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NASA News
NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) now enables scientists to forecast solar radiation storms, giving future astronauts time to seek shelter and ground controllers time to safeguard satellites. The new method offers as much as one-hour advance notice when a storm is approaching.
Blog: Aerospace
NASA Innovative Partnership
As part of NASA's Partnership Seed Fund program, Goddard Space Flight Center is integrating the ILIADS software, a geospatial information system (GIS) it developed for lunar applications, with Questus(TM), a management and planning software tool developed by United Space Alliance (USA) for space shuttle operations....
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Technologies of the Week
This invention provides low-molecular-weight polyesters and polyamides useful
for flushing wet pigments and manufacturing color concentrates. More specifically, the compositions of the invention are effective for flushing wet pigments, producing pigment dispersions, and then producing colored polymers with the...
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First Responder Software
First responders will be able to better prepare individuals with special needs thanks to new open-source software developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Lab. The Special Population Planner software is an extension to commercial ArcView Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, and provides a...
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Improved Plastics
A team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has uncovered certain properties of shish-kebabs -- tiny structures that can form when polymers crystallize during flow -- that should lead to improved materials in the most widely used plastics.
Shish-kebabs are made of polymers known as...
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Hazardous-Materials Detection
Researchers at Purdue University are developing a system that uses
mathematical models and sensors to locate passengers releasing hazardous materials or pathogens inside airline cabins. The research has shown that the technique can track a substance to an area the size of a single seat.
The technique,...
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Tech Needs of the Week
A method is needed to visually detect the presence of pathogenic bacteria or microbes on human hands regardless of the presence of beneficent micro- organisms and without killing the latter. The solution must be safe for humans and easily applicable by a common user.
To respond to this Tech Need click here.
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NASA News
A patch of Martian soil analyzed by NASA's rover Spirit is so rich in silica that it may provide some of the strongest evidence yet that ancient Mars was much wetter than it is now. The processes that could have produced such a concentrated deposit of silica require the presence of water.
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"Private" Surveillance
The Laser-Based Item Monitoring System (LBIMS), developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, balances the need for high-resolution monitoring and personal safety with confidentiality and personal privacy. Using low-cost reflective tags placed on objects, LBIMS maps the precise...
Blog: Medical
Custom Contacts
University of Rochester (New York) researchers have developed custom- designed contacts for people with keratoconic eyes, which are rare but disabling. From the side, the eyes look more pointed or cone-shaped than round. The condition causes people to see halos, and double and triple images. About 1 in 2,000 people suffer from...
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Techs of the Week: Gas Sensing and Monitoring
CLEANSENS is a non-dispersive infrared gas photometer used to measure the presence and concentration of high-GWP (Global Warming Potential) gases, including HFCs, PFCs, and SF6. It uses a patented dual-beam sensor to achieve a very wide dynamic range of detection. The sensor employs an electrically...
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Sensor/Actuator System Wins NASA Invention of the Year
A team from Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, has been awarded the 2006 NASA Government Invention of the Year for the MacroFiber Composite Actuator and Sensor (MFC), an actuator and sensor system that is more durable than a piezoelectric system, and provides increased unidirectional...
Blog: Imaging
Current Attractions
Imaging Technology(TM), a supplement to NASA Tech Briefs published three times a year, contains a special section called Applications. Here's an Insider preview of an Application story in the automotive field in the June issue:
Infrared Night Vision Expands What Drivers Can "See"
Seven years ago, General...
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Techology Business Brief
A method and system allow you to combine inductive coupling for remote power and data transmission and capacitive coupling, while the IC card is attached to the terminal in order to transfer a large amount of energy.
For more information, click here.
The Technology Business Briefs portray licensing or...
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Quantum Dot Photodetectors Could Spawn New Imaging Techniques
Researchers at Northwestern University's Center for Quantum Dots (CQD) have developed new quantum dot infrared photodetectors (QDIPs) that could result in new imaging techniques for medical and biological imaging, night vision, and infrared imaging from space. Using nanotechnology to...
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VITA Announces Partnership with ABP International
VITA, the trade association dedicated to fostering ANSI-accredited, open- system architectures in a variety of critical embedded system applications, announced that ABP International (ABPI) has become a VITA Media Partner (VMP) focusing on the technologies, products, and trends directly...
