Facility Focus: Imaging

Facility Focus: NASA John C. Stennis Space Center

Stennis now is testing RS-25 rocket engines for the Space Launch System (SLS) that will carry humans back to the Moon.

Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Force/Torque Sensor Helps Rover Sample Mars

See how one company reached out to NASA with an offer to develop a custom sensor for the Mars 2020 mission rover.

Q&A: Electronics & Computers

Q&A: Wireless Power for Neural Stimulation

Prof. Jacob Robinson developed an implantable neural stimulator the size of a grain of rice.

Articles: Data Acquisition

Executive Forum: Machine Learning & AI

Tech Briefs posed questions to machine learning/AI industry execs to get their opinions on platform selection, data interpretation, and more.

Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Cost-Effective Printed Sensors for the IoT/IIoT

With accelerated time from design to production, specialized foil sensor arrays will be expanding to many new areas.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Smart Windows Self-Illuminate on Rainy Days

Self-powering, color-changing humidity sensors are applicable to various fields including smart windows, health care, and safety management.

Application Briefs: Test & Measurement

Using the IoT for Predictive Maintenance

Predictive maintenance is poised to become much more widely adopted, and that will help to boost productivity in a time when we really need it.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Acoustic Monitoring of Laser Welds

Empa researchers were able to demonstrate real-time acoustic monitoring of laser weld seams.

Application Briefs: AR/AI

Smart Sensors for Hazardous Areas

Smart sensors for hazardous areas monitor essential assets, such as motors and pumps.

Briefs: Data Acquisition

Self-Powered Alarm Fights Forest Fires, Monitors Environment

In a new study, a team of Michigan State University scientists designed and fabricated a remote forest fire detection and alarm system powered by nothing but the movement of the...

Articles: Internet of Things

Long-life Batteries for the IIoT

Choosing the right battery will save trouble and expense in the long run.

Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

3D Ultrasonic Sensors Support New Industrial Applications

These sensors will improve autonomous technologies in the industrial environment, like AGVs or forklifts.

Products: Transportation

New Products: September 2020 Sensor Technology

Safety-critical MEMS, absolute pressure sensors, thermal imaging cameras, and more.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Engineers 3D-Print Sensors Onto Moving Organs

Designed to assist in robotic surgeries, biomedical devices can be printed in and on the human body.

Application Briefs: AR/AI

USB and GigE Connectivity for Modern Machine Vision

Over the decades, machine vision has adopted a number of industry standards from the more traditional Camera Link standard that involves the use of frame grabbers to the more mainstream USB...

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Markerless Motion Capture Technology Could Help Skeleton Athletes’ Training

A new type of motion capture technology accurately tracks an athlete during the push start phase of performance.

Briefs: Data Acquisition

Geoscientists Create Deeper Look at Processes Below Earth’s Surface with 3D Images

Researchers tackled the problem using a geophysical measurement called seismic anisotropy.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Spider Silk Can Create Lenses Useful for Biological Imaging

One unexpected application for spider silk is its use in the creation of biocompatible lenses.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Leap in Lidar Could Improve Safety and Security of New Technology

University of Colorado researchers have described a new silicon chip that improves the resolution and scanning speed needed for a lidar system.

Articles: Test & Measurement

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in Hyperspectral Imagers

Learn how to obtain large signals from hyperspectral imagers.

Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Camera Trends: Where We Are Now and What to Expect in the Near Future

The COVID crisis is propelling the camera industry toward disruptive transformation.

Application Briefs: Test & Measurement

Measuring Surface Roughness with an Atomic Force Microscope

Thin films and engineered surfaces are used in a myriad of applications including semiconductor electronics, data storage, and precision optics. In many cases, surface roughness and...

Products: Photonics/Optics

New Products: September 2020 Photonics & Imaging Technology

High-temp infrared emitter, single-frequency SWIR lasers, hazard testing systems, and more.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

T-Ray Camera Speed Boosted a Hundred Times Over

Real-time terahertz imaging with a single-pixel detector.

Products: RF & Microwave Electronics

Product of the Month: September 2020 Tech Briefs

InnoSenT introduced the IMD-3000 radar system as an alternative to pushbutton switches.

NASA Spinoff: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Printed Polymer Makes Integrated Airplane Parts

In 2019, NASA engineers test-fired a 3D-printed rocket engine combustion chamber.

5 Ws: Wearables

5 Ws of the Sign-to-Speech Translation Glove

People who use sign language could communicate directly with non-signers, without needing someone else to translate for them.

Articles: Internet of Things

Products of Tomorrow: September 2020

An A/C alternative, AI that sharpens blurry images, and a NASA energy harvester.

On-Demand Webinars: Medical

Conformal Coating Protection of Critical Medical Technologies

The reliability of critical components, systems, and devices takes top priority in today’s healthcare environment. With the continued development of highly sophisticated...

Podcasts: Unmanned Systems

Here's an Idea: An ‘Aerodrome’ Testing Ground for Unmanned Aircraft

Before delivery drones start carrying packages (and passenger drones start delivering ourselves), engineers will need to keep refining an unmanned aircraft's ability...

Blog: Photonics/Optics

With a Flash of a Laser, Microscopic Robots Move

A Cornell team developed paramecium-sized robots that can be controlled with lasers.

Blog: AR/AI

Can We Trust A.I.? Modeling Tool Quantifies How Much a Machine Doesn't Know

A new modeling tool from USC engineers generates automatic indicators when data and predictions from AI algorithms are trustworthy.

Blog: Transportation

What's Best for Autonomous Cars: LiDAR vs Radar vs Cameras

A reader asks our expert: When it comes to autonomous vehicles, what’s best: Radar, LiDAR, or cameras?

INSIDER: Energy

Biomorphic Batteries Could Provide 72 Times More Energy for Robots

Like biological fat reserves store energy in animals, a new rechargeable zinc battery integrates into the structure of a robot to provide much more energy, a team led by...

INSIDER: Energy

Scientists Boost Stability and Efficiency of Next-Gen Solar Tech

Researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have created next-generation solar modules with high efficiency and good...

INSIDER: Wearables

Improved Battery Life for Wearable Electronic Devices

Researchers at the University of Warwick have found that asymmetric stresses within electrodes used in certain wearable electronic devices provides an important clue as to how to...

INSIDER: Power

Faster, More Efficient Energy Storage From Layered Materials

A team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) developed a novel, integrated approach to track energy-transporting ions within an ultra-thin...