces are known to cause severe structural damage during testing of any new rocket engine configuration under development. While three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD)...
Briefs: Software
Selecting a Software Programming Platform
Software development and testing comprises about half of the control system design and integration effort, so a programming platform that can ease and speed the process is vital. Such PC-based...
Briefs: Materials
Ultrathin, Ultralight “Nanocardboard” Recovers Shape After Bending
When choosing materials to make something, tradeoffs need to be made among properties such as thickness, stiffness, and weight. A new material called nanocardboard was...
Briefs: Materials
Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) 370 Resin for High-Temperature Applications
RTM370 imide resin was developed to address the limitations of conventional imide resins, which are generated from commercially available symmetrical biphenyl...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Manufacturing Technique Helps Inkjet Printers Deliver Ink More Evenly
When a coffee mug leaves a ring, the outer edges of that ring are darker than the inside of the ring. That's because the solute is separated from the liquid during the...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Designing Self-Propelled, Chemically Active Sheets
Researchers have created a two-dimensional, shape-changing sheet that moves autonomously in a reactant-filled fluid. The integrated system utilizes a chemical reaction to activate the fluid...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Micro-Robot Climbs on Vertical and Upside-Down Conductive Surfaces
Jet engines can have up to 25,000 individual parts, making regular maintenance a tedious task that can take more than a month per engine. Many components are located deep...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Foot Pedal Controller
A novel foot-pedal-operated system and device were developed to control translational and rotational movement of an object in three-dimensional (3D) space. The Foot Pedal Controller system enables operators to control...
Products: Semiconductors & ICs
New Products: February 2019 Motion Design
Microsemi Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microchip Technology (Aliso Viejo, CA), announced the LX7720 radiation-tolerant motor control integrated...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Advanced Connector Technologies: From Aerospace to Racecars to Robots
Different types of motion encountered in dynamic environments require designers to specify connectors for boards, wiring, and devices that can meet significant g-forces,...
Application Briefs: Aerospace
Robots Bring Airplane Production Up to Speed
Robots are helping a European airplane manufacturer cut into an eight-year backlog of orders for one of its most popular aircraft.
Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Implementing Anti-Rotational Guidance for Stepper Motor Linear Actuators
Integrating lead screws with stepper motors is a simple and cost-effective method for getting precise linear motion. But achieving that precision requires...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Tiny Robots Grow Bio-inspired Shapes
Hundreds of small robots can work in a team to create biology-inspired shapes without an underlying master plan, purely based on local communication and movement. To achieve this, the biological...
Briefs: Medical
Artificial Joint Restores Wrist-Like Movements
For patients missing a hand, one of the biggest challenges to regaining a high level of function is the inability to rotate one's wrist (pronate and supinate). These are essential movements...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Innovative Technique Could Pave the Way for New Generation of Flexible Electronic Components
The quest to develop microelectronic devices with increasingly smaller size, which underpins the progress of the global semiconductor industry...
INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition
A Wireless, Battery-Free, Biodegradable Blood Flow Sensor
A new device developed by Stanford University researchers could make it easier for doctors to monitor the success of blood vessel surgery. The sensor monitors the flow of blood...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Computer Chip Vulnerabilities Discovered
A Washington State University research team has uncovered significant and previously unknown vulnerabilities in high-performance computer chips that could lead to failures in modern electronics....
Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Have You Conducted an FMEA?
With design, it pays to anticipate problems — and solve them — during product development.
Blog: Materials
3D-Printed Rubber Repairs Itself
Blog: Photonics/Optics
A Morphing Soft Actuator Expands the Motion Options
Question of the Week: Materials
Where Do You See Self-Healing Rubber Being Used?
In our lead INSIDER story today, USC Professor Qiming Wang said he hopes to see his team’s self-repairing rubber supporting everything from shoes to battle armor and airplane wings.
Question of the Week: Test & Measurement
Would You Use Wearables to Monitor Your UV Exposure?
Our February issue of Tech Briefs highlights a technology called My Skin Track UV. The 12 x 6 mm wearable sensor can be attached to clothing or accessories to detect sunburn and overexposure to ultraviolet light.
Technology Leaders: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Accelerating SENT Troubleshooting and Debug Using an Oscilloscope
The SENT (Single Edge Nibble Transmission) bus continues to gain acceptance across the automotive industry and is widely used to transmit high-resolution readings from...
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Graphene Breakthrough Puts Nanolithography ‘Back in the Toolbox’
News: Materials
Inside Story: Low Outgassing Adhesives from Master Bond
Master Bond (Hackensack, NJ) focuses on developing the best in epoxies, silicones, UV cures, and other specialty adhesive systems including compounds that have passed NASA...
Question of the Week: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Will ‘Developable Mechanisms’ Solve Complex Tasks?
Brigham Young University engineers have created "developable mechanisms" that they hope to use in components like surgical instruments, adjustable airplane wings, robotic arms, or vehicle cylinders. Watch the demo on Tech Briefs TV, to see how the flat shapes can be converted into 3D...
Blog: Transportation
Porous Carbon Fibers: How a Car Could Someday Store Its Energy 'Everywhere'
INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
Walking Robot Moves Without GPS
Ants are able to use polarized light and ultraviolet radiation to locate themselves in space. AntBot mimics this ability to explore its environment randomly and go home automatically, without GPS or...
INSIDER: Motion Control
Speedy Motor Modeling
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have created open source software that scales up analysis of motor designs to run on the fastest computers available.
Blog: Software
Answering Your Questions: What Areas of Study Are Desirable for the Autonomous Industry?
Top Stories
Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A Spiraling Robotic Gripper 'Twines' Like a Plant
Videos: Power
New Lithium Metal Batteries ‘Build Themselves’
Blog: Unmanned Systems
Experts Weigh In: How Will a Robotic Future Impact Nature?
INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Orbiting Instrument Hints That Stored Magnetic Energy Heats Solar...
Videos: Aerospace
Test System Could Enable Reduced Helicopter Vibration
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Question of the Week
Will Robotics and Automation Lead to a Greater Appreciation of Nature?
Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Reducing the Cost of Quality in Automotive BiW
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Electric-Vehicle Transmission Development Priorities
Upcoming Webinars: Sensors/Data Acquisition
The Critical Role of Fiber Optic Temperature Sensors in Medical...
Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Zinc Die Casting Concepts to Achieve Precision, Performance, and...
Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement
Radar Measurements: Triggering, Analysis, and Generation
Upcoming Webinars: Materials
Trending Stories
NASA Spinoff: Materials
Nanotechnology Repairs Engine Damage in Cars
Application Briefs: Energy
Lithium-Ion Batteries Critical to Mars Spacecraft
Articles: Imaging
Finding the Right Chip-on-Tip Camera Technology
Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Special Section: The Winners of the 2020 'Create the Future' Design Contest
Articles: Energy
Products of Tomorrow: January 2021
NASA Spinoff: Materials
