Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Products of Tomorrow: April 2016
The technologies NASA develops don’t just blast off into space. They also improve our lives here on Earth. Life-saving search-and-rescue tools, implantable medical devices, advances in commercial aircraft...
Articles: Aerospace
NASA Drives Automotive Innovation
In the beginning, safety trumped comfort in spacecraft designs for human space travel. Early space capsules were small and had a seat-driven design in which most of the...
Articles: Aerospace
SAE 2016 World Congress: Powering Possibilities
The SAE 2016 World Congress, presented by SAE International and taking place April 12-14 in Detroit, will gather experts, management teams, engineers, and executives from the automotive...
Application Briefs: Aerospace
Super Pressure Balloon Provides NASA with Valuable Data
Raven Aerostar
Sioux Falls, SD
605-336-2750
www.ravenaerostar.com
A super pressure balloon (SPB) designed by Raven Aerostar, and the...
Application Briefs: Aerospace
New Spacecraft Design for Asteroid Redirect Mission
Space Systems/Loral (SSL)
Palo Alto, CA
650-852-4000
www.sslmda.com
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has chosen Space...
Articles: Green Design & Manufacturing
Software Helps Restore Fire-Ravaged Habitats
Idaho is a nature-lover’s dream. Forests there blanket swaths of terrain, from the glassy lake regions of the northern Panhandle to the famous trout-fishing streams of the...
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
Robots and Humans - Let the Collaboration Begin
A collaborative robot is essentially an industrial robot with additional safety capabilities. These safety features include:
Safety-rated monitored stop (zero speed limiting) Speed and...
Application Briefs: Motion Control
Motion Control Challenges for Deep-Sea ROVs
Deep-sea remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) present motion control design engineers with some difficult challenges. Applications may include ROV propulsion, position thrusters, dive vanes, rudders,...
Articles: Test & Measurement
Advanced Capabilities of PXI-Based Semiconductor Test Systems
The ongoing challenge for today’s semiconductor test engineers is to identify and create new test solutions that can offer significantly lower test costs as well as address the...
Articles: Test & Measurement
Calibration Requirements for Testing Coupling-Decoupling Networks
Coupling-Decoupling Networks (CDNs) are the unglamorous workhorses that get “hitched up” to an impulse generator in order to perform impulse testing on powered equipment....
Articles: Test & Measurement
NASA Monitoring Technologies Shake Up Earthquake Prediction
The seconds to minutes of advance warning of an earthquake can allow people and systems to take actions to protect life and property from destructive shaking. Earthquake early...
Application Briefs: Test & Measurement
Reducing Torque Measurement Uncertainty in Turbine Engine Testing
Torque is among the most important of all the measured quantities in applications ranging from characterizing high-power gas turbines, to determining the level of force...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Linear Motor
Nippon Pulse America (Radford, VA) released the SL083 scaleless linear motor with a built-in linear encoder for positioning applications that would benefit from the repeatability, reliability, and robustness of a linear motor,...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Panel-Mount Piezo Drives
The Ndrive QLe digital, panel-mount nanopositioning piezo drives from Aerotech (Pittsburgh, PA) are designed for use with the Aerotech Automation 3200 (A3200) motion controller. The drives enable coordinated motion...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Encoders
Celera Motion (Bedford, MA) introduced the MicroE Veratus™ Series encoders incorporating VeraPath™ technology. All interpolation, automatic gain control (AGC), and signal processing is performed in the sensor head that measures...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Brushless DC Motors
Crouzet Motors (Vista, CA) introduced brushless DC motors with CANopen® technology. The new communications protocol allows design engineers to connect multiple brushless motors to the various components in a system. The...
Products: Motion Control
Lead Screw Assembly
The Micro Series ZBM anti-backlash lead screw assembly from Haydon Kerk Motion Solutions (Waterbury, CT) can be customized to specific applications that require unique geometry and custom materials such as Kerkite®...
Products: Motion Control
Position Sensors
Macro Sensors (Pennsauken, NJ) offers the BBP Series air extended, spring-loaded LVDT position sensors to measure range of motion in pneumatic cylinders. The 3/8 "-diameter, pencil-type gaging probes measure the position of...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Drive Couplings
Automation Direct (Cumming, GA) offers SureMotion drive couplings in four styles: jaw/spider, double loop, Oldham, and beam-style servo. The jaw/spider coupling is a clamp-style coupling with 14- to 65-mm aluminum hubs, and...
