Laser-Light-Based Accelerometer

The tiny device accurately measures acceleration in smaller navigation systems and other devices.

Products of Tomorrow

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.

Autonomous Vehicles Open Up New Roads for LIDAR Growth

Laser range-finding, or LIDAR, is a way of measuring distance, directly analogous to radar except using radiation in the near infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum rather...

Next-Generation Infrared Technologies Solve High-Speed Automotive Testing Challenges

Product research and development on internal combustion engines, brake rotors, tires, and high-speed airbags are just a few of the areas that truly benefit...

An On-Demand Gas Generator for CubeSat or Low-Mass Propulsion Systems

There are difficulties related to storing enough gas to propel a CubeSat within an onboard tank. Currently, a CubeSat requiring a large volume of gas for extended...

Pyrotechnically Actuated Gas Generator Using Aqueous Methanol

The largest supersonic parachute ever developed is one of the test articles on the Supersonic Flight Dynamics Test (SFDT) vehicle of the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD)...

Underwater Adhesives Retrofit Pipelines with Advanced Sensors

NASA Technology

B y the time the gas you fill your car with hits the engine, it’s been through quite a journey. Even apart from its transformation from organic matter into...

Measuring Motion with Imaging Software

High-speed photography is as much of an engineering tool as an oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, or logic analyzer. The photographic technique enables us to visualize and analyze motion, especially...

Blood Pressure Monitoring Tool

The MDMouse system incorporates a pre-existing medical device into a conventional computer control mouse. The tool is designed to measure blood pressure outside of the medical environment, and to provide that...

Data Management Speeds Up Simulation of Crash Test Dummy Models

The idea for the automotive crash test dummy first came to life in the 1950s when U.S. Air Force flight surgeon Col. John Stapp realized that more of his fighter pilots were...

Ka-Band Radar Terminal Descent Sensor

The terminal descent sensor (TDS) is a radar altimeter/velocimeter that improves the accuracy of velocity sensing by more than an order of magnitude when compared to existing sensors. The TDS is designed...

Afterbody Cushions for Instrumented Penetrator Projectiles

Pneumatic cushions have been proposed for protecting the afterbodies of two-body instrumented soil-penetrator projectiles. These cushions would be, essentially, doughnut-shaped...