Special Reports: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Medical Manufacturing - April 2019
How are advances in 3D printing, robotic assembly, molding and other fabrication technologies shaping the future of medical device manufacturing? Find out in this Special Report – a compilation of recent...
Special Reports: Aerospace
RF & Microwave Electronics - April 2019
In this compendium of recent articles from the editors of Aerospace & Defense Technology and Tech Briefs, read about how high-frequency electronics advances are enabling new applications in space...
Special Reports: Test & Measurement
Automotive Manufacturing - April 2019
Factories are getting smarter thanks to advances in robotics, analytics, simulation, metrology and more. To help you keep pace with the latest developments, we present this compendium of recent articles...
Briefs: Propulsion
Transforming Flat Elastomers into 3D Shapes
Mechanical systems such as engines and motors rely on two principal types of motions of stiff components: linear motion, which involves an object moving from one point to another in a straight...
Articles: Electronics & Computers
Selecting Electric Traction Solutions for AGVs and Mobile Robots
Smarter, better, faster, less expensive — those words are the mantra of today’s global economy. As organizations seek to streamline operations and do more with less, they...
Articles: Motion Control
Failsafe Linear Magnetic Brakes
Linear permanent magnet brakes, also known as eddy current brakes, are a failsafe, power-free deceleration system that is used in conjunction with a metal reaction plate. Ceramic or rare earth magnets are...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Multimaterial 3D Printing Used to Develop Fast-Response, Stiffness-Tunable, Soft Actuator
Fast-response, stiffness-tunable (FRST) soft actuators — or movable machine elements — were developed that could be used in soft robots.
Briefs: Materials
Smart Microrobots Adapt to Surroundings
Researchers, drawing inspiration from bacteria, have designed smart, bio-compatible microrobots that are highly flexible. Because these devices are able to swim through fluids and modify their shape...
Briefs: Materials
Self-Lubrication Improves Standard Braking Systems
By mixing carbon fibers into polymer-based brakes, researchers designed brakes that are self-lubricating. These new and improved brakes can prevent wear-and-tear and have better frictional...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Understanding the Basics of Gas Spring Application
When choosing a gas spring for a particular application, it’s imperative to have a basic understanding of the workings and terminology used when specifying gas springs. This article offers...
Application Briefs: Aerospace
Keck Telescopes Get a Motion Control Upgrade
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii Island is surrounded by thousands of miles of thermally stable seas. The 13,796-foot Maunakea mountain summit has no nearby ranges to roil the upper...
Briefs: Materials
Directly Cooled Electric Motor Made from Polymer Materials
Making electric cars lighter also involves reducing the weight of the motor. One way to do that is by constructing it from fiber-reinforced polymer materials. A new cooling concept...
Products: Motion Control
New Products: April 2019 Motion Design
ABB (Zurich, Switzerland) introduced the ABB Ability™ smart sensor that enables health checks for bearings. The smart sensor technology provides an early indicator of...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Synthesizing Renewable Oils for Use in Lubricants
Industrial machinery, agricultural equipment, transportation vessels, and home applications depend on lubricants; however, they leave a heavy environmental footprint. Common lubricants, oils,...
Briefs: Medical
Technique Provides Rapid Assessment of Radiation Exposure
Researchers have developed a new technique that assesses radiation exposure in about an hour using an insulator material found in most modern electronics. The technique can be used to triage medical cases in the event of a radiological disaster.
Briefs: Energy
Thin, Durable Heating Patches
Thin, durable heating patches were created using intense pulses of light to fuse tiny silver wires with polyester. Their heating performance is nearly 70 percent higher than similar patches. The inexpensive...
Texas A&M professor Jaime Grunlan and his team are developing a new flame-retardant coating using renewable, nontoxic materials readily found in nature that...
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
Material Captures and Removes Toxic Atmospheric Gas
A metal-organic framework (MOF) material was developed that exhibits a selective, fully reversible, and repeatable capability to remove nitrogen dioxide gas from the atmosphere in ambient...
