NASA and over 150 partner organizations worldwide will be hosting the International Space Apps Challenge on April 20-21, 2013. The International Space Apps Challenge is a technology development event during which citizens from around the world work together to solve challenges relevant to...

University of Utah researchers developed a high-speed camera system that photographed snowflakes in 3-D as they fell.

Sandia National Laboratories is developing a suite of complementary technologies to help the emerging algae industry detect and quickly recover from algal pond crashes, an obstacle to large-scale algae cultivation for future biofuels.

MIT engineer Skylar Tibbits recently spoke at a TED conference about the promise of 4D printing. The act of 4D printing creates objects in one state that could then change to a different state over time. Without human intervention, the object alters its shape based on moisture or heat from a...

Using a combination of theory and experiment, researchers have developed a new approach for understanding and predicting how small legged robots – and potentially also animals – move on and interact with complex granular materials such as sand.

Carbon nanotubes and magnetic molecules are considered building blocks of future nanoelectronic systems. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and French colleagues have combined both components on the atomic level and to build a quantum mechanical system with novel properties.

Oxford University scientists have demonstrated a custom-built programmable 3D printer that can create materials with several of the properties of living tissues.

A recent New York Times article highlighted software from EdX, a nonprofit enterprise founded by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. EdX software uses artificial intelligence to grade student essays and short written answers. The tool requires human teachers to first grade...

From up to a kilometer away, a Time-of-Flight (ToF) imaging system gathers high-resolution, 3-D information about objects that are typically very difficult to image.

More than 10 years ago, U.S. Army researchers saw potential in flexible displays. With nothing in the marketplace, the Army decided to change that by partnering with industry and academia to create the Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University.

U.S. Army Research Laboratory scientists in the Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate are currently exploring the field of quantum sensing and are discovering ways in which the Army can benefit from innovations that were once thought impossible.

A team of researchers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) and the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at the University of California, San Diego, has developed a highly scalable computer code that promises to dramatically cut both research times and energy costs in simulating seismic...

The U.S. Army is developing a new Advanced Multi-Purpose 120mm tank round that combines six different capabilities into a single round. The Advanced Multi-Purpose, or AMP, is ready to enter into the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase after a prototype successfully demonstrated Technology...

US researchers have now developed a cloak that is micrometers thick and can hide three-dimensional objects from microwaves in their natural environment, in all directions and from all of the observers’ positions.

British scientists have created what they say is the world's most realistic human avatar. Combining facial modeling and mathematical algorithms, 'Zoe' has advanced language function and displays a range of emotions. The technology could act as an assistant to business executives or a teacher's...

Virginia Tech researchers have introduced an autonomous robotic jellyfish the size and weight of a grown man - 5 foot 7 inches in length and weighing 170 pounds - as part of a U.S. Navy-funded project.

Navid Attary, a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has created a seismic protection device to boost the resiliency of bridges and buildings to earthquakes. His innovation, which uses a new and novel method to dissipate the destructive forces of earthquakes,...

The primary application for cryogenic insulating foams will be fuel tank applications for fueling systems. It is crucial for this insulation to be incorporated into systems that survive vacuum and terrestrial environments. It is hypothesized that by forming an open-cell...

A sprayable aerogel insulation has been developed that has good mechanical integrity and lower thermal conductivity than incumbent polyurethane spray-on foam insulation, at similar or lower areal densities, to prevent insulation cracking and...

This work uses existing technologies to prepare a crossbar architecture of nanotubes, wherein one nanotube is fixed to a substrate, and a second nanotube is suspended a finite distance above. Both nanotubes can be individually addressed electrically. Application of...

A method was developed for cutting a fabric structural member in an inflatable module, without damaging the internal structure of the module, using linear shaped charge. Lexan and magnets are used in a charge holder to precisely position the linear shaped charge over the desired cut...

A waterless clothes-cleaning machine has been developed that removes loose particulates and deodorizes dirty laundry with regenerative chemical processes to make the clothes more comfortable to wear and have a fresher smell. This system was initially developed for use in zero-g, but could be altered for 1-g...

Flight mirror assemblies (FMAs) of large telescopes, such as the International X-ray Observatory (IXO), have very stringent thermal-structural distortion requirements. The spatial temperature gradient requirement within a FMA could be as small...

Most present wind, wave, and tidal energy systems require expensive power conditioning systems that reduce overall efficiency. This new design eliminates power conditioning all, or nearly all, of the time.

An integrated system tool will allow a technician to easily and quickly repair damaged high-performance electrical wire insulation in the field. Low-melt polyimides have been developed that can be processed into thin films that work well in the repair of damaged polyimide or fluoropolymer...

NASA’s investigations of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere require measurements of composition of the neutral air and ions. NASA is able to undertake these observations, but the instruments currently in use have their limitations. NASA has extended the scope of its research in the atmosphere...

Free space optical communications links from deep space are projected to fulfill future NASA communication requirements for 2020 and beyond. Accurate laser-beam pointing is required to achieve high data rates at low power levels. For the highest pointing accuracy, a laser beacon transmitted...