Products: Motion Control
Track Motion Platform
ABB (Auburn Hills, MI) introduced the IRBT 2005 flexible, compact, modular, medium track motion platform for robots and transfer applications. It is designed to accommodate rapid product changes in applications that...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Rotary Actuator
The Hydraulic Unibody (HUB) Series rotary actuator from Parker Hannifin Corp. (Cleveland, OH) is built with a hard-coat anodized housing and hardened alloy steel pinion and racks for applications exposed to harsh weather...
Products: Motion Control
Drive Starters
NORD Gear Corporation USA (Waunakee, WI) introduced the SK135E/SK175E soft start drives designed for use in a distributed control system. They can be mounted directly on the motor or near the motor. The starters regulate the...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Brushless Motors
maxon motor (Fall River, MA) offers ECX high-speed brushless micro motors in diameters of 8, 16, and 19 mm achieving speeds of up to 120,000 rpm. They are available with different power stages and in standard or...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Electronically Commutated Motors
EC Fans & Drives, a division of Epec Engineered Technologies (New Bedford, MA), announced EConomy and EXRi50 electronically commutated motors. The EConomy features a slim profile that enables use in...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Angle Sensors
Novotechnik, U.S. (Southborough, MA) introduced the RSC3200 angle sensors that feature shaft connectivity options and provide absolute rotary position measurement. Analog outputs are 0.25 to 4.75V or 0.5 to 4.5V. Built-in...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Brush DC Motors
Portescap (West Chester, PA) introduced the Athlonix™ 22DCP brush DC motors available in a 22-mm diameter. They feature a coreless design with a self-supporting coil and magnetic circuit, and are available in two...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Linear Actuator
The Servo Cylinder from Ultra Motion (Cutchogue, NY) is a compact brushless DC linear actuator with Phase Index™ absolute position feedback. The integrated Phase Index sensor is digital, high-resolution, and non-contacting...
Products: Motion Control
Brushless Torque Motors
Electromate (Greenville, DE) offers QTR Series compact torque motors from Tecnotion that can be integrated directly into a machine structure, with an open inner diameter that enables wire and cable feedthrough. The...
Products: Aerospace
Product of the Month: April 2016
FLIR Systems, Wilsonville, OR, announced the identiFINDER® R200 handheld radiation detector that delivers American National Standards Institute (ANSI) N42.48-compliant identification and weighs...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
In-Line Signal Conditioner
OMEGA Engineering, Stamford, CT, offers the OMEGA® IN-UVI inline signal conditioner housed in a rugged stainless steel enclosure that is connected between the transducer and a readout instrument. It supplies a...
Products: Aerospace
Marking System
The battery operated FlyMarker® mini dot peen marking system from Equipment Sales Co., Sioux City, IA, features a strong magnet and powerful battery to produce markings on nearly any material ranging from plastics, to...
Products: Aerospace
Power Supplies
TDK-Lambda Corp., National City, CA, introduced TDK-Lambda DT100D and DT150D adapter power supplies compliant with level VI efficiency standards. Accepting a 90 to 264VAC input, the 100 to 150W adapters are available with 12V...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
In-Line Heater
Watlow®, St. Louis, MO, offers FLUENT ™, a lightweight in-line heater for use in fluid heating applications. The high-Watt-density, low-mass heater enables on-demand heating, and includes an internal baffle to promote...
Products: Aerospace
Locking Connector
MEGA Electronics, New Brunswick, NJ, introduced the IEC C13 locking re-wireable C13 IEC connector designed to guard against accidental disconnection of computers, PDUs, servers, and network devices. The mechanism is...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Signal Analyzers
Keysight Technologies, Santa Rosa, CA, announced X-Series signal analyzers that feature a multi-touch user interface for setting up measurement parameters in no more than two touches. The UXA offers frequency coverage to 44...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Pressure Transmitters
AutomationDirect, Cumming, GA, offers ProSense SPTD25 pressure transmitters that feature an all-stainless-steel thin film sensing element that senses any compatible media. They are resistant to vibration, shock, and...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Signal Conditioner
PCB Piezotronics, Depew, NY, offers the Model 482C24 4-channel signal conditioner that includes DC coupling selectable on a per-channel basis. It is suited for use with ICP® force and pressure sensors that have long...
