Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
Graphene's Magic Is in the Defects
A team of researchers at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering and NYU Center for Neural Science has solved a longstanding puzzle of how to build ultra-sensitive, ultra-small, electrochemical...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Using Inkjet Printers to Build a New Biosensor for Less Invasive Breast Cancer Detection
Researchers at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NBIB) have created a novel, low-cost biosensor to detect Human Epidermal...
Articles: Communications
Building Blocks for a Practical Wireless Sensor System
We recently interviewed Justin Bessette, Manager, Wireless Systems and Software Engineering at LORD Corporation, Micro-Strain® Sensing Systems, about the nuts and bolts of a wireless...
Articles: Lighting
Understanding Bluetooth Mesh Networking
Bluetooth technology is focused on short-range wireless connectivity. Most of us know the Bluetooth standard as the way we connect a phone to our car or a headset for hands-free operation. But...
Application Briefs: Internet of Things
Make Your Construction Jobsite Safer and Faster with Smart Sensors
Concrete is the material most widely used by humans — after water. As its ingredients are readily available almost anywhere in the world, it is the main component used by...
Application Briefs: Transportation
Driverless Forklifts
Although driverless forklifts have been around for about 30 years, it's only in the last 10 or so that they've been free to maneuver anywhere around their environment. In the early days, the machines followed a current...
The spread of invasive cancer cells from a tumor's original site to distant parts of the body is known as metastasis. It is the leading cause of death in people...
A paper-based sensor, which can be worn as a wristband, features happy and sad emoticon faces drawn in an invisible UV-sensitive ink. They successively light up as you...
Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
New Products: March 2019 Sensor Technology
To address the demand for a more accurate, reliable, customizable, and easy-to-use force measurement device, Interface Force Measurement Systems (Scottsdale, AZ)...
Products: Test & Measurement
New Products: March 2019 Photonics & Imaging Technology
Vision Research (Wayne, NJ) has introduced the Phantom® S210 and S200, 2Gpx/sec (16 Gbps) machine vision cameras. The S210 reaches 1,730...
Articles: Imaging
Additive Manufacturing Using Infrared and X-Ray Imaging
Additive manufacturing is poised to liven the pace and scale of manufacturing. Deploying a range of techniques that use 3-D models to print objects layer by layer, it can generate a...
Briefs: Transportation
Text Tech: Navy Vessels Use Shipboard Signal Lamps for Text Messaging
Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research's (ONR) TechSolutions program, the Flashing Light to Text Converter (FLTC) features a camera that can be mounted atop a signal...
Articles: Imaging
Deep Learning in Machine Vision
FLIR Systems has introduced their Firefly machine vision camera with open platform deep learning inference onboard. Deep learning makes it possible to easily develop high performance solutions for difficult...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Nano-Optic Endoscope Sees Deep into Tissue at High Resolution
The diagnosis of diseases based in internal organs often relies on biopsy samples collected from affected regions. But collecting such samples is highly error-prone due to the...
Briefs: Imaging
Individual Quantum Dots Imaged in 3-D for the First Time
Researchers have developed an imaging technique that uses a tiny, super sharp needle to nudge a single nanoparticle into different orientations and capture 2-D images to help...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
New Fast, Economical Bioimaging Technique
Researchers at Rensselaer Poytechnic Institute (RPI) have developed a new approach to optical imaging that makes it possible to quickly and economically monitor multiple molecular interactions in a...
Articles: Communications
A New Route to High Sensitivity Pressure Sensors
Since their development in the 1950s, optical fibers have been used for power transmission, communication, imaging, and sensing. They are often used in situations where other sensing...
Briefs: Lighting
New Engine Optics to Fuel Future Research
An optical setup developed by researchers at Sandia's Combustion Research Facility and the Technical University of Denmark can now quantify the formation of soot — particulate matter consisting...
Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
A Marriage of Light-Manipulation Technologies
Researchers have, for the first time, integrated two technologies widely used in applications such as optical communications, bio-imaging, and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems. In the...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Researchers Combine Metalens With an Artificial Muscle
Inspired by the human eye, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed an adaptive metalens that is essentially a flat,...
Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
The Role Deep Learning Plays in Imaging Software
Deep learning technology is inspired by the way the human brain works, using trained artificial neural networks to perform recognition and decision-making tasks. A convolutional neural network...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
X-Ray Study of Low-Density Materials
It's hard to get an X-ray image of low-density material like tissue between bones because X-rays just pass right through like sunlight through a window. Sandia studies myriads of low-density materials,...
Application Briefs: Test & Measurement
Measuring Aging, Fat and Water Content in Meat Products Using Hyperspectral Imaging
The consumable component of muscle tissue in meat is approximately 75% water, 20% protein, 5% fat, carbohydrate, and minerals. The proportions vary depending...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Microfabrication Technique Modifies Semiconductor Material Atom-by-Atom
To keep up with Moore's Law — an observation made in the 1960s that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles about every two years — researchers...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Precision Low-Speed Motor Controller
Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a method for controlling precise motion of a brushless DC (BLDC) motor using relatively inexpensive components. Precision motors are usually quite expensive and inefficient when operating at slow speeds. Current motors are only capable of operating at...
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Composable Storage Platform for High-Performance Computing
Large-scale, high-performance computing — supercomputing — is essential to solving both complex and large questions. But storage platforms essential for these advanced computer systems have been stuck in a rigid framework that required users to either choose between customization of...
Briefs: Transportation
Airborne Machine Learning Estimates for Local Winds and Kinematics
Future Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and air taxis will require advanced onboard autonomy to operate safely within complex and dynamic urban environments. Urban landscapes...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Green Electric Monopropellant (GEM)-Fueled Pulsed Plasma Thruster
NASA required a rocket thruster able to produce a number of pulses at high specific impulse at a relatively low voltage (~300 to 400V). The key problem was that existing propellants for liquid-fueled pulsed plasma thrusters (LPPTs) required high voltages to ablate and accelerate...
Special Reports: Imaging
Unmanned Systems - March 2019
The latest advances in aerial, ground, and underwater unmanned systems are covered in this special report, a compendium of recent articles from the editors of Tech Briefs and Aerospace & Defense...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Multi-Purpose, Flexible Wing Structure for Small Unmanned Aerial Systems
Small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also known as micro air vehicles, are promising tools for a variety of military and commercial applications. Some small UAS have flexible wings and are lightweight, making them back-packable and easy to deploy. Most UAS that are...
Special Reports: Transportation
Connected Commercial Vehicles - March 2019
Trucks and other commercial vehicles are becoming smarter and more connected, moving rapidly on the road to autonomy. To help you keep pace with the latest developments, we present this compendium...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
“Light-Written” Photonic Memory Devices
Light is the most energy-efficient way to move information; however, light shows one big limitation: it is difficult to store. Data centers, for example, rely primarily on magnetic hard drives in...
Briefs: Aerospace
Flexible, Spinning Heat Shield for Spacecraft
Heat shields are essentially used as the brakes to stop spacecraft from burning up and crashing on entry and reentry into a planet's atmosphere. Current spacecraft heat shield methods include...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
High-Power Thermoelectric Generator
Objects in our daily lives, such as speakers, refrigerators, and even cars, are becoming “smarter” day by day as they connect to the Internet and exchange data, creating the Internet of Things (IoT)....
Articles: Aerospace
Lightweighting in Aerospace Component and System Design
Lightweighting design is an extensively explored and utilized concept in many industries, especially in aerospace applications, and is associated with the green aviation concept. The...
Products: Electronics & Computers
New on the Market: March 2019
Watlow, St. Louis, MO, introduced a batch processing feature for the F4T temperature and process controller and D4T datalogger. The new feature helps collect manufacturing...
Articles: Data Acquisition
SAE WCX: Bringing You the Future of Mobility
WCX™ World Congress Experience 2019 — presented by SAE International — is for forward-thinking engineers, executives, OEMs, suppliers, decision-makers, disruptors, and the entire spectrum of...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
MEMS Switch Extends Life of Cellphones
A new type of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) was developed that uses electrostatic levitation to provide a more robust system. All cellphones use MEMS switches for wireless communication, but traditionally there are just two electrodes. The switches open and close numerous times during just one hour,...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Variable-Depth, Multilayer Liner for Aircraft Noise Reduction
NASA Langley Research Center has developed a new approach for designing aircraft liner cores for noise reduction. The cores are comprised of multiple honeycomb-shaped chambers,...
Technology Leaders: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The Heat Is On: A Guide to Specifying Insulation Materials
One of the first things an electrical engineer will learn is that the number-one enemy of designing and manufacturing any electrical/electronic product is heat. It's the one...
5 Ws: Sensors/Data Acquisition
5 Ws of 3D-Printing Piezoelectric Materials
Piezoelectric materials are used in everything from cellphones and wearables, to robotics, energy harvesting, and tactile sensors.
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Efficient Security for Cloud-Based Machine Learning
Outsourcing machine learning is a rising trend in industry. Major tech firms have launched cloud platforms that conduct computation-heavy tasks, such as running data through a convolutional...
Briefs: Aerospace
Self-Stabilizing, Distributed, Symmetric, Fault-Tolerant Synchronization
Distributed systems have become an integral part of safety-critical computing applications, necessitating system designs that incorporate complex fault-tolerant resource management functions to provide globally coordinated operations with ultra-reliability. As a result,...
Briefs: Materials
System Selectively Sequesters Toxins from Water
Traditional methods, such as reverse osmosis, that remove contaminants from water are expensive and energy-intensive. Researchers have developed technology to remove contaminants from water,...
Briefs: Materials
Delamination and Porosity in Composites and Adhesives Using Solid and Particulate Powdered Aerogel
NASA's Langley Research Center has developed a method that introduces solids and particulates — specifically aerogels — into composites or...
Briefs: Aerospace
Real-Time, Fuel-Optimal, Powered Descent Guidance Using Interpolated Time-of-Flight and Propellant Mass
Soft landing using rockets requires a trajectory to be planned for the lander from rocket ignition — typically several kilometers in altitude and moving at up to 200 m/s — to the point near the surface with near-zero velocity. The exact...
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Generative Design Enhances Autonomous Vehicle Development
The technological ramp to fully autonomous vehicles presents significant challenges for companies developing autonomous vehicle programs. Advanced sensor technology, high-speed and...
Briefs: Materials
“Metallic Wood” Has the Strength of Titanium and the Density of Water
Titanium is as strong as steel but about twice as light. These properties depend on the way a metal's atoms are stacked, but random defects that arise in the...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Interoperable Intelligent Controllers for Process Management and Control Networks
NASA Johnson Space Center developed reprogrammable and interchangeable electronic controllers that can attach to a system or subsystem wirelessly or through plug-and-play capability. Originally designed to work with rocket engines, this technology can control...
Q&A: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Q&A: Harvard's Siyi Xu Designs All-New Strain and Force Sensors
Working with teams from Harvard, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Boston Children's Hospital, Siyi Xu developed a soft, non-toxic, wearable sensor that attaches to the...
Briefs: Software
Small-Body Dynamics Toolkit Version 5.0
The Small-Body Dynamics Toolkit (SBDT) v5.0 is a collection of primitive-body-specific trajectory design and analysis tools written in MATLAB®. The SBDT gives the user the capabilities to propagate, analyze, and visualize spacecraft trajectories and the dynamical environment near realistic asteroid,...
