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...

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...

Alpha Gear Drives (Bartlett, IL) released the low-backlash Alphira(TM) Servo Planetary Gearheads for low-end applications. For cyclic and continuous operation, and with a 20,000-hour service life, the unit comes in four sizes and features five reduction ratios. Click here to learn...

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 feature...

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...

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...

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 helmet audio system to...

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...

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 able...

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.

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 in...

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 on...

New data-display technology developed at Kent State University will provide doctors with an improved ability to evaluate commonly used medical images. The technology allows for interactive viewing of large image data sets from virtually any medical imaging device. The new system is compatible...

An organization seeks new orthobiologic technologies (bone replacement materials and antibiotical carriers) that stimulate bone growth in spinal fusion repairs. They also are seeking FDA-approved materials with strength and stiffness close to cortical bone. To respond to this Tech Need, click here.

A research team led by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory has developed a prototype of the first fully integrated prosthetic arm that can be controlled naturally, provides sensory feedback, and allows for eight degrees of freedom. Proto 1 is a complete limb system that...

The LS5 software from HORIBA Jobin Yvon (Edison, NJ) has been named Photonics Tech BriefsÂ’ (PTB) Product of the Month for May. Designed with a kernel-based modular structure, it operates all Raman products including the automated LabRAM ARAMIS, high-resolution LabRAM HR, and T64000 triple...

Supersonic speed would allow travelers to cut significantly their travel time, but due to the resulting sonic booms, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and similar bodies restrict supersonic travel to transoceanic only. To solve this problem, Gulfstream Aerospace...

Technologies are available to improve fire-retardant effectiveness of melamine systems in nylon. More information here. A fire-retardant compound is available that is comprised of one fibrous layer and a layer comprised of a particulate fire-retardant material. More information here. The Technologies...

Scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW, Sydney, Australia) developed a process to boost the efficiency of solar cell technology that also lowers the total cost. The UNSW researchers deposited a thin film of silver onto a solar cellÂ’s surface and then heated it to 200 degrees...

As noted in the article "Mini CW Lasers Enable Next-Generation Bioinstrumentation" in May's edition of Photonics Tech Briefs (PTB), continuous-wave (CW) lasers have helped advance research in fields such as cell sorting and DNA sequencing. Written by Jurgen Niederhofer, product manager of Newport's Spectra-Physics Lasers...

A global 500 European company is seeking new piezoelectric materials. Esaote Biomedica is seeking high-performance, affordable, piezoelectric material plates for medical sonography applications. Direct financing is available. For more information, click here.

On Thursday, May 3, Peter Homer of Southwest Harbor, ME, won $200,000 from NASA for his entry in the Astronaut Glove Challenge. Homer's glove design performed better overall than the competition in tests that rated the glove's strength, flexibility, and comfort. Homer's innovations in finger dexterity could enhance NASA's future astronaut...

NASA Tech Briefs and the Voice of the Customer Institute recently announced a joint agreement to conduct a series of national seminars on the Voice of the Customer. This discipline helps businesses identify and prioritize customer needs, while training employees to conduct exercises to obtain this information independently. The results...

Still using duct tape and cardboard to predict thermal gotchas? Got a PhD thermal specialist stashed in the backroom? That ain't gonna cut it anymore. Read this eight-page report and learn to build thermal management into your corporate DNA.

Measure Foundry(R) 5.0 test and measurement software from Data Translation, (Marlboro, MA) was named NTB's Product of the Month for May. The software offers open support of all system standards, including VISA, SCPI, GPIB, USB, PCI, LXI, PXI/VXI, and RS-232. The application builder software enables users to graphically combine...

A high-birefringence optical material is needed suitable for implementation in optical systems. The material also should feature high hardness making it amenable to standard polishing and manufacturing processes, low CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion), low CTRI (coefficient of thermal refractive index), low absorption at...

MIT researchers have developed a new type of laser based on Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) for taking high-resolution, 3D images of the retina. OCT uses light to obtain high-resolution, cross-sectional images of the eye to visualize subtle changes that occur in retinal disease.

A model predictive control (MPC) algorithm that differs from prior MPC algorithms has been developed for controlling an uncertain nonlinear system. This algorithm guarantees the resolvability of an associated finite-horizon optimal-control problem in a receding horizon implementation. Given...