Products: Aerospace
Custom Alloys
Goodfellow, Coraopolis, PA, offers a custom alloy service. Custom alloys have been produced with gold, silver, palladium, platinum, copper, and/or nickel as major constituents, with other elements sometimes added. Such alloys...
Products: Aerospace
Embedded Board
The AmITX-SL-G Mini-ITX compact embedded computing platform from ADLINK Technology, San Jose, CA, features sixth-generation Intel® Core™ i7/i5/i3 processors and the Mini-ITX form factor. It measures 170 mm square and...
Products: Imaging
Vision Sensors
Teledyne DALSA, Waterloo, ON, Canada, announced BOA™ Spot vision sensors that combine a BOA vision system with integrated LED lighting, lens cover, and software. Available with 640 × 480 or 1280 × 960 image resolution,...
Products: Imaging
SWIR Camera
The 1280SCICAM shortwave infrared camera from Princeton Infrared Technologies, Monmouth Junction, NJ, is a lattice-matched indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) sensor that features 1280 × 1024 resolution at frame rates greater than...
Products: Imaging
Day/Night Cameras
D-Link, Austin, TX, announced the 5-megapixel day/night IP DCS-6517 dome network camera and the DCS-7517 Bullet network cameras. Supporting 2560 × 1920 resolution and digital WDR image enhancement, the cameras provide...
Products: Imaging
Vision Sensors
Cognex Corp., Natick, MA, introduced the In-Sight® 2000 vision sensors that include an integrated, high-performance image formation system consisting of field-interchangeable lenses and a patent-pending LED ring light that...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
SEA5: Space Environment Automated Alerts & Anomaly Analysis Assistant
The Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) provides a wide range of space weather tools and services for the general scientific community. One such product that facilitates space weather situational awareness is collectively known as the Integrated Space Weather Analysis...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Touch Display Kit
Avnet, Phoenix, AZ, released the AES-ALI3-AMPIRE10-G 10-inch Touch Display Kit. The kit demonstrates an embedded display system, allowing for video output to an integrated 10" LVDS display. The kit combines a 1280 × 800...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Extensible Data Gateway Environment (EDGE)
The NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC) is NASA’s designated data center for information relevant to the physical state of the ocean. Its core datamanagement and workflow system, Data Management and Archive System (DMAS), is responsible for processing hundreds of...
Products: Aerospace
SWIR Camera
Xenics, Leuven, Belgium, offers the Bobcat-320 SWIR camera, a medium-resolution camera yielding low noise and low dark current. It features a thermo-electric cooler for sensor stabilization, an onboard image processing unit, and...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Flight Test Maneuvers for Efficient Aerodynamic Modeling
Flight testing is expensive. It is therefore important that necessary flight data be collected in the most efficient manner possible. Inputs traditionally used for flight test maneuvers to collect aircraft stability and control data include doublets, impulses (stick raps), multisteps, and...
Products: Test & Measurement
Flow Meters
AutomationDirect (Cumming, GA) offers ProSense FMM Series magnetic-inductive flow meters (magmeters) for liquid flow monitoring in industrial processes. The magmeters, available with 1/2" to 2" NPT female process connections, are...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
JPL CO2 Virtual Science Data Environment (VSDE)
The JPL CO2 Virtual Science Data Environment (VSDE) (http://co2.jpl.nasa.gov) is a comprehensive effort to bring together the models, data, and tools necessary for atmospheric CO2 research. The VSDE site is designed to provide streamlined Web-based discovery and access to multiple global and...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Pulsed Test Instrument
Instruments for Industry, a unit of AMETEK Compliance Test Solutions (Edison, NJ) introduced the S21-4KWP-2KWP FLEX solid-state micro wave pulse power amplifier with a frequency range of 1.0 GHz to 2.0 GHz. It...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Python Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer Data Toolkit (PyAMPR)
Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR) brightness temperature data from NASA field projects are in ASCII format. This Python script defines a class that will read in a single file from an individual aircraft flight and pull out timing, brightness temperatures...
Products: Test & Measurement
Ground Bond Testers
Slaughter Company (Lake Forest, IL) announced the 260 Series Ground Bond testers with an improved interface that eliminates menus and redundant button pushes. The interface allows manufacturers to set up and run Ground...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Data Ordering Genetic Optimization (DOGO) System
Observations in modern datasets have a continuum of quality that can be hard to quantify. For example, satellite observations are subject to often-subtle mixtures of confounding forces that distort the observation’s utility to a varying extent. For the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2)...
