Features

Shock Sensors

PCB Piezotronics (Depew, NY) introduced the Model 350B01 mechanically isolated, electrically filtered, nearfield or farfield pyroshock sensor capable of measuring up to 100,000 g. The sensor measures High-G shock and harsh...

Servo Drive/Controller

Parker’s Electromechanical Automation Division (Rohnert Park, CA) offers the Intelligent Parker Amplifier (IPA), a 1.5-axis servo drive/controller based on the ACR control platform. Available in two power levels —...

Potentiometer

Hoffmann + Krippner (Woodstock, GA) introduced the DL30 series linear motion potentiometer (transducer) series that features low-profile dimensions of 30 × 30 mm and variable lengths. Various types of resistors (e.g. wire,...

Track System

Accuride (Santa Fe Springs, CA) introduced the Model AL4190 Tilt Track System that provides access to drawers or trays installed at shoulder level and above. The system uses wheels and rollers to extend the drawer, and an aluminum...

Actuators

Nook Industries (Cleveland, OH) offers Series 500™ programmable actuators designed for continuous duty and long service life. They incorporate a direct or toothed-belt drive for high mechanical efficiency. Ball screw-driven...

Machine Control

Unitronics (Quincy, MA) has introduced Samba, a palm-sized PLC with HMI and onboard I/Os for machine control that features a color 7" HMI panel. The 16-bit touchscreen enables data entry and display of variable data, including...

Accelerometer Chips

Silicon Designs (Kirkland, WA) offers industrial-grade MEMS variable capacitive accelerometer chips and modules for zero- to medium-frequency instrumentation applications. Onboard voltage regulation and an internal reference...

Kurt Leucht, Command & Control Software Developer, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Project Lead Kurt Leucht has spent recent months testing the software of NASA's "Swarmie" robots. Using an evolving genetic algorithm, the robots operate as...

Products of Tomorrow

The technologies NASA develops don’t just blast off into space. They also improve our lives here on Earth. Life-saving search-and-rescue tools, implantable medical devices, advances in commercial aircraft safety,...

Choosing the Right Batteries for High-Tech Devices

Wireless technology is growing rapidly, now encompassing consumer-grade devices as well as industrial-grade products used in utility meter reading (AMR/AMI), wireless mesh networks, system...

Software Helps NASA Simulate Performance of James Webb Telescope

Femap™ engineering simulation software Siemens PLM Software Plano, TX 972-987-3000 www.siemens.com/plm Scheduled for launch in 2018, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)...

Improved Calibration Shows Images’ True Colors

NASA Technology In satellite images, the waters of the Pearl River, which winds around NASA’s Stennis Space Center, are about the same brownish green typical of waterways the world over. It’s...

Researcher Spotlight: Imaging Software Improves Video Monitoring of Vital Signs

By detecting nearly imperceptible changes in skin color, emerging imaging technologies have been able to extract pulse rate, breathing rate, and other vital signs...

High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) Upgrades Inspection Results

Designers and operators of automated inspection systems have long been challenged with completing accurate inspections when those tasks required high dynamic range, or when there was...

Advanced Holography Offers 3D Fire Measurements

In a propellant fire, large molten aluminum drops form at the burning surface. The drops are lofted into the environment and can severely damage anything that they fall on. Liquid breakup must be...

Cameras Provide Critical Data for NASA Rocket’s First Flight

On March 11, NASA tested the powerful five-segment booster for NASA’s new rocket, the Space Launch System. To provide critical data for the rocket’s first flight, eight cameras...

Integrating Functional Pneumatic Safety Devices into Control Systems

Over the past several years, controls engineers have become adept at applying control systems to machine safety applications. The issue is that safety is a moving target....

Thermoplastic Racks Open Up New Motion Control Applications

Rack and pinions are linear actuators that play a critical role in a wide range of linear motion control applications. While rack and pinions are commonly thought of as a timeless...

Explosion-Proof Encoder

BEI Sensors (Goleta, CA) announced the Model LP35 explosion-proof and flameproof, low-profile, hollow shaft encoder that features a 2.01" profile and is designed to meet UL, ATEX, and IECEx standards for operation...

Product of the Month

Diversified Technical Systems, Seal Beach, CA, has introduced the SLICE Pro shock-hardened, megasample data acquisition system. The miniature SLICE data recorder can be mounted directly on the test article – no slip rings...

Products of Tomorrow

The technologies NASA develops don’t just blast off into space. They also improve our lives here on Earth. Life-saving search-and-rescue tools, implantable medical devices, advances in commercial aircraft safety,...

Industry Roundtable: 3D Printing

It seems that every day, designers and engineers are finding exciting new applications for 3D printing, from creating custom prostheses to making tools used for repairs on the International Space Station. 3D...

NASA Spinoff: NASA’s UV Radiation Research Keeps Sun Worshipers Safe

To understand the Sun’s impacts on Earth, NASA initiated the Living with a Star program in 2001, and began developing a key research satellite: the Solar Dynamics...

3D-Printed Functional Antenna Arrays Operate on Exterior of COSMIC-2 Satellites

FDM® (Fused Deposition Modeling™) technology and ULTEM 9085 thermoplastic Stratasys Direct Manufacturing (RedEye, Solid Concepts, and Harvest Technologies) Eden...

Product of the Month

Sensirion, Westlake Village, CA, introduced a gas sensor that, according to the company, is the first in the world to be based on multi-pixel technology. This allows the sensor to perceive its surroundings using various...

Fiber Optic Connectors

With the standardization of 4G wireless, the increase in cloud storage and computing, and the push for faster network data rates, the highest quality passive interconnect systems must be used. While the robustness and...

Intelligent Photonic Multi-Sensor Solutions

With the Internet of Things (IoT) quickly rising in front of us, it would be easy to get caught in the trap of thinking that both the trajectory and applications will be somewhat predictable. While...

UV-VIS Micro-Spectrometer

Hamamatsu Corporation (Bridgewater, NJ) has announced the release of the C12666MA microspectrometer, a UV-VIS spectrometer about the size of a fingertip. Its miniature components, fabricated using MEMS...

310 nm, sub 800 ps Picosecond Pulsed LED

Edinburgh Instruments (Livingston, UK) has released a 310 nm picosecond pulsed LED with a sub-800 picosecond typical pulse width. This LED is optimized for Time Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC)....