Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Invisible Tags Write, Read, and Erase Using Light

A method was developed that enables information to be contained in simple plastic foils with a thickness of less than 50 μm, which is thinner than a human hair. Organic luminescent molecules...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Dynamic Microstructures Move by Light and Temperature

3D printing via direct laser writing involves a computer-controlled focused laser beam that acts as a pen and creates the desired structure in the printer ink — a photoresist. In this...

Technology Leaders: Automotive

Maintaining Data Protection and Security for the Connected Car

How can the automotive industry protect itself and its customers against digital attacks?

5 Ws: Materials

5 Ws of Paper Unprinting

Who

Anyone using standard, coated paper in conventional printers.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Manufacturing Process for Aluminum Alloys

An advanced manufacturing process was developed to produce nano-structured rods and tubes directly from high-performance aluminum alloy powder in a single step. Using a Solid Phase Processing...

Q&A: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Q&A: Wearable Motion Sensors Could Save Unborn Babies

Professor Negar Tavassolian is using vibration sensors to monitor heartbeats.

Briefs: Energy

Rose-Inspired Device Collects and Purifies Water

A new device, inspired by a rose, inexpensively collects and purifies water. The device is a new approach to solar steaming for water production — a technique that uses energy from sunlight...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

New Airplane Wing Assembled from Tiny Identical Pieces

A radically new kind of airplane wing, assembled from hundreds of tiny identical pieces, can change shape to control the plane’s flight, and could provide a significant boost in...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

3D-Printed Liquid Lab-on-a-Chip

Researchers have 3D-printed an all-liquid device that, with the click of a button, can be repeatedly reconfigured on demand to serve a wide range of applications from making battery materials to screening drug...

Articles: Defense

Mobile Rugged Displays for Situational Awareness

Program managers and engineers in the military markets need to know about the emergence of new display technologies in the consumer sector.

Facility Focus: Propulsion

Facility Focus: NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center

NASA Armstrong flight-tests some of the nation’s most unique aircraft and aeronautical systems.

NASA Spinoff: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Deep-Space Food Science Research Improves 3D Printing

Developing meals for long-duration missions is leading to personalized 3D-printed food.

Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

Ultrathin Transistors for Faster Computer Chips

For decades, microchip transistors have become smaller, faster, and cheaper; however, miniaturization has reached a natural limit, as completely new problems arise when a length scale of only a...

Briefs: Aerospace

Aircraft Vertical Takeoff and Landing

NASA’s Langley Research Center developed an inexpensive, long-endurance, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It is capable of flying for 24 hours, landing in a 50 × 50...

Products: Test & Measurement

New on the Market: October 2019

See the new tech products being offered in October 2019.

Articles: Aerospace

Products of Tomorrow: October 2019

Permeable concrete, quick disconnects, and more

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Compact, Lightweight, CMC-Based Acoustic Liner

In the wake of recent developments that have reduced fan and jet noise contributions to overall jet-engine noise, aircraft designers are turning their attention toward reducing engine core...

Briefs: Aerospace

Structure Deformation Calculation Program for Structural Shape Monitoring

Researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center are pioneering shape-sensing technologies that seek to maximize structural integrity and efficiency. A new and...

Articles: Test & Measurement

Smart, Hybrid Actuators Combine Nanometer Precision, Large Forces, and Long Travel Ranges with High Dynamics

The characteristics of hybrid drives present a practical solution when a position needs to be detected with high precision

Articles: Photonics/Optics

How to Use Rotary Encoders to Quickly Convert Mechanical Rotation into Digital Signals

In the digital age, the measurement of rotation of a mechanical shaft on a motor or a rotating instrument knob needs to be done quickly and efficiently....

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Smartphone App Programs Robots

A smartphone app was developed that allows a user to easily program any robot to perform a mundane activity such as picking up parts from one area and delivering them to another. The app, called VRa, uses...

Articles: Automotive

Avoiding Electrical Damage with Conductive Lubrication

While most cars today run on 12-volt DC batteries, cars in the future will run on 48 volts. This increased voltage could affect ball bearing performance.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

High-Sensitivity, Low-Noise MEMS Accelerometer

A high-sensitivity and low-noise MEMS accelerometer was developed using multi-layer metal structures composed of multiple metal layers. The accelerometer achieves 1 μG level resolution that has...

Products: Defense

New Products: October 2019 Motion Design

Brushless Servo Motor

maxon precision motors (Taunton, MA) released the EC-i30 20W brushless servomotor with integrated electronics. With an integrated 4-quadrant speed controller, the motor is...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Miniature Stretchable Pump

Soft robots have a distinct advantage over rigid robots: they can adapt to complex environments, handle fragile objects, and interact safely with humans. Made from silicone, rubber, or other stretchable polymers,...

Briefs: Nanotechnology

Automated System Generates Robotic Parts

An automated system designs and 3D-prints complex robotic parts that are optimized according to an enormous number of specifications. The system fabricates actuators — devices that mechanically...