Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Soft Servo Systems (Waltham, MA) offers the WMX general motion controller that simultaneously controls up to 64 axes and 64 channels with control functions on the EtherCAT platform. It can run as an EtherCAT master on a...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Profile Guide rail brakes from Nexen Group (Vadnais Heights, MN) are available in a range of sizes from 15 to 45, and provide engagement at 0.049 to 0.080 seconds. They provide static holding force to 2,600 N (585 lbs.), and can...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The RCP-DELTA robot and control system from Aerotech (Piitsburgh, PA) is available in four models that support payloads up to 3 kg, with X/Y operating ranges of 500/800/1100/1300 mm, and an optional continuous...
Products: Motion Control
Velmex (Bloomfield, NY) offers the Parallel-Coupled BiSlide System for long traverses and larger loads. The system features two identical BiSlide assemblies coupled with a timing belt to drive synchronous operation. It can...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
LinTech (Monrovia, CA) offers the 610 series totally enclosed positioning stage in stroke lengths from 6 to 60 inches (150 to 1520 mm). The screwdriven linear positioning systems use a low-friction, preloaded, recirculating...
Podcasts
Dave McNally, Aerospace Engineer, Air Traffic Management, and Kapil Sheth, Aerospace Research Engineer, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Two NASA-developed tools — the Dynamic Weather Routes (DWR) tool and a national implementation of DWR called the National Airspace System Constraint Evaluation and Notification Tool (NASCENT) — will...
INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have brought a fourth dimension to their...
INSIDER: Materials
Taking a page from the beetle's playbook, Virginia Tech biomedical engineers created a way to control condensation and frost growth on airplane parts, condenser coils, and windshields.
INSIDER: Medical
Researchers are using a technology likened to "mini force fields" to independently control individual microrobots operating within groups, an advance aimed at using the tiny machines in...
INSIDER: Energy
Biological systems are known to convert energy generated from the evaporation of water confined within nanoscale compartments into muscle-like mechanical work in response to changes in...
INSIDER: Motion Control
The automotive and aeronautic industries often rely on shape optimization, an approach that uses modeling to create a framework for making devices as smooth and efficient as possible....
INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
Most deep sea robotic manipulators are constructed from hard materials that are not geared to collect fragile coral. Researchers at the Wyss Institute, Harvard Paulson School, and City University of...
Question of the Week
Will a brain modem become a reality?
This week's Question: The U.S. military’s Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) unveiled plans last week to develop a "brain modem." The implantable neural interface allows wearers to transmit data from their brains to external digital devices. DARPA's goal is to achieve this communications link...
Question of the Week
Would you prefer to fly in a hybrid aircraft?
This week's Question: Researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center are developing a hybrid plane that will, like a hybrid car, rely on both fossil fuels and electricity to power itself through the sky. The NASA engineers are looking at power systems that generate electricity in place of, or in...
News: Robotics, Automation & Control
'Mini Force Fields' Power Microbots
Purdue researchers are using "mini force field technology" to independently control individual microrobots operating within groups.
Who's Who: Aerospace
As NASA plans launches to Mars, Europa, and beyond, the agency's Office of Planetary Protection ensures that the environments are shielded against contamination, especially bacteria and microbes from...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
A layer-by-layer film developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology could harvest sunlight and release heat on demand hours or days later.
INSIDER: Transportation
For the past year, NASA’s Ames Research Center and Nissan have been collaborating on the development of autonomous driving technologies that could one day be used in future consumer vehicles,...
INSIDER: Imaging
Antibodies combat viruses and bacteria. They also attach themselves to cancer cells. Scientists are using this property to detect cancer cells in tissue samples. This polymer-based rapid test...
INSIDER: Data Acquisition
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques (FHR) have created a sensor suite that will help emergency services more effectively detect...
INSIDER: Materials
To support Mars exploration, new spacesuits must protect astronauts, supply air and water, and be flexible enough to allow for small required tasks like the digging of samples. Engineers from the...
Question of the Week
Will virtual reality help astronauts?
This week's Question: Former astronaut and current Dartmouth University physician Jay Buckey and his team have sent Oculus Rift headsets to Canadian Force Station Alert, a military station in Canada located 500 miles from the North Pole. The researchers will ultimately test whether exposure to nature through...
Articles: Aerospace
In 1964, NASA’s Electronics Research Center (ERC) opened in Massachusetts, serving to develop the space agency’s in-house expertise in electronics during...
Articles: Imaging
In mid-October, a NASA-developed software called AEGIS was uploaded to the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover. The AEGIS technology, winner of NASA’s 2011 Software of the Year award, will soon...
Articles: Imaging
MultiWave Hybrid Technology* combines multiple laser beams with various wavelengths into a single coaxial laser beam. There are existing systems using two different laser wavelengths...
Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Organic Light Emitting Diode (“OLED”) lighting panels are thin planar area light sources that are naturally diffuse, low glare, high color rendering, cool to the touch, highly energy efficient and highly...
Articles: Photonics/Optics
The SPIE Photonics West 2016 technical conference and exhibition returns to The Moscone Center in San Francisco, February 13-18, offering attendees the opportunity to explore the latest innovations in lasers,...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Cognex Corporation (Natick, MA) has announced the In- Sight® 2000 vision sensor series. The In-Sight 2000 products include an integrated image-formation system consisting of field interchangeable lenses and a patent-pending...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
New ace models from Basler (Ahrensburg, Germany/Exton, PA) feature Sony's IMX249 global shutter CMOS sensor. The cameras deliver 40 frames per second at 2.3 megapixel resolution. Additionally, the models are available with both...
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