Special Reports: Materials
Advanced Materials - May 2019
Breakthroughs in plastics, composites, coatings, and other materials technologies are enabling exciting new applications in industries ranging from aerospace to automotive to medical. Read more in this Special...
Briefs: Aerospace
Rhombohedron Epitaxial Growth with Molten Target Sputtering (MTS) at 500 °C Substrate Temperature
This invention applies to the field of sputtering, depositing SiGe thin films on sapphire substrates. It is a method of modifying the film...
Application Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Additive Manufacturing Helps Soldiers Get Parts Faster
Woburn, MA
www.rize3d.com
Headquartered at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, The United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) is the...
Briefs: Lighting
Bendable Electronic Paper Displays a Range of Colors
The combination of conductive polymers on nanostructures was demonstrated as suited to creating electronic displays as thin as paper. The “paper” is similar to the Kindle tablet. It...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
In-Situ Characterization and Inspection of Additive Manufacturing Deposits Using Transient Infrared Thermography
Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is a rapidly growing field in which solid objects can be produced layer-by-layer. This...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Measurement Method for Radioactive Methane
Anew method for measuring radioactive methane is an optical one based on spectroscopy. Previously, radioactive methane has been measured with accelerator mass spectrometry involving expensive machines. Optical measuring could be a cheaper and more agile method.
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A Guide to Collaborative Robot Safety
The ability of collaborative robots to share tasks with humans and flexibly adapt to new requirements can provide high returns on investment in a wide variety of industrial applications. Manufacturers...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Metamaterial Mirror Reflects Sound Waves in Any Direction
Researchers have constructed a “metamirror” device capable of perfectly reflecting sound waves in any direction. The proof-of-principle demonstration is analogous to looking...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Waterproof Graphene Electronic Circuits
The many applications of graphene, an atomically-thin sheet of carbon atoms with extraordinary conductivity and mechanical properties, include the manufacture of sensors. These transform environmental parameters into electrical signals that can be processed and measured with a computer. Due to their...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
3D Printer Uses Rays of Light to Shape Objects
Most 3D printers, including light-based techniques, build up 3D objects layer by layer. This leads to a “stair-step” effect along the edges. They also have difficulties creating flexible...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Radiometric Temperature Measurement Using a DLP-Based Pyrometer
Researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center have identified and evaluated recently available miniature spectrometers that enable compact and robust pyrometry...
Briefs: Materials
Material Could Make Plastic Manufacturing More Energy-Efficient
Anew material was developed that can extract the key ingredient in the most common form of plastic from a mixture of other chemicals while consuming far less energy than usual....
Application Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Miniature Bearings Play a Major Role in Mars 2020 Mission
North Canton, OH
www.timken.com
As NASA prepares for the launch of its newest Mars rover in 2020, Timken engineers have designed and tested its miniature precision...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Machine Learning Tool Computes Flow Around Interactively Designable 3D Objects
When engineers want to test the aerodynamic properties of the newly designed shape of a car, airplane, or other object, they would normally model the flow of air...
Facility Focus: Electronics & Computers
Facility Focus: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Founded on July 1, 1960, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL is one of NASA’s largest field centers. Marshall engineers designed, built, tested, and helped launch the Saturn V...
Briefs: Aerospace
High-Performance, Current-Steering Digital-to-Analog Converter
A current-steering digital-to-analog converter (DAC) was developed that achieves improved switching times (up to 75% faster) in high-speed (gigahertz), high-resolution (8-14...
Briefs: Aerospace
Electron Beam Heating and Atomic Restructuring of Sapphire Surfaces
NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a new way to reduce the high-temperature heating requirement of sapphire substrates in wafer production. The growth of...
NASA Spinoff: Lighting Technology
LED Lighting Improves Efficiency and Imaging
Rocket engine testing requires a lot of light since all tests are filmed with high-speed cameras to monitor performance; however, those cameras have to adjust to the bright plume from a firing...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Fast and Accurate Simulation of Manufactured Parts with Defects
Unwanted porosity is typical to many manufacturing processes — from traditional casting to additive manufacturing (3D printing) — and is difficult to avoid entirely....
