Orchestrator is a software application infrastructure for telemetry monitoring, logging, processing, and distribution. The architecture has been applied to support operations of a variety of planetary rovers. Built in Java with the Eclipse Rich Client Platform, Orchestrator can run on most commonly used...

A constructive scheme has been devised to enable mapping of any quantum computation into a spintronic circuit in which the computation is encoded in a basis that is, in principle, immune to quantum decoherence. The scheme is implemented by an algorithm that utilizes multiple physical spins to...

A document proposes the development of spin-stabilized microsatellites powered by solar photovoltaic cells aided by solar concentrators. Each such satellite would have a cylindrical or other axisymmetric main body with solar cells mounted in a circumferential beltlike array on its exterior...

A document describes a method of calibrating phase differences among ground antennas in an array so that the maximumintensity direction of the far-field interference pattern of the array coincides with the direction for aiming the antennas to enable radio communication with a distant...

A document concisely describes a ring bus architecture for a proposed solid-state recorder (SSR) that would serve as buffer of data to be transmitted from a spacecraft to Earth. This architecture would afford fault tolerance needed for reliable operation in an anticipated high-radiation environment...

A report discusses a modification of the ICER image-data-compression algorithm to increase the accuracy of ranging computations performed on compressed stereoscopic image pairs captured by cameras aboard the Mars Exploration Rovers. (ICER and variants thereof were discussed in several...

One of the newest trends in machine vision systems is the implementation of so-called "smart cameras." A smart camera combines the usual image sensor with a built-in processor, which allows inspections to be run directly on the camera, thereby eliminating a step in the process. Instead of simply capturing images, like a...

A research scientist at the University of Michigan has created what may be the world's most powerful laser beam. The record-setting beam measures 20 billion trillion watts per square centimeter and contains 300 terrawatts of power. That's roughly 300-times the capacity of the US electrical grid. The laser beam's power is concentrated in...

A new technology called FINCH (Fresnel INcoherent Correlation Holography), invented by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, could make three-dimensional imaging quicker, easier and less costly than current methods. According to Gary Brooker, director of Johns Hopkins University's Microscopy...

A team led by Jun Ye, a physicist at JILA - a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder - demonstrated an optical technique for simultaneously identifying tiny amounts of a broad range of molecules in the breath, potentially enabling a fast, low-cost...

A robotic arm tool for rapidly acquiring permafrost (RATRAP) is being developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPO). The RATRAP is for acquiring samples of permafrost on Mars or another remote planet and immediately delivering the samples to adjacent instruments for analysis. Read more here.

Polished aluminum begins to re-oxidize and pit almost immediately, especially when exposed to climates along the sea or in hot, humid areas. A company is looking for a coating or surface-protection process to protect polished aluminum used outdoors and keep it free of scratches. The solution should be clear and have a...

MIT researchers created a waterproof adhesive bandage inspired by gecko lizards that may soon join sutures and staples as a basic operating room tool for patching up surgical wounds or internal injuries. The MIT researchers built the adhesive with a biorubber and, using micropatterning technology, shaped the biorubber into different...

Each month, NTB highlights tech briefs related to a particular area of technology in a special section called Technology Focus. Here are some of the technologies featured in the February issue focus on Test and Measurement.