Briefs: Software
Sublimable Propellant Source for Iodine-Fed Ion Propulsion System
NASA Marshall has developed a system for generating iodine vapor from solid iodine for use as a propellant in a Hall or ion thruster propulsion system. Xenon has generally been the preferred propellant for these spacecraft ion propulsion systems but more recently, iodine-based...
Briefs: Energy
Fuel Cell/Fuel Cell Hybrid System
Fuel cells can deliver clean, reliable, and uninterrupted power nearly 100 percent of the time. Fuel cells offer the advantage of efficiency by converting chemical energy directly to electricity. They have no moving parts, thereby eliminating failures associated with pumps, blowers, heat exchangers, and other...
Articles: Energy
Create the Future Design Contest Alumni Achieve Market Success
The Create the Future Design Contest, launched in 2002 by the publishers of Tech Briefs magazine, helps stimulate and reward engineering innovation. The annual event has...
Briefs: Materials
Composite Advances Lignin as Renewable 3D Printing Material
Lignin is the material left over from the processing of biomass. It gives plants rigidity and also makes biomass resistant to being broken down into useful products. Researchers combined a melt-stable hardwood lignin with conventional plastic, a low-melting nylon, and carbon fiber to...
Briefs: Energy
Nanoscale Pillars Act as Memory Foam
A customizable nanomaterial was developed that combines metallic strength with a foam-like ability to compress and spring back. The material can store and release mechanical energy on the nanoscale, and...
Briefs: Transportation
Effects of Reynolds and Mach Numbers in Large Eddy Simulation of Supersonic Round Jets
Rockets/landers arrive on the Moon with supersonic speed and impact lunar regolith. There is no reliable software to computationally simulate in an effective way the supersonic plumes escaping from these rockets/devices. A Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model and...
Briefs: Aerospace
Electronics Withstand Extreme Heat
Most electronics only function within a certain temperature range but blending two organic materials together creates electronics that withstand extreme heat. The new plastic material could reliably conduct...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Optimal Computational Vision Pipeline (OCVP)
Optimal Computational Vision Pipeline (OCVP) software uses a novel algorithm that allows overlapping point clouds obtained from sensors with displaced position and orientation to be fused together in a common coordinate system with a rigorously linear solution for position and orientation parameters;...
Articles: Test & Measurement
Products of Tomorrow: March 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...
NASA Spinoff: Materials
Ferrofluid Technology Becomes a Magnet for Pioneering Artists
Spinoff is NASA's annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and services in...
Facility Focus: Electronics & Computers
Facility Focus: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Since 1967, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) has been the United States’ premier particle physics laboratory, working on the world's most advanced particle accelerators...
Briefs: Motion Control
Computer-Controlled Exercise Equipment
While a wide variety of computer-controlled exercise machines for training and rehabilitation exist — some of which can be automatically adjusted to vary resistance or incline — such systems provide for preprogrammed changes in load or resistance. What is needed is a system that overcomes the...
Products: Software
Product of the Month: March 2019 Tech Briefs
Boothroyd Dewhurst, Wakefield, RI, announced Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA®) 2019 software for analyzing parts and assemblies. DFMA utilizes a question-and-answer interface that...
Question of the Week: Electronics & Computers
Will ‘Structural Batteries’ Replace Conventional Ones?
Structural batteries are built into the actual configuration of battery-powered products – think the wing of a drone or the bumper of an electric vehicle. These batteries could reduce weight and extend range of a vehicle, but they're usually heavy, unsafe, or short-lived.
Blog: Internet of Things
On a Firefighter’s Jacket, a Self-Powered Tracking Sensor Takes the Heat
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Expanding the Use of Silicon in Batteries — By Preventing Electrodes from Expanding
Researchers from Drexel University say that adding MXene to silicon anodes could extend the life of Li-ion batteries by as much as five times. It’s...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
New Air-Cooling System for Power Plants Conserves Water
Most power plants in the United States are built alongside bodies of water to meet the demands of their cooling systems. Some of that water is lost through evaporation in cooling...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Red Phosphorus Barrier Keeps Batteries Safe
Researchers at Rice University have made test cells for lithium metal batteries with a coat of red phosphorus on the separator that keeps the anode and cathode electrodes apart. The phosphorus...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Converting Wi-Fi Signals to Electricity with New 2-D Materials
Devices that convert AC electromagnetic waves into DC electricity are known as “rectennas.” MIT Researchers have demonstrated a new kind of rectenna, that uses a flexible...