Products: Test & Measurement
New on the Market: May 2019
Novotechnik, U.S., Southborough, MA, introduced Vert-X 2900 Series sensors that measure angular position and are available in single or redundant versions. Users can specify...
Articles: Imaging
Products of Tomorrow: May 2019
This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that...
Briefs: Software
Software Could Help Prevent Arrhythmic Heart Disease
The heart’s pumping ability is controlled by electrical activity that triggers the heart muscle cells to contract and relax. In certain heart diseases such as arrhythmia, the organ’s electrical activity is affected.
5 Ws: Test & Measurement
5 Ws of Foldable Mechanical Devices
Manufacturers across medical, space, aviation, military, and automotive industries could use the technology to build complex machines that integrate with surfaces to be very compact, but can deploy...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Technique Reverse-Engineers Complex 3D CAD Models
Nearly all commercial products start as a CAD file — a 2D or 3D model with the product’s design specifications. One method that’s widely used to represent today’s 3D models is...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Singlet-Based Magnet for Enhanced Data Storage
Anew type of magnet — called a singlet-based magnet — was discovered that differs from conventional magnets in which small magnetic constituents align with one another to create a strong...
Q&A: Electronics & Computers
Q&A: NASA's Dr. Mahmooda Sultana Makes Multifunctional Sensors
Dr. Sultana won funding to advance a nanomaterial-based detector platform that can sense environmental parameters from minute concentrations of target gases and vapors, to...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
S-Curve Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer
Time-of flight mass spectrometers are commonly used in analytical chemistry and many other applications. They contain a region where ions travel toward a detector. A new geometry was developed that...
Technology Leaders: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Changing the Automation Conversation
With advancements in manufacturing processes and materials, components in many industries are more precise with a new level of complex shapes. There is significant demand to create parts and assemblies...
Briefs: Medical
Method Shrinks Objects to the Nanoscale
Existing techniques for creating nano-structures are limited in what they can accomplish. Etching patterns onto a surface with light can produce 2D nano-structures but doesn’t work for 3D structures....
Briefs: Materials
Coating Prevents Fogging on Transparent Surfaces
Anyone who skis, wears glasses, uses a camera, or drives a car is familiar with the problem: Coming into a humid environment from the cold causes eyewear, camera lenses, or windshields to...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Medium-Frequency Transformer Transitions from AC to DC
Traditionally, electronics are cooled using a heat sink that transfers the heat generated by the electronic system into the air or a liquid coolant. For the heat sink to work, it has to...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Transparent, Self-Healing Electronic Skin
Scientists have taken inspiration from underwater invertebrates like jellyfish to create an electronic skin with similar functionality. Like a jellyfish, the electronic skin is transparent, stretchable, touch-sensitive, and self-healing in aquatic environments.
Briefs: Software
Novel Techniques Trick Object Detection Systems
New adversarial techniques developed by engineers at Southwest Research Institute can make objects “invisible” to image detection systems that use deep-learning algorithms. These techniques...
A team of bioengineers supported through a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) has...
Application Briefs: Data Acquisition
Improving Vehicle Fuel Economy with ADAS
Fuel economy is a key factor in worldwide energy-consumption. One way to improve fuel economy is using driver feedback to promote efficient habits (eco-driving). Emerging research is looking into...
Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Industrial Blue Lasers
Industrial lasers are integrated into manufacturing and fabrication facilities around the world. Every moment, there is an industrial laser somewhere that is cutting, etching,...
Articles: Photonics/Optics
An Introduction to Time of Flight Imaging
Three-dimensional (3D) imaging applications are used in many different industries ranging from industrial pick and place, palletization/depalletization, warehouse, robotics, and metrology to...
