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Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Today’s robots easily execute “pick-and-place” tasks: finding an object in one specified location and bringing it to another. But what if there are obstacles in a robot’s way? And what if...
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Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics
The “always-true” use case for 360º vision systems is to avoid blind spots. Blind spots are a byproduct of conventional cameras. They have a limited field of view and they only see in the direction...
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INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A college student who won a NASA design challenge recently had the tool he designed 3D-printed on the Additive Manufacturing Facility on the International Space Station. The Multipurpose...
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INSIDER: Materials
The present-day chemical industry is based on oil. Many chemical products – from plastics through to detergents and solvents, to medication and crop protection products – have their origins...
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INSIDER: Medical
Researchers have found a way to make personalized medicine cheaper and easier through a tablet fabrication system that 3D prints a myriad of pills in just one tablet. While there are existing...
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INSIDER: Imaging
Researchers have developed a method of combating virtual reality (VR) sickness that can be applied to consumer head-worn VR displays such as the Sony PlayStation VR. The approach dynamically, yet...
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INSIDER: Motion Control
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart developed a motion system that is compliant and can be integrated in robots thanks to its space-saving design....
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INSIDER: Motion Control
Researchers have devised a novel way to help keep a driverless vehicle under control as it maneuvers at the edge of its handling limits. The new technology is being tested by...
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INSIDER: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Researchers Keep Hydrogels Hydrated
Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a way to prevent hydrogels from dehydrating. The water-based technique could lead to longer-lasting contact lenses, stretchy microfluidic devices, flexible bioelectronics, and even artificial skin.
INSIDER: Materials
3D-Printed Polymer Turns Methane to Methanol
By combining biology and 3D printing, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have created a reactor that continuously produces methanol from methane at room temperature and pressure.
INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Researchers Test Galaxy-Seeking Robots
A telescope project from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) will use a planned array of 5,000 galaxy-seeking robots to produce a 3D map of the universe. Dubbed ProtoDESI, the scaled-down, 10-robot system will help scientists achieve the pinpoint accuracy needed to...
Question of the Week
Will VR be the new way to watch sports?
This week's Question: Fox Sports offered virtual-reality streams from last week's U.S. Open, a major golf championship in Oakmont, PA. Sports fans who owned the right devices could watch the golf event on the television while using VR for enhancements: game recaps, highlights of a particular play, features,...
Question of the Week
Will AI improve vehicle safety by 2020?
This week's Question: As the competition to develop self-driving cars intensifies, Toyota Motor Corp. announced that over the next five years the company will spend $1 billion on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI). Gill Pratt, CEO of Toyota Research Institute, recently said Toyota aims to improve...
INSIDER Product: Test & Measurement
Avo Photonics (Horsham, PA) design, development, and manufacturing, was commissioned by Luxmux Technology Corporation, to develop and manufacture a solid-state, broadband, continuous emitter for use...
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INSIDER Product: Imaging
Analog Modules, Inc. (Longwood, FL) recently released its short pulse seed laser diode driver, Model 766. The Model 766 offers user-adjustable pulse width capability as low as 150ps up to 1ns for driving...
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INSIDER Product: Photonics/Optics
Furukawa Electric (Tokyo, Japan) and OFS (Norcross, GA) recently introduced the FITEL S179 Hand-Held, Core Alignment Fusion Splicer. The FITEL S179 Fusion Splicer can be used on all Metro, LAN and FTTx fibers,...
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INSIDER Product: Photonics/Optics
The high precision, AU300-XZ Motorized Three-axis Gimbal Mount from Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES) (Van Nuys, CA) features full 360O rotation of each axis. The rigid black anodized aluminum alloy frame handles...
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INSIDER: Photonics/Optics
Researchers have made the first microscopic movies of liquids getting vaporized by the world’s brightest X-ray laser at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator...
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INSIDER: Photonics/Optics
A new solar cell configuration developed by engineers at the University of New South Wales has pushed sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency to 34.5% – establishing a new...
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INSIDER: Materials
A breakthrough by an Australian collaboration of researchers could make infrared technology easy-to-use and cheap, potentially saving millions of dollars in defense and other areas using sensing...
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INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers
American Control Electronics (ACE) (South Beloit, IL) introduces the DCR Series, a low-voltage 4-quadrant drive that provides control of PMDC motors in a variety of applications. The DCR Series is able to maintain variable...
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INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers
The OMEGA® (Stamford, CT) OM-SGD Series of panel meters with bright color TFT smart graphics displays are available in 3 screen sizes. They offer an operating power supply voltage range of 4 to 30 VDC and...
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INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers
Metrigraphics (Lowell, MA) recently introduced a series of micron-scale flexible circuits and thin film devices. Micron-scale flexible circuits can be achieved with six or more layers high with traces (circuit lines) as narrow...
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INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers
Orion Fans (Dallas, TX) has introduced the low-cost OA11/22 dual channel phase control unit that allows users to control fan speed for single or multiple AC fan assemblies. The units work off of 120/220 VAC, can...
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INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers
CPU platform based on Intel’s Xeon D-1500 System-on-a-Chip (SoC). The 3U SBC is first in a family of CompactPCI Serial boards designed specifically for high data bandwidth based on PCIe 3.0, PCIe 2.0 and Gigabit...
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INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers
Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (San Jose, CA) introduced a new wireless power reference kit that helps make integrating wireless charging into compact electronics easy and affordable. The new IDT® Qi-based...
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INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers
Microstar Laboratories (Bellevue, WA) has announced DAPtools version 6.30 for its line of Data Acquisition Processor products. Though primarily intended for improved compatibility with Windows 10, the new DAPtools...
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INSIDER Product: Electronics & Computers
AccelStor (Taipei, Taiwan) announced the new NeoSapphire 3605 and NeoSapphire 3611, a pair of dedicated all-flash arrays with dual-port 16G Fibre Channel interfaces and sustained 360K IOPS for 4KB random writes....
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