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
Calling All Innovators: 'Create the Future' Contest is Open for Entries
Blog: Electronics & Computers
Readers Select 2018 Products of the Year
Question of the Week: Materials
Will Carbon Fibers Find a New Place in Vehicles?
In a Tech Briefs article last week, Virginia Tech professor Greg Liu spoke about his team’s newly developed porous carbon fibers, and how the material may someday change how vehicles are built and powered.
INSIDER: Photonics/Optics
Light from Exotic Crystal Semiconductor Could Lead to Better Solar Cells
Scientists have found a new way to control light emitted by exotic crystal semiconductors, which could lead to more efficient solar cells and other advances in...
INSIDER Product: Imaging
New Products: March 2019 Photonics & Imaging Insider
The Intel® RealSense™ T265 Tracking Camera from FRAMOS (Ontario, Canada) uses inputs from dual fisheye cameras and a Bosch IMU along with its own processor on...
INSIDER: Photonics/Optics
More Stable Light Comes from Intentionally 'Squashed' Quantum Dots
Intentionally “squashing”colloidal quantum dots during chemical synthesis creates dots capable of stable, “blink-free” light emission that is fully comparable...
INSIDER: Photonics/Optics
Improving Molecular Imaging Using a Deep Learning Approach
Generating comprehensive molecular images of organs and tumors in living organisms can be performed at ultra-fast speed using a new deep learning approach to image reconstruction...
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Inside the Invention of a Snore-Stopping Sleep Mask – From Idea to Prototype to Product
Podcasts: Test & Measurement
Here's an Idea: Sleep
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
3D-Printable Sensor ‘Turns Blue’ to Detect Trace Amounts of Water
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
Answering Your Questions: When to Use Collaborative Robots in Manufacturing
INSIDER: Materials
Materials Delay Frost 300 Times Longer Than Anti-Icing Coatings
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago discovered several unique properties of materials known as phase-switching liquids (PSLs) that hold promise as...
INSIDER: Aerospace
NASA Wants Student Ideas for Human Space Missions
The 2020 eXploration Systems and Habitation (X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge supports NASA’s efforts to develop technologies and capabilities that will enhance the human...
INSIDER: Test & Measurement
Cancer Probe Could Spot Deadly Melanoma Early
Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is diagnosed in more than 130,000 people globally every year. Now, work is being done on a tool to help in its early detection: a simple, compact...
Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Have You Used Sleep Tech Products?
This month’s Here’s an Idea podcast featured a variety of Sleep Tech products, including the Hupnos snore-preventing sleep mask, the temperature-controlled Ooler mattress, and the brain-activity-monitoring Dreem headband. Listen to our episode to learn more about each of the inventions.
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Energy Monitor Helps Coast Guard Find Faulty Electrics on Board
INSIDER: Motion Control
Robots Quickly Track Moving Objects with Precision
Robots using a system of RFID tags can locate tagged objects within 7.5 milliseconds on average with an error of less than a centimeter. TurboTrack could replace computer vision for some...
INSIDER: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Self-Contained Wheel Units Cut Vehicle Costs
Vehicles could be affordably produced for a wide variety of specialized purposes using a self-contained wheel unit that combines a wheel and an electric motor with braking, suspension,...
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Answering Your Questions: Can Collaborative Robots Help Manufacturers Looking to Scale Their Business?
Products: Electronics & Computers
New Product: TRACO POWER’s TIB 80-EX Power Supplies
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