Products: Photonics/Optics
New Products: May 2019 Photonics & Imaging Technology
FRAMOS (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) now offers the Sony IMX392, a 1/2.3 type of imager with a square 1920 (h) × 1200 (v) active pixel array. The sensor has a...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Detect Ultra Rare Proteins in Blood Using a Cellphone Camera
One of the frontiers of medical diagnostics is the race for more sensitive blood tests. The ability to detect extremely rare proteins could make a life-saving difference for many...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Tiny Optical Elements Could One Day Replace Traditional Refractive Lenses
A Northwestern University research team has developed tiny optical elements from metal nanoparticles and a polymer that one day could replace traditional refractive...
Articles: Photonics/Optics
Advances in Laser Welding Technology
There have been many changes in laser technology over the past 30 years. With each advancement comes new challenges and opportunities. The CO2 laser with 10-micron wavelength was king for many...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Researchers Create Smartphone System to Test for Lead in Water
Researchers at the University of Houston have created an inexpensive system that can detect lead in tap water at levels commonly accepted as dangerous, using a lens made with an...
Articles: Photonics/Optics
Live Cell Imaging Using Holotomography
Since Robert Hooke's microscopic observations of cork cells in the 17th century, optical imaging has proven an indispensable technique in elucidating the pathophysiology of diseases. Perhaps the real...
Application Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Lighting the Gas Monkey Garage
Gas Monkey Garage (GMG) is arguably America's most recognized hot rod shop. Founded in 2004 by charismatic serial entrepreneur Richard Rawlings, the Dallas, Texas garage is a state-of-the-art restoration and...
Products: Data Acquisition
Product of the Month: May 2019 Tech Briefs
S. Himmelstein and Company, Hoffman Estates, IL, announced Model 700+ Series signal conditioners that are flexible, one- or two-channel signal conditioners/displays. They feature...
News: Software
AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019: Air Force Technology
Blog: Defense
AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019: A Flying Sea Glider
Blog: Motion Control
AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2019: Helicopter Drones
INSIDER Product: Imaging
New Products: May 2019 Photonics & Imaging Insider
Prima Power Laserdyne (Champlin, MN) released of the FASTTRIM™ CAD/CAM software for use with its multi-axis precision laser processing...
INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Ghostly X-Ray Images Could Assist in Analyzing X-Ray Laser Experiments
X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) produce incredibly powerful beams of light that enable unprecedented studies of the ultrafast motions of atoms in matter. To...
INSIDER: Materials
Researchers 3D Print Metamaterials with Novel Optical Properties
A team of engineers at Tufts University has developed a series of 3D printed metamaterials with unique microwave or optical properties that go beyond what is possible using...
INSIDER: Imaging
Chirality Yields Colossal Photocurrent
An international team led by a group of Boston College researchers reported that a recently discovered Weyl semimetal delivers the largest intrinsic conversion of light to electricity of any...
Blog: Test & Measurement
A New Idea for Putting Out Fires in Space: The Vacuum Cleaner?
Question of the Week: Manufacturing & Prototyping
For Prototyping, Do You Prefer 3D Printing or CNC Machining?
During a live presentation this month, a Tech Briefs reader had a question for Proto Labs machining pro Gus Breiland:
“When can 3D printing be a viable alternative to CNC machining?”
News: Robotics, Automation & Control
Answering Your Questions: How Do Medical Robots Help Surgeons?
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Want a Magnetized Medical Robot? Just 3D Print It
Articles: Test & Measurement
The Inside Story of Pico's 9400 SXRTO
Question of the Week: Robotics, Automation & Control
Would You Use a Robot to Help with Household Tasks?
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have built Blue, a low-cost robot that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and deep reinforcement learning to master human tasks like folding laundry or making coffee.
News: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Beyond Just Gesture, A Modified Smartwatch Detects 25 Specific Hand Activities
Your smartwatch can count your steps, but can it tell if you’re typing on a keyboard? Or chopping a vegetable?
News: Imaging
5-Minute Sample Processing Enhances DNA Imaging and Analysis
JILA scientists have developed a fast, simple sample preparation method that enhances imaging of DNA to better analyze its physical properties and interactions. This gentle yet effective process involves binding DNA to mica, a flat silicate mineral. This process extends the DNA's...