Briefs: Energy
Novel Dielectric Ceramic by Spark Plasma Sintering
Researchers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have developed a new dielectric material based on barium titanate nanopowder processed via spark plasma sintering (SPS). The rapid and...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Skin-Like Sensor Maps Blood-Oxygen Levels
A new type of oximeter — or blood-oxygen sensor — is made of organic electronics printed on bendable plastic that molds to the contours of the body. Unlike fingertip oximeters, it can detect...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Regional Hydrologic Extremes Assessment System (RHEAS) Software
Drought is Africa’s principal type of natural disaster and is at the core of serious threats to the livelihoods of millions of people and the natural resources on which they depend. The economies of many African countries are based on agricultural activities that are controlled...
Briefs: Motion Control
Achieving Carbon Footprint Reduction with Flywheel Technology
Recent technical advances have enabled flywheel energy storage systems (FESS) to become more compact and able to support higher-power applications. Due to their proven...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Using Common WiFi to Detect Weapons, Bombs, and Chemicals in Bags
Ordinary WiFi can easily detect weapons, bombs, and explosive chemicals in bags at museums, stadiums, theme parks, schools, and other public venues using a low-cost suspicious...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Fabric Alternative to Batteries for Wearable Devices
Wearable biosensors for health monitoring lack a lightweight, long-lasting power supply. A new method was developed for making a charge-storing system that is easily integrated into...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
New Material Provides Enhanced Tactility for Soft Sensors
Flexible and wearable sensors measure and track body motion, a task made more complex by the human anatomy’s numerous potential contortions. For a wearable sensor to work properly,...
Briefs: Energy
Rechargeable, High-Temperature, Molten Salt Battery
Growing demand for electric vehicles and more sustainable forms of transport means finding new forms of energy storage such as batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells. Currently, a major...
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
Plastic-Degrading Enzyme
Eight million metric tons of plastic waste, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, enter the oceans each year, creating huge manmade islands of garbage. Experts estimate that by 2050, there will be as much waste plastic in the ocean by mass as there are fish. A bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6, can...
Application Briefs: Test & Measurement
Laser Measurement Sensors Solve High-Speed Package Profiling
Plymouth, MN
www.bannerengineering.com
Sorting parcels and packages prior to delivery is an essential step in shipping and handling. Order...
Articles: Power
Electric Vehicle Fast Chargers Present Some Overlooked Circuit Protection Challenges
The first mass-produced electric vehicles (EVs) hit the road late in 2010 with the introduction of the Nissan Leaf, which remains the world’s top-selling,...
Application Briefs: Data Acquisition
Metal 3D Printing for Complex Heat Exchangers
West Dundee, IL
www.renishaw.com
HiETA develops metal additive manufacturing (AM) methods for the production of complex, lightweight structures for heat management...
Briefs: Communications
Wearable Devices Allow Direct Communication by Touch
Emergency situations such as trying to escape heavy smoke from fire could leave the sense of touch as the only way to find an exit. Rather than trying to look at a smartphone screen, a...
Briefs: Materials
Metallic Hollow Nanoparticle Fabrication
NASA Langley Research Center has developed new methods for fabricating hollow nanoparticles using dendrimer molecules. Dendrimers are used as templates to control the size, stability, and solubility...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Extrans Permeation Measurement System
Many applications in science and industry require an apparatus that creates a controlled amount of a fluid introduced into another fluid. For instance, some material corrosion testing applications...
Briefs: Communications
Multiplexing of Wireless Surface Acoustic Wave Sensors
The traditional approach for wireless sensors involves interrogators that communicate with each other (i.e., the two boxes “talk” to each other). In contrast, surface acoustic wave...
Facility Focus: Transportation
Facility Focus: Battelle Memorial Institute
Battelle Memorial Institute was founded in the early part of the 20th century as a charitable trust focused on research in metallurgy and allied industries. Founder Gordon Battelle studied...
5 Ws: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
5 Ws of the Heart Energy Harvester
Millions of people who rely on pacemakers, defibrillators, and other livesaving implantable devices powered by batteries that need to be replaced every five to 10 years.
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
In-Situ Selective Reinforcement of Near-Net-Shape Formed Structures
NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a method in which a metal matrix composite (MMC) material is incorporated into a metallic structure during a one-step...
Articles: Medical
Products of Tomorrow: April 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...
Application Briefs: Materials
Lockheed Martin Explores a Different Kind of Space for NASA
Maple Plain, MN
www.protolabs.com
Mankind first set foot on the Moon in 1969; nearly five decades have now passed. Today, NASA is developing the Orion...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Quantum Radio Aids Communications and Mapping
GPS signals do not penetrate very deeply or at all in water, soil, or building walls, and therefore can’t be used by submarines or in underground activities such as surveying mines. GPS also...