Products: Test & Measurement
Digital Multimeters
The U1280 and U1240C Series handheld digital multimeters from Keysight Technologies (Santa Rosa, CA) feature 60,000-count display resolution and 0.025 percent accuracy. The 4.5-digit handheld DMMs are suited for...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis for Earthquakes
Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis for Earthquakes (ARIA-EQ) will be the first coordinated effort to automate geodetic imaging capabilities so they can be used for hazard response. The innovation is an automatic geodetic imaging data system that is the foundation for an operational hazard...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Multi-Function Instrument
National Instruments (Austin, TX) introduced a high-performance model of the software-based VirtualBench all-in-one instrument that combines a mixed-signal oscilloscope, function generator, digital multimeter,...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Novel Method to Collect Saliva for Cortisol and DHEA Measurement
Saliva is an easily accessible body fluid containing important biological markers of physiological regulation in the body. The ability to use saliva to monitor the health and...
Products: Test & Measurement
Strain Gauge Monitors
Bristol Instruments (Boston, MA) introduced the OM502T Series of monitors for strain gauge sensors. The 5-digit instruments are programmable for mathematical functions, including peak and tare, as well as digital...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Cryogenic Propellant Feed System Analytical Tool
The Propellant Feed System Analytical Tool (PFSAT) predicts heat leak based on insulation type, installation technique, line supports, penetrations, and instrumentation. It also determines the optimum orifice diameter for an optional thermodynamic vent system (TVS) to counteract heat leak into the...
Products: Test & Measurement
Shaft Voltage Tester
The AEGIS® CAT II/III Shaft Voltage Tester™ digital oscilloscope from Electro Static Technology (Mechanic Falls, ME) enables testing of industrial motors controlled by variable frequency drives (VFDs). The tester is...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Radiation-Hardened, High-Voltage, Quad-Channel Amplifier
Aradiation-hard, 130-Volt, 100-KHz capable, quad-channel operational amplifier with corresponding power supply and 6th-order Bessel filter circuitry has been designed, fabricated, and successfully tested. To control two-axis microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based mirrors, a...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
RF Signal Generators
Saelig Co. (Fairport, NY) announced Rigol DSG800 RF signal generators with output frequencies from 9 kHz to 3.0 GHz. They provide an RF signal source with a maximum output of +20 dBm and frequency resolution of 0.01 Hz...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Reduced-Cost, Chirped Pulse, Fourier Transform Microwave (CP-FTMW) Spectrometer Using Direct Digital Synthesis
Microwave spectroscopy is an invaluable tool for studying the structure, dynamics, and even the handedness of gas phase species....
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Signal Digitizer and Cross-Correlation ASIC
Microwave interferometry provides a means of synthesizing large scanning antennas that are not otherwise physically practical for spaceborne Earth observational systems. By cross-correlating multiple receivers of an array, high-resolution images are synthesized from a sparse — or thinned — array of...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Image Capture to Stereo Correlation in an FPGA
In this work, there were four independent vision modules implemented in an FPGA: a CameraLink camera interface, rectification, bilateral filtering, and stereo disparity correlation. Each module was originally designed to run from end to end, not in a pipeline with the other modules. This limited...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Offset IQ Modulation Technique for Miniaturized Radar Electronics
Constellations of low-cost, small instruments provide global, distributed, and frequent coverage, enabling unique science observations. However, radars are active instruments...
Briefs: Materials
Flexible, High-Temperature Polyimide/Urea Aerogels
Cross-linked silica-based aerogels with polymeric materials, as well as incorporating a flexible linkage into the underlying metal oxide, have been proven to improve strength and resilience over their native, or non-cross-linked, counterparts without adversely affecting porosity and density. In...
Briefs: Materials
Multilayer Insulation Systems
Cryogenic fluid management (CFM) is a critical technical area that is needed for the successful development of future space exploration. A key challenge is the storability of LH2, LCH4, and...
Briefs: Materials
Colorimetric Indicator for Detection of AF-M315E
An easy and instant method of detection was needed for AF-M315E, a “green” propellant that produces very little vapor. This makes it hard to detect by smell or other active sensors.
Briefs: Materials
Oriented Nanofibers Embedded in a Polymer Matrix
A method of forming a composite of embedded nanofibers in a polymer matrix with a high degree of alignment has been created using a nanofiber continuous fiber (NCF) system. This innovation incorporates nanofibers in a plastic matrix forming agglomerates, and then uniformly distributes them by...