News: Imaging
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 developed by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The research team's new technique has the...
News: Imaging
New Method Improves Infrared Imaging Performance
A new method developed by Northwestern Engineering's Manijeh Razeghi has greatly reduced a type of image distortion caused by the presence of spectral cross-talk between dual-band long-wavelength photodetectors. The work opens the door for a new generation of high spectral-contrast infrared...
News: Imaging
PET Imaging Biomarker Could Better Predict Alzheimer's Progression
Researchers have discovered a better way to predict the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
Question of the Week: Aerospace
Can a Spray-On Coating ‘Ice-Proof’ Airplanes?
University of Michigan researchers have developed a coating that they believe could lead to the achievement of a long-time goal: Ice-proofing airplanes.
Question of the Week: Robotics, Automation & Control
Will Hummingbird Robots Help with Search-and-Rescue?
Purdue University researchers have created small flying robots that act like hummingbirds. Artificial intelligence, combined with flexible flapping wings, allows the robo-bird to teach itself new tricks.
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
HP’s Digital Disruption
On the opening day of the RAPID + TCT Show in Detroit, HP introduced the new Jet Fusion 5200 Series 3D printing solution – an industrial 3D printing system – and the Digital Manufacturing Network, a new...
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Markforged Helps Factories Fix Themselves
At RAPID + TCT in Detroit today, Markforged introduced Blacksmith artificial intelligence-powered software that makes manufacturing machines “aware” so they can automatically adjust programming...
Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A Leech-Like Robot Climbs Up the Walls
Doctoral Programs student Ayato Kanada came up with his leech-like robot in a place you’d least expect it: His bathroom.
White Papers: Electronics & Computers
Strategies for Deploying Xilinx’s Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC
Xilinx’s new RFSoC brings a powerful and unique solution for addressing some of the most demanding requirements of high bandwidth and high channel count system. This paper provides...
Question of the Week: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Would You Use a Wearable That Detects Hand Activity?
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University turned a standard smartwatch into a detector of specific hand activities, from playing the piano to scrolling through the phone. Read the Tech Briefs Q&A.
Blog: Communications
NIWeek 2019: What Will Slow Down 5G? ‘Nothing,’ Says Panel
INSIDER: Motion Control
“Knitting” Soft Actuators
Carnegie Mellon University researchers used computationally controlled knitting machines to create knitted objects that are actuated by tendons. The objects emerge from the knitting machines in their desired...
INSIDER: Motion Control
Changing How Sound Moves Particles
Researchers at Aalto University have discovered a surprising phenomenon that changes how we think about how sound can move particles. Their experiment is based on an experiment in which particles move...
Top Stories
Blog: Energy
A Solar Alternative: How to Power Devices with Indoor Light
Blog: Semiconductors & ICs
With a 50-Million-Electron Jolt, Sensors Power Themselves
Blog: Aerospace
Will Electric Aircraft Reach the Speeds of Commercial Jets?
Blog: Software
Stanford Computer Model Predicts How COVID-19 Spreads in Cities
INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Printing Paper Structures for Mechatronics
Blog: RF & Microwave Electronics
Question of the Week
Should We Use Chitin to Build on Mars?
Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Next-Gen Vehicle Architectures and the Role of HPCs
Tech Talks: Medical
Testing Home Healthcare Medical Devices
Upcoming Webinars: Software
Accelerating Pre-Silicon Software Development with Next-Gen...
Upcoming Webinars: Software
Balancing Vehicle Comfort and Performance with Simulation-Driven...
Upcoming Webinars: Photonics/Optics
Trending Stories
NASA Spinoff: Propulsion
Nanotechnology Repairs Engine Damage in Cars
INSIDER: Materials
New fuel cell concept brings biological design to better electricity generation
Articles: Materials
Lightweighting in Aerospace Component and System Design
Briefs: Materials
Coated Glass for Transparent Heating Elements
Briefs: Physical Sciences