Briefs: Aerospace
System Enables Direct Data Transmission Between Underwater and Airborne Devices
Today, underwater sensors cannot share data with those on land, as both use different wireless signals that only work in their respective mediums. Radio signals that travel through air die very rapidly in water. Acoustic signals, or sonar, sent by underwater devices...
Briefs: Energy
See-Through Film Rejects 70 Percent of Incoming Solar Heat
A heat-rejecting film was developed that could be applied to a building’s windows to reflect up to 70 percent of the Sun’s incoming heat. The film remains highly transparent...
NASA Spinoff: Electronics & Computers
Organic Compound Turns Toxic Waste into Harmless Byproducts
Spinoff is NASA’s annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and services in...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Signal Combiner for Wideband Communication
NASA’s Glenn Research Center has devised an efficient new method of combining primary and secondary signals with minimal loss and noise. With its ability to reduce system noise, this novel signal combiner delivers the best opportunity to receive a desired signal not easily distinguished from...
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
Pre-Treatment Solution for Water Recovery
The Pre-Treatment Solution for Water Recovery technology was developed by NASA Johnson Space Center innovators to increase the amount of potable water recovered from the International Space Station’s urine processor assembly system. The solution increased the water recovery rate in the ISS distiller...
Products: Test & Measurement
New on the Market: April 2019
Smalley, Lake Zurich, IL, announced a Nested Spirawave Wave Springs series. The multiple-turn, flat wire wave springs are coiled in parallel to produce two to three times as much force as...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Polarization Imaging Sensor for Enhanced Scene Analysis
Along with intensity and color, polarization is a property of light that can provide useful information for scene analysis; however, the human eye and most cameras cannot detect...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Wear-Resistant Platinum Gold Alloy
From cellphones to satellites, industry spends millions on traditional gold alloy electrical contact coatings. While gold and other metal alloys have been an industry standard to protect metal components...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Wake Vortex Avoidance System and Method
NASA Langley Research Center scientists have developed a microphone that detects infrasound, i.e., acoustic waves ranging from 20-Hz frequencies down to DC. Infrasound is emitted in a number of...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Transparent Test Patch Determines Food Contamination
A transparent test patch, printed with harmless molecules, signals food contamination as it happens. The patch can be incorporated directly into food packaging, where it can monitor the contents for harmful pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella. The new technology has the potential to...
Briefs: Software
Virtual Test Laboratory
The mechanical properties of sheet metal materials are directional. Their deformation behavior and their strength differ significantly depending on the viewing direction; for example, in the direction of rolling, or...
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Passive RFID Tag with Long Range and Wide Coverage Capabilities
Researchers at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed the RFID Tag with Long Range and Wide Coverage Capabilities technology that allows a RFID tag to direct a RFID reader beam signal back in the direction of arrival. This technology requires no added power to provide telemetry...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Measurement Technique for Continuous-Wave, Modulated, and Pulsed Monochromatic Radiation
In many applications, such as remote sensing of atmospheric trace gases, monochromatic radiation with multiple discrete wavelengths is required. To date, there no instrument or technique that measures the wavelength jitters and fluctuations in real time.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
The Teletenna — a Hybrid Telescope Antenna System
Innovators at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have developed a hybrid telescope antenna system — Teletenna — to deliver high-data-rate communication over great distances. Teletenna has...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Nickel with Nanoscale Pores Has the Strength of Titanium and 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: Materials
Self-Healing, Fluid-Inspired Material
Even tiny cracks can cause bridges to collapse, pipelines to rupture, and fuselages to detach from airplanes due to hard-to-detect corrosion in tiny cracks, scratches, and dents. A new coating strategy for metal self-heals within seconds when scratched, scraped, or cracked. The novel material could prevent...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Laser Ranging Can See 3D Objects Melting in Fires
Optical range measurements, already used in manufacturing and other fields, may help overcome practical challenges posed by structural fires, which are too hot to measure with conventional...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Chip Measures Quantities with Quantum Precision
Many devices use light to probe the quantum states of atoms in a vapor confined in a small cell. Atoms can be highly sensitive to external conditions, and therefore make superb detectors....
