Articles: Aerospace

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

Standards for Comfortable Seats

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

Super pressure balloon
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

Geostationary (GEO) satellite
Space Systems/Loral (SSL)
Palo Alto, CA
650-852-4000
www.sslmda.com

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has chosen Space...

NASA Spinoff: Green Design & Manufacturing

Software Helps Restore Fire-Ravaged Habitats

NASA Technology

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: Robotics, Automation & 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: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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: Robotics, Automation & 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: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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: Robotics, Automation & 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: Robotics, Automation & Control

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: Motion 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: Robotics, Automation & Control

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: Motion Control

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: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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: Aerospace

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: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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: Aerospace

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: Aerospace

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: Aerospace

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: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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: Aerospace

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...

Products: Imaging

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...

Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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...

Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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...

Products: Test & Measurement

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...

Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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...

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...

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...

Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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: Energy

Wideband, GaN MMIC, Distributed Amplifier-Based Microwave Power Module

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: 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...

INSIDER: 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...

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...

INSIDER: 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...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Magnetic Chips Could Increase Computing’s Energy Efficiency

In a breakthrough for energy-efficient computing, UC Berkeley engineers have shown for the first time that magnetic chips can actually operate at the lowest fundamental energy...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

2D Electronic Devices Could Replace Silicon

Two-dimensional electronic devices could inch closer to their ultimate promise of low power, high efficiency and mechanical flexibility with a processing technique developed at the Department of...

INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers

1U CPU Cooler

Specifically designed for use with data storage, high-density, backup, or cloud servers, Jaro's (Boca Raton, FL) new low-profile, 1U CPU cooler (with heat-sink) is perfect for Intel processors that interact with square socket...

INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers

Panel-Mount Connectors

TE Connectivity Ltd. (TE) (Harrisburg, PA) has launched its DEUTSCH 369 series panel-mount connectors. The new panel-mount connectors have the ability to mount in seconds, suit multiple panel thicknesses, accept the...

INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers

Thin Film, Miniaturized Components

Goodfellow (Coraopolis, PA) and the German technology company Acquandas GmbH have partnered to offer micro-patterned, 2D and 2.5D integrated multi-function miniaturized components and coatings. Materials...

INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers

Magnetometer

MEMSIC Inc. (Andover, MA) has announced the availability of its MMC3630KJ, an ultra-small size, BGA package, magnetometer for portable devices. The MMC3630KJ series magnetometer includes an integrated monolithic 3-axis AMR...

INSIDER: 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.

INSIDER: 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...

INSIDER: 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...

INSIDER: Imaging

New Material Increases Lifetime of Solar-Powered Electrons

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...

INSIDER Product: Imaging

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...

INSIDER Product: Photonics/Optics

Touchscreen Controller

Quantum Composers (Bozeman, MT) has launched a new touchscreen controller for simplified control of laser systems. The all new Smart Controller is an easy to use extension for manual repair systems that may include a...

INSIDER Product: Lighting

Infrared Lighting Module

Vision Components (Ettlingen, Germany) has introduced the new VC Flash infrared area lighting for OEMs. The lighting module has been developed specifically for traffic surveillance applications. Fitted with 24 high...

INSIDER Product: Imaging

Light Source Calibration Services

Gamma Scientific (San Diego, CA) now offers a range of light source and sensor calibration services from their ISO 17025, NVLAP accredited (NVLAP Laboratory code 200823-0) facility. Specifically, the company...

INSIDER: Materials

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...

Who's Who: Photonics/Optics

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...

INSIDER: 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...

INSIDER: 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...

INSIDER: 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...

INSIDER: Data Acquisition

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.

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...

INSIDER: 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...