Blog: Energy
Revolutionary Stove Could Help Reduce Poverty
Led by the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at The University of Nottingham (U.K.), a research team is using thermoacoustic technology for the first time to convert biomass fuels into energy to power a combination stove, refrigerator, and generator. Part of the ~$4M SCORE (Stove for...
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Tech Needs: Delivery System for Controlled Release of Actives
A technology is needed to enable delivery of active compositions/components triggered at a specific time and/or in a specific place. The delivery mechanism could be triggered by a large range of conditions, and can comprise a new chemistry formulation, modification of an existing...
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NASA-Funded Robotic Sub Explores Earth's Deepest Sinkhole
Scientists have begun the final leg of a five-year, NASA-funded mission to reach the bottom of Cenote Zacatón in Mexico, the world's deepest known sinkhole. Using the Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer (DEPTHX), scientists aim to learn more about Cenote Zacatón's physical dimensions, the...
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New on the Market: Incremental Encoders and Linear Shafts
Click here to learn...
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"Fly-By-Wire" Flap Actuator System Developed for Light Jet
Eaton Corporation (Irvine, CA) partnered with Embraer (Brazil) in the development of a "fly-by-wire" wing flap actuator system, developed specifically for the new Embraer Phenom 100 Very Light Jet (VLJ). Fuselage construction began in March.
Traditional mechanical flap systems...
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Coming Attractions: Linear Scales in Thermonuclear Ignition System
Motion Control Technologyâ„¢, a bi-monthly supplement to NASA Tech Briefs, contains a section called Applications, which reports on motion control components being used in the field. Here's an Insider sneak peek at one of the technologies covered in the upcoming June...
Blog
Robotic Rotary Motor Runs on Compressed Air
Researchers at Engineair Pty Ltd. (Melbourne, Australia) have designed a rotary air engine called the Di Pietro motor, whose concept is based on a rotary piston and is driven by compressed air. The motor uses a cylindrical rotary piston that rolls inside the cylindrical stator. The space between stator...
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Current Attractions: Focus on Communications
Each month, NTB highlights tech briefs related to a particular area of technology in a special section known as Technology Focus. Here's
an Insider look at the May focus on Communications.
Noise-Canceling Helmet Audio System
NASA's John Glenn Research Center has developed a...
Blog
Techs of the Week: Web-Based Application Protection
A software-based Web application firewall called DotDefender(TM) is deployed as a Web server plug-in to identify and stop attacks that attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in Web applications. Protection is provided through a combination of three security engines: pattern recognition, session...
Blog
New Device Could Lead to Sleep on Demand
Dr. Giulio Tononi, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, has discovered how to stimulate brain waves that characterize the deepest stage of sleep. The discovery could open a new window into the role of sleep in keeping humans healthy, happy, and...
Blog
Technology Business Brief
This device is available for use in a wide range of applications including advanced printing systems, patterning photoresist during IC manufacture, and creating masks or reticles for projection-type photolithography systems.
More information here.
Blog
Device Tracks Ad Effectiveness By Monitoring Eye Movement
A device developed at Queen's University (Canada) provides a unique way for advertisers to track the effectiveness of their messages by measuring how many people are looking at their billboards and screens. Called eyebox2(TM), the portable device uses a camera that monitors eye movements...
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Less Than One Week Left to Submit Your NNEC Abstract!
The National Nano Engineering Conference (NNEC), being held November 14-15 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, is the premier event focused on current and future developments in engineering innovations at the nanoscale, as well as the commercialization of nanotechnology.
Presentations...
Top Stories
Videos: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Stratolaunch Approaches Hypersonic Speeds in First Talon-A Flight
Blog: Automotive
A Hack to Trick Automotive Radar
Blog: Medical
3D Ice Printing Artificial Blood Vessels
Blog: Power
Tesla Valve-Inspired Design Could Improve the Performance of Rotating...
Podcasts: RF & Microwave Electronics
Countering Illegally Operated Drones at Airports, Stadiums, and Prisons
Blog: Energy
Fast-Charging Li Battery Could Make ‘Range Anxiety’ a Thing of the Past
Question of the Week
Blog: Artificial Intelligence: Meet Human Intelligence
Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: Defense
From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness
Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace
April Battery & Electrification Summit
Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024
Upcoming Webinars: Materials
Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...
Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement
Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan