Magazine

Briefs: Aerospace

Characterizing Richness of Previously Unmapped Terrain and its Impact on Navigation Using 3D Range Sensors

Landers to small bodies such as comets and asteroids can use this program to estimate the terrain richness of the previously unmapped small body.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Wi-Fi-assisted Inertial Odometry (WIO) Measures Speed and Distance of Indoor Movement

The technique could be used to improve navigation for robots, drones, or pedestrians.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Wearable Air Conditioning

This on-skin electronic device provides a personal air conditioner without electricity.

Briefs: IoMT

Wirelessly Powered, Leadless Pacemaker

This device could give doctors a new therapeutic option for treating patients with conditions such as heart failure.

Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

Organic Material for Printed Electronics

The material combines two polymers with different properties.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Lab-on-a-Chip Enables “Liquid Biopsy” of Cancer Cells

This diagnostic device allows doctors to detect cancer quickly from a droplet of blood or plasma.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Protocol Improves Storage Efficiency and Output Speed of Computer Systems

This approach enables computer systems to retrieve data much faster.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Defects Enable High-Performance Infrared Photodetectors

A highly sensitive, CMOS-compatible, broadband photodetector was created by tailoring material defects.

Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics

Tiny Magnetic Particles Enable Material to Bend, Twist, and Grab

The material could enable applications such as antennas that change frequencies on the fly or gripper arms for delicate or heavy objects.

5 Ws: Wearables

5 Ws of the Infant Smart Jumpsuit

A smart jumpsuit accurately measures the spontaneous and voluntary movement of infants

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Polymer Twists and Bends in the Presence of Light

A liquid crystal elastomer can be programmed to exhibit controllable, dynamic behavior without the need for complex electronic components.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Shape Memory Alloy Mechanisms for CubeSats

This lightweight and efficient mechanism enables retention, release, and deployment of solar arrays and antennas.

Briefs: Data Acquisition

Machine Learning Method for Battery Development

The method slashes battery testing times — a key barrier to longer-lasting, faster-charging batteries for electric vehicles.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Method Enables Conductive Gels to Stick When Wet

A new way of making polymers adhere to surfaces may enable better biomedical sensors and implants.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Guiding and Harnessing Transition Waves in Multi-Stable Mechanical Structures

The domino effect is used to design deployable systems that expand quickly with a small push and are stable and locked into place after deployment.

NASA Spinoff: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Space Station Garden Shines Light on Earth-Based Horticulture

NASA’s LED lighting system enables food and other crops to be grown indoors in places like skyscrapers.

Briefs: Energy

Leaf-Inspired Surface Prevents Frost Formation

This new design could conserve energy used for defrosting airplanes, appliances, and more.

Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

New Material Enables Stable Semiconductor Neutron Detectors

It can be used both in small, portable devices for field inspections and in very large detectors that use arrays of crystals.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Foldable Mechanical Devices

These “developable mechanisms” are built into the surfaces of structures.

Briefs: Data Acquisition

Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness (LHASA)

This framework determines regional landslide probability in near real time.

Briefs: Medical

Injectable Gel Helps Heart Muscle Regenerate

This gel releases short gene sequences into the heart muscle to heal it following a heart attack.

Articles: Materials

Products of Tomorrow

A cryptographic ID tag, a high-reliability NASA switch, and a stretchable thermoelectric generator...

Technology Leaders: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Tackling Aircraft Laser Strikes from the Ground

To reduce the increasing frequency of attacks, the ground-based Laser Aircraft Strike Suppression Optical System (LASSOS) has been developed by researchers from the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

Technology Leaders: Photonics/Optics

Using Lasers in the Automotive Manufacturing Industry

Ever since Henry Ford introduced the first moving production line to the industry in 1913, automotive manufacturers have been constantly striving to streamline their processes,...