Multi-Objective Flight Control Optimization Framework

This framework can be used by commercial and military aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.

3D Printing of Plastics with Electrical Circuits

This innovation could lead to better drones, satellites, and biomedical devices.

Estimated Spectrum Adaptive Postfilter (ESAP)

This program enhances images and videos for smartphones, tablets, and PCs.

Insect-Inspired Motion Sensing

This mechanical gyroscope can advance motion sensing capabilities in consumer-sized applications.

Flexure for Self-Assembly

Conventional fastening mechanisms like nails, bolts, and welds are subject to manufacturing and inspection tolerances, differential thermal growth, and other sources of error that lead to over-constraint, among other...

Robots Assemble Large Structures from Little Pieces

Systems of tiny robots could build high-performance structures, from airplanes to space settlements.

CES 2020: The Pegasus Flying Car Takes Off…Quietly

Stuck in traffic? The Pegasus flying car can get you out of there.

Facility Focus: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

See how NOAA provides daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings, climate monitoring, and more.

Thin Heat Shield for Superfast Aircraft

A carbon nanotube heat shield can better protect extremely fast aircraft.

Flow Disruption Devices for the Reduction of High Lift System Noise

This technique lowers airstream noise generated at the side edges of deployed flaps, elevons, or slats.

Optical Window for Far-IR Instruments Using Thin TOPAS® Film

This thin film can be used for ground-based and airborne applications in aircraft, balloons, and other flight missions.

Products of Tomorrow

Heartbeat-based biometrics, sonic-boom displays, and an artificial leaf.

Hardening Lightweight Metal Foams with Nanocoating

Load-bearing structures in cars and airplanes could be manufactured from the metal foam.

Pinpointing Consumption “Sweet Spot” Makes Formation Flight More Fuel-Efficient

A new method of estimating the optimal trailing aircraft position in a formation increases fuel savings.

Microrobot Powered by Soft Muscles

This microrobot with soft actuators can crash, fall, and collide without being damaged.

Employing the Electrical Digital Twin to Mitigate Compliance Risk in Aerospace

With the rise in electrification and design complexity, aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) need to look for new methodologies to mitigate compliance risk.

Facility Focus: NASA John H. Glenn Research Center

Glenn's research facilities have contributed to decades of technology advances.

Innovators Recognized for Creating the Future 2019

Top prizes in the 2019 contest were awarded on November 8 in New York City.

WiFi-Based Technique Measures Speed and Distance of Indoor Movement

A technology uses a combination of WiFi signals and accelerometer technology to track devices in near-real-time.

Continuous Fiber Composite for Use in Gears

This lightweight material brings strength and durability to complex shapes.

Products of Tomorrow

Products include an aerosol scattering sensor; metal foam; and a new coated drug capsule.

Will We Develop Trust in Autonomous Drones and Vehicles?

For developers of A.I.-guided drones and autonomous technologies, failure is not an option.

A.I. in the Air

Will we be able to trust autonomous drones? We explore the question in our latest episode of Here's an Idea.

Flying Robot Mimics Rapid Insect Flight

Flying animals both power and control flight by flapping their wings. This enables small natural flyers such as insects to hover close to a flower but also to rapidly escape danger. Animal flight has...

Acting Like Bees, Tiny Drones Find Their Way Through Unknown Environments

A minimal, map-less approach to drone navigation takes after the bee.