Application Briefs: Materials
Lockheed Martin Explores a Different Kind of Space for NASA
Maple Plain, MN
www.protolabs.com
Mankind first set foot on the Moon in 1969; nearly five decades have now passed. Today, NASA is developing the Orion...
Briefs: Communications
Quantum Radio Aids Communications and Mapping
GPS signals do not penetrate very deeply or at all in water, soil, or building walls, and therefore can’t be used by submarines or in underground activities such as surveying mines. GPS also...
Briefs: Data Acquisition
System Enables Direct Data Transmission Between Underwater and Airborne Devices
Today, underwater sensors cannot share data with those on land, as both use different wireless signals that only work in their respective mediums. Radio signals that travel through air die very rapidly in water. Acoustic signals, or sonar, sent by underwater devices...
Briefs: Nanotechnology
See-Through Film Rejects 70 Percent of Incoming Solar Heat
A heat-rejecting film was developed that could be applied to a building’s windows to reflect up to 70 percent of the Sun’s incoming heat. The film remains highly transparent...
NASA Spinoff: Electronics & Computers
Organic Compound Turns Toxic Waste into Harmless Byproducts
Spinoff is NASA’s annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and services in...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Signal Combiner for Wideband Communication
NASA’s Glenn Research Center has devised an efficient new method of combining primary and secondary signals with minimal loss and noise. With its ability to reduce system noise, this novel signal combiner delivers the best opportunity to receive a desired signal not easily distinguished from...
Briefs: Aerospace
Pre-Treatment Solution for Water Recovery
The Pre-Treatment Solution for Water Recovery technology was developed by NASA Johnson Space Center innovators to increase the amount of potable water recovered from the International Space Station’s urine processor assembly system. The solution increased the water recovery rate in the ISS distiller...
Products: RF & Microwave Electronics
New on the Market: April 2019
Smalley, Lake Zurich, IL, announced a Nested Spirawave Wave Springs series. The multiple-turn, flat wire wave springs are coiled in parallel to produce two to three times as much force as...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Polarization Imaging Sensor for Enhanced Scene Analysis
Along with intensity and color, polarization is a property of light that can provide useful information for scene analysis; however, the human eye and most cameras cannot detect...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Wear-Resistant Platinum Gold Alloy
From cellphones to satellites, industry spends millions on traditional gold alloy electrical contact coatings. While gold and other metal alloys have been an industry standard to protect metal components...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Wake Vortex Avoidance System and Method
NASA Langley Research Center scientists have developed a microphone that detects infrasound, i.e., acoustic waves ranging from 20-Hz frequencies down to DC. Infrasound is emitted in a number of...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Transparent Test Patch Determines Food Contamination
A transparent test patch, printed with harmless molecules, signals food contamination as it happens. The patch can be incorporated directly into food packaging, where it can monitor the contents for harmful pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella. The new technology has the potential to...
Briefs: Imaging
Virtual Test Laboratory
The mechanical properties of sheet metal materials are directional. Their deformation behavior and their strength differ significantly depending on the viewing direction; for example, in the direction of rolling, or...
Briefs: Aerospace
Passive RFID Tag with Long Range and Wide Coverage Capabilities
Researchers at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed the RFID Tag with Long Range and Wide Coverage Capabilities technology that allows a RFID tag to direct a RFID reader beam signal back in the direction of arrival. This technology requires no added power to provide telemetry...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Measurement Technique for Continuous-Wave, Modulated, and Pulsed Monochromatic Radiation
In many applications, such as remote sensing of atmospheric trace gases, monochromatic radiation with multiple discrete wavelengths is required. To date, there no instrument or technique that measures the wavelength jitters and fluctuations in real time.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
The Teletenna — a Hybrid Telescope Antenna System
Innovators at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have developed a hybrid telescope antenna system — Teletenna — to deliver high-data-rate communication over great distances. Teletenna has...
Titanium is as strong as steel but about twice as light. These properties depend on the way a metal’s atoms are stacked but random defects that arise in the...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Self-Healing, Fluid-Inspired Material
Even tiny cracks can cause bridges to collapse, pipelines to rupture, and fuselages to detach from airplanes due to hard-to-detect corrosion in tiny cracks, scratches, and dents. A new coating strategy for metal self-heals within seconds when scratched, scraped, or cracked. The novel material could prevent...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Laser Ranging Can See 3D Objects Melting in Fires
Optical range measurements, already used in manufacturing and other fields, may help overcome practical challenges posed by structural fires, which are too hot to measure with conventional...
Briefs: Materials
Chip Measures Quantities with Quantum Precision
Many devices use light to probe the quantum states of atoms in a vapor confined in a small cell. Atoms can be highly sensitive to external conditions, and therefore make superb detectors....
Products: Communications
Product of the Month: April 2019 Tech Briefs
nanotron, Munich, Germany, introduced 360° Edge Analytics tools and location-aware wireless sensors for manufacturing and healthcare. The products automatically extract event information...
Special Reports: Electronics & Computers
RF & Microwave Electronics - April 2019
In this compendium of recent articles from the editors of Aerospace & Defense Technology and Tech Briefs, read about how high-frequency electronics advances are enabling new applications in space...
Special Reports: Transportation
Automotive Manufacturing - April 2019
Factories are getting smarter thanks to advances in robotics, analytics, simulation, metrology and more. To help you keep pace with the latest developments, we present this compendium of recent articles...
Special Reports: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Medical Manufacturing - April 2019
How are advances in 3D printing, robotic assembly, molding and other fabrication technologies shaping the future of medical device manufacturing? Find out in this Special Report – a compilation of recent...
Products: Electronics & Computers
New Product: TRACO POWER’s TIB 80-EX Power Supplies
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Answering Your Questions: Can Collaborative Robots Help Manufacturers Looking to Scale Their Business?
INSIDER: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Self-Contained Wheel Units Cut Vehicle Costs
Vehicles could be affordably produced for a wide variety of specialized purposes using a self-contained wheel unit that combines a wheel and an electric motor with braking, suspension,...
INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
Robots Quickly Track Moving Objects with Precision
Robots using a system of RFID tags can locate tagged objects within 7.5 milliseconds on average with an error of less than a centimeter. TurboTrack could replace computer vision for some...
Top Stories
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Experts Weigh In: How Will a Robotic Future Impact Nature?
Podcasts: Materials
INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Orbiting Instrument Hints That Stored Magnetic Energy Heats Solar...
Videos: Aerospace
Test System Could Enable Reduced Helicopter Vibration
Blog: Transportation
CES 2021: How COVID-19 Turned the Car into a Personal 'Second Space'
Videos: Automotive
Question of the Week
Has the Vehicle Become Your “Second Space?”
Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Reducing the Cost of Quality in Automotive BiW
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Electric-Vehicle Transmission Development Priorities
Upcoming Webinars: Medical
The Critical Role of Fiber Optic Temperature Sensors in Medical...
Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Zinc Die Casting Concepts to Achieve Precision, Performance, and...
Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement
Radar Measurements: Triggering, Analysis, and Generation
Upcoming Webinars: Materials
Trending Stories
NASA Spinoff: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Nanotechnology Repairs Engine Damage in Cars
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
Linear Motors and Actuators Meets Automation Needs
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Radiation-Tolerant DC-DC Converters
Application Briefs: Energy
Lithium-Ion Batteries Critical to Mars Spacecraft
Application Briefs: Aerospace
System Recycles and Purifies Large Volumes of Helium for SLS
