INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers
Closed-Loop I²S Audio Amplifiers
Texas Instruments (TI) (Dallas, TX) has introduced a family of four digital-input, closed-loop I2S amplifiers for mid-power stereo audio applications including TVs, soundbars, portable docking...
News
Future Soldiers Will Have Flexible Electronics Everywhere
More than 10 years ago, U.S. Army researchers saw potential in flexible displays. With nothing in the marketplace, the Army decided to change that by partnering with industry and academia to create the Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University. The Army's goal was to get this...
News
Army advances standardized tactical computer
In combat and tactical vehicles, soldiers can access communications systems that display a complete picture of the battlefield. However, these high-tech situational awareness features are viewed through different computer systems, over separate monitors and with little room to spare. Now the Army is...
Question of the Week
Do the Benefits of Car Connectivity Outweigh the Drawbacks?
Car-to car and car-to-infrastructure communication, which uses Wi-Fi and cellular technologies to inform drivers of any obstacles in the road, is advancing. Technologies like V2X can be used to deliver warnings to other drivers if, for example, a car has crashed or broken down in the...
News
The Ship That Waves Won’t Rock
A new ship makes it easier to find one’s sea legs, thanks to opposing waves created in specially designed tanks fitted in the hull. The ship will house personnel working on offshore installations, and is optimized to provide the best possible comfort when moored adjacent to a platform.
The integrated...
News
New Steering Technology Saves Fuel and Improves Efficiency
Researchers at Purdue University have shown how to reduce fuel consumption while improving the efficiency of hydraulic steering systems in heavy construction equipment. The new approach incorporates several innovations: It eliminates valves now needed to direct the flow of hydraulic...
News
Modular Robotic Cubes Self-Assemble
Small cubes with no exterior moving parts can propel themselves forward, jump on top of each other, and snap together to form arbitrary shapes.
Question of the Week
Should Electronic Devices Be Used During Takeoffs and Landings?
A government advisory panel urged the Federal Aviation Administration to ease the long-standing ban on using the devices during takeoffs and landings. Since the curbs were put in place, airliners have been made more resistant to electronic interference, and many have their own...
Blog
Good News and Bad News
The bad news: the U.S. Government is shut down.
The good news: the deadline has been extended to enter the Speed2Design Exploration & Discovery contest for a visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
In August, I was able to attend the Speed2Design event at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California, and...
News: Medical
Breakthrough in Low-Cost, Automated Chemotherapy Treatment Wins $20,000 Global Design Competition
New York, NY – ChemoPatch, a low-cost, disposable, electronic patch-based cancer chemotherapy device designed to be simple, automated, and easy-to-use by cancer patients outside of the hospital, has been awarded the grand prize of $20,000 in the...
News
Manufacturing Improvements Yield Lighter Body Armor
Soldiers facing rugged terrain and extreme temperatures are continually searching for ways to reduce the weight of their gear. In a search for solutions to this persistent issue, U.S. Army scientists and engineers have preliminarily demonstrated body armor that is 10 percent lighter through new...
News
Engineers 'Program' DNA Molecules
Similar to using Python or Java to write code for a computer, chemists soon could be able to use a structured set of instructions to “program” how DNA molecules interact in a test tube or cell.
News
Army Works To Develop New Combat Headgear
In their quest for better helmet technologies to keep soldiers and marines safe on the battlefield, researchers at Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center are making a "HEaDS-UP" play.
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A Short-Range Distance Sensor with Exceptional Linearity
A sensor has been demonstrated that can measure distance over a total range of about 300 microns to an accuracy of about 0.1 nm (resolution of about 0.01 nm). This represents an...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Fast, Large-Area, Wide-Bandgap UV Photodetector for Cherenkov Light Detection
Due to limited resources available for power and space for payloads, miniaturizing and integrating instrumentation is a high priority for addressing the challenges...
Briefs: Information Technology
Commercial Non-Dispersive Infrared Spectroscopy Sensors for Sub-Ambient Carbon Dioxide Detection
Carbon dioxide produced through respiration can accumulate rapidly within closed spaces. If not managed, a crew’s respiratory rate increases, head aches and hyperventilation occur, vision and hearing are affected, and cognitive abilities decrease....
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Miniature Trace Gas Detector Based on Microfabricated Optical Resonators
While a variety of techniques exist to monitor trace gases, methods relying on absorption of laser light are the most commonly used in terrestrial applications....
Briefs: Software
Mission Data System Java Edition Version 7
The Mission Data System framework defines closed-loop control system abstractions from State Analysis including interfaces for state variables, goals, estimators, and controllers that can be adapted to implement a goal-oriented control system. The framework further provides an execution environment that...
Briefs: Software
Adaptive Distributed Environment for Procedure Training (ADEPT)
ADEPT (Adaptive Distributed Environment for Procedure Training) is designed to provide more effective, flexible, and portable training for NASA systems controllers. When creating a training scenario, an exercise author can specify a representative rationale structure using the...
Briefs: Software
LEGEND, a LEO-to-GEO Environment Debris Model
LEGEND (LEO-to-GEO Environment Debris model) is a three-dimensional orbital debris evolutionary model that is capable of simulating the historical and future debris populations in the near- Earth environment. The historical component in LEGEND adopts a deterministic approach to mimic the known...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Millimeter-Wave Localizers for Aircraft-to-Aircraft Approach Navigation
Aerial refueling technology for both manned and unmanned aircraft is critical for operations where extended aircraft flight time is required. Existing refueling assets are typically manned aircraft, which couple to a second aircraft through the use of a refueling boom....
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
SpaceCube Version 1.5
SpaceCube 1.5 is a high-performance and low-power system in a compact form factor. It is a hybrid processing system consisting of CPU (central processing unit), FPGA (field-programmable gate array), and DSP (digital signal processor) processing elements. The primary processing engine is the Virtex-5 FX100T FPGA, which has...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Impedance Discontinuity Reduction Between High-Speed Differential Connectors and PCB Interfaces
High-speed serial communication (i.e., Gigabit Ethernet) requires differential transmission and controlled impedances. Impedance control is essential throughout cabling, connector, and circuit board construction.
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Non-Magnetic, Tough, Corrosion- and Wear-Resistant Knives From Bulk Metallic Glasses and Composites
Quality knives are typically fabricated from high-strength steel alloys. Depending on the application, there are different requirements for...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
High-Pressure Lightweight Thrusters
Returning samples of Martian soil and rock to Earth is of great interest to scientists. There were numerous studies to evaluate Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission architectures, technology needs, development plans, and requirements. The largest propulsion risk element of the MSR mission is the Mars Ascent...
Recently, additive manufacturing (AM) techniques have been developed that may shift the paradigm of traditional metal production by allowing complex netshaped...
Briefs: Materials
Ambient Dried Aerogels
A method has been developed for creating aerogel using normal pressure and ambient temperatures. All spacecraft, satellites, and landers require the use of thermal insulation due to the extreme environments encountered in space and on extraterrestrial bodies. Ambient dried aerogels introduce the possibility of using...
Briefs: Materials
Passivation of Flexible YBCO Superconducting Current Lead With Amorphous SiO2 Layer
Adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators (ADR) are operated in space to cool detectors of cosmic radiation to a few 10s of mK. A key element of the ADR is a superconducting magnet operating at about 0.3 K that is continually energized and de-energized in...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Method to Increase Performance of Foil Bearings Through Passive Thermal Management
This invention is a new approach to designing foil bearings to increase their load capacity and improve their reliability through passive thermal management....
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