In this innovation, it is shown that a commonly used rule of thumb (that the truncation depth of a convolutional code should be five times the memory length, m, of the code) is accurate only for rate 1/2 codes. In fact, the truncation depth should be 2.5 m/(1 – r), where r is the code rate....

A conceptual space telescope having an aperture tens of meters wide and a focal length of hundreds of meters would be implemented as a group of six separate optical modules flying in formation: a primary-membrane-mirror module, a relay-mirror module, a focal-plane-assembly module containing...

A method reduces sensitivity to noise in a signal from a laser heterodyne interferometer. The phase-locked loop (PLL) removes glitches that occur in a zero-crossing detector's output [that can happen if the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the heterodyne signal is low] by the use of an internal oscillator...

Suitably formulated spatial modulation of a scene imaged by a computed-tomography imaging spectrometer (CTIS) has been found to be useful as a means of improving the imaging performance of the CTIS. As used here, “spatial modulation” signifies the imposition of additional, artificial structure on...

A carbon nanotube-coated smart yarn that conducts electricity could be woven into soft fabrics that detect blood and monitor health, engineers at the University of Michigan have demonstrated. Currently, smart textiles are made primarily of metallic or optical fibers, which are fragile and uncomfortable; metal fibers also...

#5: Researchers at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Germany are working on a thermoelectric generator that converts the heat from car exhaust fumes into electricity. The thermoelectric module feeds the energy into the car's electronic systems, reducing fuel consumption and carbon dioxide from vehicles. Click here. #4: A...

Each month, the editors of NASA Tech Briefs choose a Product of the Month - a new product with exceptional technical merit and practical value for the engineering community. Now is your chance to vote for the one product among those 12 Products of the Month that you feel was the most significant new product in...

A Stanford University-led research team has developed a prototype blood scanner that can find cancer markers in the bloodstream in early stages of the disease, potentially allowing for earlier treatment and dramatically improved chances of survival. Based on MagArray biodetection chips, the device uses magnetic nanotechnology to...

As the year comes to a close, we highlight the ten INSIDER stories that have generated the highest number of click-throughs. These are the ten stories in which INSIDERs were most interested in 2008. Today's INSIDER highlights numbers 10 through 6. Thursday's INSIDER will highlight the top five stories of 2008. #10...

Physicists, engineers, and technicians from the University of Delaware's Bartol Research Institute are part of an international team working to build the world's largest neutrino telescope in the Antarctic ice. Neutrinos have no electrical charge and can travel millions of miles through space. Dubbed "IceCube," the telescope will...

The Pete Conrad "Spirit of Innovation" Awards combine education, innovation, and entrepreneurship by challenging high school students to design products using science and technology. The competition is named after the late Pete Conrad, commander of Apollo 12 and the third man to walk on the Moon. After retiring from...

Researchers at MIT's Alcator C-Mod fusion reactor are trying to make the promise of fusion as a future power source closer to reality. Physicist Yijun Lin and principal research scientist John Rice are demonstrating a method to use radio frequency waves to circulate hot plasma inside the reactor chamber, thus controlling heat loss...

In March 2008, astronaut Garrett Reisman flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station, where he spent 95 days living and working in space before returning to Earth in June aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. Reisman originally applied to become an astronaut when in grad school at CalTech, but did...

A method to produce synthetic bone, using techniques to make vehicle catalytic converters, is being developed by researchers at the University of Warwick. The technique involves a state-of-the-art extrusion of the implant material through a mold, to produce a three-dimensional honeycomb texture with uniform pores. The material can then...

Parents buy millions of baby monitors each year in the U.S., but most transmit only sounds or video images of the baby - both useful, but only if a parent is listening or watching. University of Florida engineering researchers have built a prototype baby monitor that focuses on a baby's breathing. If the baby's chest stops moving, the...

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth's Sports Science and Mathematics departments and the U.S. Coast Guard are developing a computer model to predict how long someone will survive when lost at sea, which will in turn determine when to stop a search-and-rescue operation. Called the Search and Rescue Survival Model, the...

A University of Michigan engineer has made a machine that works like a fish to turn potentially destructive vibrations in fluid flows into clean, renewable power. Called VIVACE for Vortex Induced Vibrations for Aquatic Clean Energy, the hydrokinetic energy system relies on vortex-induced vibrations, undulations that a...

Scientists at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Urbana Campaign have developed a method to fabricate stretchable electronics that enables the user to subject circuits to extreme twisting. This technology promises flexible sensors, transmitters, photovoltaic and microfluidic devices, and other...

Five years ago, Virginia Tech burst onto the high-performance computing scene using Apple Power Mac G5 computers to build System X, one of the fastest supercomputers of its time. Recently, Kirk Cameron and Srinidhi Varadarajan, two professors of computer science in Virginia Tech's College of Engineering, architected a new...