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Articles: Software
NASA’s first mobile application and software that models the behavior of earthquake faults to improve earthquake forecasting and our understanding of earthquake processes are co-winners of NASA’s 2012...
Articles: Imaging
With an airborne camera capable of making precise and detailed ecological observations, biologists at Applied Ecological Services (Brodhead, WI) are bringing satellite imagery closer to...
Articles: Imaging
Users of machine vision systems often have one common goal in mind: increasing system efficiency. Greater efficiency translates into high productivity. On the factory floor, higher speed in...
Articles: Electronics & Computers
Intel’s new Sandy Bridge microarchitecture is changing how software applications run and perform on server platforms. In order for applications to tap the full power of these new devices,...
Articles: Electronics & Computers
Embedded market applications have entered a new era thanks to extensive software support as well as the shrinking of borders between different processor technologies enabling the software ecosystem to expand to...
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
Fitting the right type of linear position sensor to an application requires at least a working knowledge of the attributes of this electromechanical device. Starting...
Articles: Aerospace
Greek mythology tells of the inventor Daedalus using wings of his own fashioning to escape from imprisonment on the island of Crete. In 1988, a similar adventure was launched, though in this case, carbon-fiber...
Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Create the Future Design Contest 2012
The 2012 Create the Future Design Contest — sponsored by COMSOL, Nordson EFD, and Tech Briefs Media Group (publishers of NASA Tech Briefs) — recognized innovation in product design in seven categories: Con sumer Products, Electronics, Machinery & Equipment, Medical, Safety & Security, Sustainable Tech...
Articles: Photonics/Optics
On August 6th, 2012 the automatic Mars Science Laboratory rover named Curiosity landed on Mars. One of the scientific instruments on board is ChemCam, which has a pulsed laser capable of ablating a...
Articles: Software
Mark Wagner, Ben Madoff, and Mark Rudolph Sensorcon, Buffalo, NY
What if sensors, meters, and instruments were just apps instead of single-purpose, bulky, expensive equipment? Sensordrone is a first step towards making this...
Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Top Ten Most Popular Entries
Visitors to the Create the Future Design Contest Web site were invited to vote on their favorite entries. Here are the top ten most popular entries, winners of a SpaceMouse Pro 3D mouse from 3Dconnexion.
Evacuated Tube Transport Technologies (ET3)™ Daryl Oster, ET3 Global Alliance
This global transportation system is...
Articles: Software
In our annual poll of executives at leading analysis and simulation software vendors, we found that more widespread use of the cloud, mobile devices, and touchscreen interfaces will be major...
Articles: Energy
LumEN: Luminescent Solar Concentrators for Sustainable, On-Demand Electricity Production
Gianmarco Griffini, Massimo Micocci, and Francesca Ostuzzi, Politecnico di Milano, Milan,...
Articles: Lighting
Grid-X Cloud and Smartphone Accelerator
James Awrach SeaFire Micros, Beverly, MA
Supercomputers are linked worldwide, creating ultra-highperformance cloud, utility, and grid...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Thermal Stir Welding Process
Jeff Ding NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama
The patented thermal stir welding process is a new solid-state (meaning the weld metal does...
Articles: Medical
Prosthetic Leg Connector
Dave King Synergy Tech, Kelowna, BC Canada
This is a device to aid those who wear prosthetic limbs. The current state of the art is a multilayer system that...
Articles: Energy
LIFE PACK Hypothermia Prevention
Floatation Device Dwight and Jane Cushman, Village Memorial, Portland, OR
Even with floatation gear, when a person who is not prepared for the...
Articles: Energy
Aquaback Water Purification System
Bill Zebuhr, Scott Newquist, David Dussault, E. Andrew Condon, Steven Sahagian, Nicholas Wong, Michael Easton, William Burie, Charles...
Articles: Transportation
Re-Thinking Automotive Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems
Ivan Batinic, ATPS, Inc., San Martin, CA
The ATPS system is a new approach to implementing vehicular Tire Pressure Monitoring...
Articles: Medical
Ask the Denver attorney whose legs were smashed in a car accident. Ask the veterans rehabilitating from injuries sustained while defending the nation. Ask NBA star Blake Griffin, or NFL safety Jim Leonhard, both...
Articles: Lighting
It’s common knowledge that one of the easiest ways to save energy is to shut off lights when they are not in use. Even so, the lighting controls market accounts for a fraction of the overall lighting...
Articles: Lighting
Though they are a relative latecomer to the world of lighting technology, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are quickly making up for lost time. Since their invention in 1962, LEDs have been applied...
Articles: Motion Control
Axial pumps with cam-driven commutation units — so-called PWK pumps — emerged as a result of a research project conducted in the Department of Hydraulics and Pneumatics at...
Articles: Imaging
3D imaging technology has come a long way from its roots in academic research labs, and thanks to innovations in sensors, decreasing cost of components, and the emergence of 3D functions in software...
Articles: Research Lab
Over the course of its history, NASA has nurtured partnerships with the private sector to facilitate the transfer of NASA-developed technologies. The benefits of these partnerships have reached...
Articles: Automotive
Having your car’s air conditioner lose its cool on a hot day can make for an uncomfortable ride. A breakdown in thermal control in space is far more than a matter of comfort; on the...
Articles: Imaging
The past decade has seen an explosion of observations from airborne and satellite-based multiand hyperspectral sensors, as well as from synthetic-aperture radar and LiDAR. Distilling useful information...
Articles: Photonics/Optics
Traditionally, the recording of ordnance proofing data has been split into two main areas: instrumentation and high speed photography. Instrumentation was more focused on the collection of...
Articles: Aerospace
NASA Tech Briefs recently spoke with Doug McCuistion, Director of the Mars Exploration Program, and Michael Meyer, lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program and Program Scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). We...
Top Stories
Blog: Lighting
A Stretchable OLED that Can Maintain Most of Its Luminescence
News: Energy
INSIDER: Energy
Advancing All-Solid-State Batteries
Blog: Energy
My Opinion: We Need More Power Soon — Is Nuclear the Answer?
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
Aerial Microrobots That Can Match a Bumblebee's Speed
Blog: Communications
Microscopic Swimming Machines that Can Sense, Respond to Surroundings
Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: Semiconductors & ICs
Advantages of Smart Power Distribution Unit Design for Automotive...
Upcoming Webinars: Unmanned Systems
Quiet, Please: NVH Improvement Opportunities in the Early Design...
Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement
From Spreadsheets to Insights: Fast Data Analysis Without Complex...
Upcoming Webinars: Electronics & Computers
Cooling a New Generation of Aerospace and Defense Embedded...
Upcoming Webinars: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Beyond AI-Copy-Paste Engineering: Advanced AI-Integration Success...
Upcoming Webinars: Power