Briefs: Materials
Low-Scatter Starshade Edges
A starshade occulter is a large space structure whose shape is specially designed to produce a diffraction pattern in starlight that can aid a telescope in direct imaging of exoplanets. The diffraction pattern...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Method to Improve the Synthesis Process of High-Purity Bulk Multi-Element Compounds
Multi-element compounds have been used ubiquitously in various applications, including electronics, optics, opto-electronics, thermoelectrics, superconductivity, and the recently developed application of spintronics. Besides being the main components of some of...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Laser Subdivision of the Genesis Concentrator Target Sample 60000
A need arose for approximately 1 cm2 of a diamond-like-carbon (DLC) concentrator target for the analysis of solar wind nitrogen isotopes. The original target was a circular quadrant with a radius of 3.1 cm; however, the piece did not survive intact when the spacecraft...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Fabrication of an Integrated Photonic Waveguide Joint in Micromachined Silicon
High-aspect-ratio silicon structures are necessary components in many MEMS (microelectromechanical systems). Aspect ratio is defined as the ratio of the height of the structure to its lateral width. The structures are typically fabricated through bulk micromachining...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Very Large Inflatable Antenna Structures
Future space exploration past Earth orbit has a significant need for manufacturing in space beyond simple assembly of prefabricated parts. The next generation of very large aperture antennas will...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Constraint Force Equation (CFE) Solver for Multi-Body Dynamics and its Implementation in POST2
Existing aerospace flight trajectory programs simulate the motion of aerospace vehicles by modeling external forces and moments acting on each body, but lack provisions for determining reaction forces and moments exerted by one body on another through...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Cyclops: the Space Station Integrated Kinetic Launcher for Orbital Payload Systems (SSIKLOPS)
The Space Station Integrated Kinetic Launcher for Orbital Payload Systems (SSIKLOPS), also known as “Cyclops,” deployed the largest satellite ever from the International Space Station (ISS) on November 28, 2014. The satellite, SpinSat, a Naval...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Vacuum-Jacketed Cryogenic Flex-Through
A vacuum-jacketed, cryogenic flex hose was designed with an integrated flange to be able to pass through a vacuum chamber wall. This design increases the quality of the cryogenic fluid at the exit of the hose (i.e., more liquid, less vapor) by extending the hose vacuum-jacket through the chamber wall, where...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Normally-Closed Zero-Leak Valve with a Magnetostrictive Actuator
A hermetically sealed, normally closed (NC) zero-leak valve has been developed. Prior to actuation, the valve isolates the working fluid in the upstream volume from the...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Scenario Power Load Analysis Tool (SPLAT) MagicDraw Plug-in
Power consumption during all phases of spacecraft flight is of great interest to the aerospace community. As a result, significant analysis effort is exerted by both system and electrical-domain engineers to understand the rates of electrical energy generation and consumption under many...
Historically, the term microwave power module (MPM) has been associated with a small, fully integrated, self-contained radio frequency (RF) amplifier that combines both...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Integrated Solar Array Power Management System
When solar cells are electrically connected to form solar arrays, they are organized into strings. Each string represents a specific number of cells connected in series to produce a specific voltage. The strings are then connected in parallel to add their currents to meet the array power...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
High-Energy-Density Solid-State Li-Ion Battery with Enhanced Safety
High-energy-density and safe rechargeable batteries are required for NASA’s future exploration missions. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are attractive energy storage systems due to their relatively high energy and power densities. However, the unfavorable side reactions...
Briefs: Propulsion
An On-Demand Gas Generator for CubeSat or Low-Mass Propulsion Systems
There are difficulties related to storing enough gas to propel a CubeSat within an onboard tank. Currently, a CubeSat requiring a large volume of gas for extended...
Briefs: Propulsion
Suppression of Unwanted Noise and Howl in a Test Configuration Where Jet Exhaust is Discharged Into a Duct
This technology is based on a model-scale experiment simulating a test facility where an engine exhaust is discharged into a duct....
Briefs: Information Technology
Distributed, Fast, Intelligent Infrastructure Health Monitoring System
NASA needed an innovative solution to conduct system assessments of frameworks and to characterize subsystems of interest. This tool would be required to determine...
