Global Elevation Data Adaptive Compression Algorithms

The Global Elevation Data Adaptive Compression Algorithms (GEDACA) were developed to provide compression and rapid decompression of digital terrain maps (DTMs) in constrained computing...

Steering Toward the Future

The global automotive industry faces incredible pressures today. The skyrocketing costs of traditional fuels — along with worldwide supply uncertainties — are forcing automakers to not only increase the...

Collision-Prediction Capabilities to Improve NAS Integration

Collision avoidance radar
Numerica Corporation
Loveland, COM
970-561-2000
www.numerica.us

The National Airspace System (NAS) is a complex and shared...

Dryden Flight Research Center

The Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, CA, is NASA’s primary center for atmospheric flight research and operations. Dryden plays a vital role in advancing technology and science through...

Imaging System Buckles Up Camera and Parking Sensor

For five years, Michael Lunoe, President of Zorg Industries, had been in need of a camera system that could identify objects and provide accurate distance from the rear of a vehicle.

Multiple-Zone Diffractive Optic Element for Laser Ranging Applications

A diffractive optic element (DOE) can be used as a beam splitter to generate multiple laser beams from a single input laser beam. This technology has been recently used...

Stereoscopic Machine-Vision System Using Projected Circles

A machine-vision system capable of detecting obstacles large enough to damage or trap a robotic vehicle is undergoing development. The system includes (1) a pattern generator that...

Spherical Sensor Configurations for Three-Dimensional Detecting and Tracking

Spherical Sensor Configurations (SSC) have been designed for detecting and tracking signals in three dimensions. The Spherical Sensor Configurations offer distinct...

Precision Motors Help Guided Parachutes Deliver Cargo

The Onyx guided parachute designed and manufactured by Atair Aerospace (Brooklyn, NY) is an autonomous precision airdrop system. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) uses motors and...

Image Sensors Decades Old But Not Yet Mature

There’s no rule that says when a technology becomes mature, but one might think that image sensors would be by now, 40 years after their conception. Nothing could be further from the truth....

Achieving Positioning Accuracy Goals

The task of choosing the correct mix of motion control components for a successful servo positioning system involves a combination of art, science, and experience. It also includes a little luck, but luck...

30 Years of Aerospace Technology

In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of NASA Tech Briefs, our features in 2006 highlight a different technology category each month, tracing the past 30 years of the technology, and continuing with a...

Ladar System Identifies Obstacles Partly Hidden by Grass

A ladar-based system now undergoing development is intended to enable an autonomous mobile robot in an outdoor environment to avoid moving toward trees, large rocks, and other...

Control Methodology To Alter Automobile Rollover Tendencies

A methodology of active control has been developed in an effort to alter (preferably to reduce) the tendency of a four-wheel land vehicle to roll over during tight turns and...