Products: Test & Measurement
Product of the Month: April 2019 Tech Briefs
nanotron, Munich, Germany, introduced 360° Edge Analytics tools and location-aware wireless sensors for manufacturing and healthcare. The products automatically extract event information...
Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping
What's the most interesting or spontaneous prototype you've ever made?
It took two and a half years, 60 prototypes, and even some of his children's craft foam, but former designer and sensor pro Curtis Ray found a way to stop his snoring. He built a "smart" sleep mask equipped with an accelerometer, a microprocessor, a Bluetooth connection, a...
Blog: Materials
Woven into Clothing, 'Smart' Threads Sense Gases
Question of the Week: Robotics, Automation & Control
Have You Used Collaborative Robots?
Last week, a Tech Briefs reader asked our expert: "Can collaborative robots help manufacturers looking to scale their business?"
INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Miniature, High-Performance, Low-Cost 5G Transceiver Design
Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have devised a strategy to support high-speed mobile data access using the millimeter-wave spectrum for a fifth-generation (5G)...
INSIDER: Medical
Fast, Flexible Ionic Transistors for Bioelectronic Devices
Many major advances in medicine, especially in neurology, have been sparked by recent advances in electronic systems that can acquire, process, and interact with biological...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Nanoscale Organic Transistors Tailored for High or Low Current Densities
In the field of inorganic semiconductors, dimensions below 100 nanometers are already standard. However, organic semiconductors have not been able to keep up. In...
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
Automate Show 2019: Introducing New Robots to North America
Blog: Electronics & Computers
How Fitness Wearables Began – With a Plug-In Sneaker
Blog: Test & Measurement
Answering Your Questions: When to CT Scan in the 3D Printing Process
Question of the Week: Robotics, Automation & Control
Would You Want to Work Alongside a 'Handle' Robot?
Another video featured on Tech Briefs TV this week demonstrated a robot from Boston Dynamics called "Handle." The bipedal wheeled robot takes on material handling tasks like pallet building and truck unloading for warehouse logistics. Take a look for yourself.
White Papers: Electronics & Computers
Environment and PCBs
We assume that PCBs are made to endure all types of environments. However, unless designed and manufactured appropriately for its specific situation, the environment can shorten the life of a PCB. By taking careful and...
Blog: Nanotechnology
Snow's Power Potential: How to Generate Electricity from a Blizzard
INSIDER: Aerospace
NASA Selects Space Tech Research Institutes
NASA has selected two new Space Technology Research Institutes (STRIs) to advance space habitat designs using resilient and autonomous systems. The proposals create two multi-disciplinary,...
INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
AI-Based Human-Friendly Robot
Blue – a low-cost, human-friendly robot – was designed with durable, plastic parts and high-performance motors that total less than $5,000 to manufacture and assemble. Its arms are sensitive to outside...
INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Student-Built Satellite Tests 3D Printing
A group of undergrad students at Virginia Tech has built a CubeSat satellite with a 3D-printed side panel that includes temperature gauges to test how the material will hold up in space. The...
Podcasts: Test & Measurement
Here's an Idea: Sports
Question of the Week: Transportation
Will Flying Cars Support 'Sustainable Mobility?'
This week on Tech Briefs TV: A study published in Nature Communications found that flying cars could play a role in sustainable mobility for longer trips. See what the University of Michigan authors had to say. See what the University of Michigan authors had to say.
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Answering Your Questions: CNC Machining or 3D Printing?
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
3D-Printed Glass Paves Way for ‘New Era’ of Photonics
For the first time, researchers have 3D printed a unique material that demonstrates optical transparency in the mid-infrared range: chalcogenide glass.
INSIDER: Motion Control
Soft Robots Created with 3D Printers
Recent advances in material science have enabled the fabrication of robots with deformable bodies or the ability to reshape when touched, but the complex design, fabrication, and control of soft...
White Papers: Robotics, Automation & Control
Extending Your Robot's Reach: Learn How to Use Linear Axis Systems to Increase the Positioning Range
The future of manufacturing and automation will focus on reducing manual operations, extending machinery ranges, increasing productivity,...
News: Transportation
AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019: A Close-Up Look at Air Taxis
News: Aerospace
AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019: A Real Thrill Ride
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