Briefs: Information Technology
Net Radiation and Evapotranspiration (Rn/ET) Download Product Tools and Interfaces
This toolset automates downloads of global, multi-year Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and related data necessary for performing net radiation and evapotranspiration (Rn/ET) modeling, and provides an application programming interface (API)...
Briefs: Information Technology
Software Tools for Fault Management Technologies
Several key areas of improvement in effect design, development, verification, and validation of fault management processes have been identified in NASA’s Fault Management Handbook. The majority of these guidelines are focused on making the modeling tools more user friendly and reducing the...
Briefs: Information Technology
Tool to Analyze a Leaking Source of Saturated Ammonia
Containers of ammonia are used to supply cooling to different modules of the International Space Station. Each container has an attachment piece used to extract the ammonia. The attachment piece may allow ammonia to exit when not connected, and may also allow ammonia to exit to an outside...
Briefs: Information Technology
Mixed-Integer Convex Programming Algorithm for Constrained Attitude Guidance
A general problem in spaceflight since its beginning is attitude guidance: how to turn a spacecraft — also called a slew — so as to point science instruments at their targets. The slew must be done while avoiding pointing sensitive science instruments (e.g., a...
Briefs: Information Technology
A Robust, Real-Time Collaboration Technology for Decision Support using Common Operating Picture (COP) Environments
StormCenter Communications, Inc. software takes advantage of cloud computing solutions to solve the growing need for real-time collaboration when accessing a Common Operating Picture (COP) from any device without having to give up...
News: Aerospace
NASA Measures Raindrop Sizes from Space
For the first time, scientists have three-dimensional snapshots of raindrops and snowflakes around the world, thanks to the joint NASA and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. With the new global data on raindrop and snowflake sizes, scientists can improve...
Question of the Week
Are cars set to be the next 'ultimate mobile device'?
This week's Question: As companies like Google and Apple lead self-driving car efforts, Hyundai Motors America CEO David Zuchowski expects the bridge between Silicon Valley and auto companies to narrow. In a recent interview with CNBC, Zuchowski suggested cars could replace mobile phones as...
News: Automotive
IoT Drives Demand for Automotive Circuit Protection Solutions
In the past, automobiles were made up of many independent electronic systems. Even the assembly lines that were used to manufacture the vehicles required the operation and...
News: Imaging
Researchers Store Digital Data in DNA
Researchers from the University of Washington and Microsoft have stored digital images in DNA. The team of computer scientists and electrical engineers has detailed one of the first complete systems to encode, hold, and retrieve digital data using the molecules, which can store information millions of times...
Question of the Week
Will 'smart glasses' catch on?
This week's Question: A recent patent application from the South Korean electronics giant Samsung revealed a new concept for smart contact lenses. The eyewear includes a built-in camera, sensors, and a display that can project images directly into a wearer’s eyes. The smart lenses can be controlled using eye...
News: Photonics/Optics
Flexible Sheet Camera Wraps Around Objects
A novel sheet camera developed by Columbia Engineering researchers can be wrapped around everyday objects to capture images that cannot be taken with one or more conventional cameras.
News: Imaging
Scientists Create Reflection-Removing Camera
In recent years, computer scientists have been investigating a range of techniques for removing reflections from digital photographs shot through glass. Some have tried to use variability in focal...
News: Imaging
Researchers Develop New Lens for Terahertz Radiation
Terahertz radiation is a relatively unexplored slice of the electromagnetic spectrum, but it holds the promise of countless new imaging applications as well as wireless communication...
Nobody wants a laptop computer that stops working when a cloud passes by. Storing sunlight as fuel that can be later used to drive fuel cells requires new materials. Scientists...
News: Sensors/Data Acquisition
InGaAs Imaging Sensor
New Imaging Technologies (Verrières le Buisson, France) introduces the NSC1401, a new analog wide dynamic range InGaAs sensor series in 320x256 pixels (QVGA). The NSC1401 uses a new generation of ROIC with 320x256...
News: Semiconductors & ICs
Wild Mushrooms Support New Battery Anodes
Researchers at Purdue University have created electrodes from a species of wild fungus called Tyromyces fissilis. Carbon fibers derived from the sustainable source have been shown to outperform conventional graphite electrodes for lithium-ion batteries.
Question of the Week
Will you wear “e-textiles”?
This week's Question: Researchers at The Ohio State University have embroidered circuits into fabric with 0.1-mm precision — an ideal size to integrate electronic components, such as sensors and computer memory devices, into clothing. With the advance, the team has taken the next step toward the design of...
NASA and Boeing are designing a longer, thinner, and lighter wing that requires a brace, or truss, to provide it with extra support. The lower-drag wing will reduce both fuel burn...
News: Materials
Material Sniffs Out Fuel Leaks and Fuel-Based Explosives
Alkane fuel is a key ingredient in combustible material such as airplane fuel. Yet it’s difficult to detect and there are no portable scanners available that can sniff out the...
News: Materials
New Material Eliminates the Need for Aircraft Deicers
Scientists have developed a liquid-like substance that can make aircraft wings and other surfaces so slippery that ice cannot adhere. The slick substance is secreted from a film on the...
News: Medical
Device Allows Paralyzed Man to Perform Complex Movements
Six years ago, he was paralyzed in a diving accident. Today, he participates in clinical sessions during which he can grasp and swipe a credit card or play a guitar video game with...
News: Propulsion
NASA Tests Revolutionary E-Sail Propulsion Technology
Testing has started at NASA on a concept called the Heliopause Electrostatic Rapid Transit System (HERTS), a propellant-less propulsion system that would harness solar wind to travel...
News: Robotics, Automation & Control
Algorithm Warns Robot Teams of Moving Obstacles
At the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in May, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will present a decentralized planning algorithm for teams of robots. The technology factors in both stationary and moving obstacles.
News: Software
AI-Driven Application Stops Poachers
With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Army Research Office, researchers are using artificial intelligence (AI) and game theory to solve poaching and illegal logging.
Who's Who
Mike Krainak, Laser and Electro-Optics Branch Head, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
In 2020, NASA's first-ever integrated-photonics modem will be tested aboard the International Space Station. Mike Krainak leads the development of...
Question of the Week
Could a solar-powered airplane be commercially viable?
This week's Question: Solar Impulse 2, a solar-powered airplane, completed a risky, 62-hour flight across a wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean. According to pilot and Swiss engineer Andre Borschberg, the plane now has the ability, in theory, to fly for an unlimited period, with only the human...
News: Software
The Synergy of Engineering
At the Hannover Messe trade fair in Germany, Eplan Software & Service, with its affiliate company Cideon, introduced Syngineer, an innovative communication and information platform that integrates mechanical engineering, software engineering, and controls engineering through one mechatronic structure. Eplan, a...
News: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Rittal Hosts President Obama at Germany’s Hannover Fair
"We want to build on the spirit of innovation in the USA," said President Barack Obama in his opening speech at the Hannover Messe trade fair in Germany. Following the official...
News: Imaging
Imaging Breakthrough Reveals Mars' Surface
Using an image stacking and matching technique, researchers from University College London revealed unprecedented detail of the Martian surface. The Beagle-2 lander, ancient lakebeds, and NASA’s MER-A rover tracks were shown at a resolution up to five times greater than previously achieved.
Top Stories
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
With Satellite Data, NASA Shows COVID-19 Impact on Food Supply Chain
Podcasts: Aerospace
Here's an Idea: A Jumping 'SpaceBok' Robot Makes Giant Leaps Toward the...
Videos: Aerospace
Space Station Motors Power Improved, Energy-Efficient Prosthetic Leg
INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Researchers Develop 3D Hand-Sensing Wristband
Videos: Medical
4D Printing Progress for Shapeshifting Biomedical Implants and Soft Robots
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
Answering Your Questions: How Automated is the Mars Rover Landing?
Question of the Week
Will SpaceBok Someday Reach the Moon?
Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: Electronics & Computers
OpenVPX Technology: The Future of Military Computing
Upcoming Webinars: Lighting
Driving Ahead of the Curve: Visionary Headlamp Concept
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
The New DIS ISO/SAE 21434: Road Vehicles – Cybersecurity...
Webinars: Medical
Conformal Coating Protection of Critical Medical Technologies
Upcoming Webinars: Photonics/Optics
Alignment Strategy for Complex Part Geometries
Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Trending Stories
INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Researchers Develop 3D Hand-Sensing Wristband
Articles: Defense
Modern CMOS Cameras as Replacements for CCD Cameras
Who's Who:
Anthony Kelley, Lead Flow Research Engineer, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
NASA Spinoff: Materials
Alloy-Enhanced Fans Maintain Fresh Air in Tunnels
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Avoiding Electrical Damage with Conductive Lubrication
Features: Photonics/Optics
