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Articles: Software
You may not realize it, but many of the bells and whistles in the products that you engage with on a daily basis are actually powered by software.
Application Briefs: Lighting
The Propellants North Administrative and Maintenance Facility at Kennedy Space Center, located in Cape Canaveral, FL, achieves net-zero energy use. To offset the costs of electricity provided by...
Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
With the successful landing last August, NASA’s Curiosity rover is maneuvering the surface of Mars, analyzing samples of soil. Two sensors were developed by FUTEK for Curiosity. The first is a...
Articles: Materials
The Partnership for Next Gen eration Vehicles (PNGV) is not a NASA initiative to develop powerful new rockets and spacecraft, even though it may sound like one. PNGV was a partnership...
Techs for License
Multiple-Input DC Converter Distributes Power from Battery
The Direct Electric Power Converter (D-EPC), a semiconductor switching circuit, controls power distribution among multiple DC power sources without using a DC-DC converter. During every pulse-width-modulation (PWM) cycle, the DEPC alternately activates one of the multiple inverter circuits,...
Techs for License
Piezo Technology Offers Precise Actuation, Generates Less Heat
“VIVA” piezo technology enables a valve to be direct-operated. The piezo element is protected from the fluid stream to eliminate potential for clogging or contamination failure. The valve is directly shifted by the VIVA arm, and requires only a standard 40-micron air filter...
Tech Needs
Non-Invasive Intra-Cranial Pressure Monitoring
Because manned spaceflight still imposes unknown stresses on the human body, NASA is seeking non-invasive technological approaches for intra-cranial pressure measurement. A baseline must be established on the ground, and then periodic measurements will be taken during flight — possibly over several...
Tech Needs
Better Foam Generation
Foam is a key indicator of efficacy and performance for a range of consumer pharmaceutical and food products. A company seeks cost-effective physical and mechanical technologies for enhanced foam generation and stability. Devices that are able to generate a high volume of foam from low-concentration, surfactant-based...
Articles: Lighting
The incandescent light bulb, first commercialized by Thomas Edison in 1879, was a remarkable invention for its day. Edison found that when an electric current was passed through a carbon...
NASA Spinoff: Aerospace
NASA Technology
“Alpha, Golf, November, Echo, Zulu.” “Sierra, Alpha, Golf, Echo, Sierra.” “Lima, Hotel, Yankee.”
It looks like some strange word game, but the combinations of words...
Articles: Materials
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: 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...
Application Briefs: Imaging
On August 6, 2012, the Mars Curiosity rover successfully landed on the floor of Gale Crater on Mars. The Curiosity rover is about the size of a small SUV — 10 feet (3 meters) long, not including the arm, 9...
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...
Products
MathWorks, Natick, MA, has introduced Release 2012b with updates to MATLAB and Simulink environments for technical computing, and simulation and design, respectively. The new release includes a redesigned help system with...
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...
Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA hired Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corp. to develop a totally mechanical tool changer for the end of what Langley’s...
Products: Motion Control
B&R Industrial Automation Corp. (Roswell, GA) offers standardized system modules for CNC machines. Consisting of hardware components, all necessary software functions, and available simulation options, the software...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
GE Intelligent Platforms (Charlottesville, VA) has announced the PACSystems® control and computing platform designed for the industrial Internet. It incorporates COM Express architecture with multi-core CPUs. The...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Nexen Group (Vadnais Heights, MN) has announced a harmonic gearhead that directly replaces much larger, high-ratio planetary gearheads utilizing the latest harmonic strain wave gearing technology. In addition to its compact...
Products: Motion Control
GAM Gear (Mt. Prospect, IL) has introduced the SPH series inline planetary gearbox featuring helical gearing. It is designed for dynamic and cyclic motion control applications, and can be optimized for high-speed and...
Products: Motion Control
Servo2Go.com (Greenville, DE) offers Applied Motion Products’ STR2 stepper drive, a compact, digital step and direction drive for applications requiring basic step and direction control of a 2-phase step motor. The drive...
Products: Motion Control
Honeywell (Minneapolis, MN) offers the SMART rotary configuration position sensor that provides 360° non-contact angular position sensing. The sensor enables users to replace an optical encoder, or to utilize a sensor instead...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Rollon (Hackettstown, NJ) has in - troduced the Actuatorline TT series of high-precision linear positioning stages. Available in a range of sizes and configurations, the stages are suited for use in robotic handling systems,...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Lee Linear (Piscataway, NJ) offers the SBC Linear Profile SBI linear guide system that uses a low profile and wide base design for less noise, less vibration, and increased life over caged ball assemblies. The extra load capacity,...
Products: Motion Control
Siemens PLM Software (Plano, TX) has introduced RobotExpert software for robotics simulation and programming. The software enables the design, simulation, optimization, and offline programming of robotic...
Products: Motion Control
The SBL and LPB series of linear shaft supports from Ondrives.US Corp. (Freeport, NY) feature removable top clamps that enable easy removal of shafts and permit reassembly without upsetting the critical alignment between...
Top Stories
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
2025 Holiday Gift Guide for Engineers: Tech, Tools, and Gadgets
INSIDER: Research Lab
Scientists Create Superconducting Semiconductor Material
Blog: Software
Quiz: Materials
Blog: Aerospace
Tech Briefs Wrapped 2025: Top 10 Technology Stories
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: AR/AI
The Real Impact of AR and AI in the Industrial Equipment Industry
Upcoming Webinars: Motion Control
Next-Generation Linear and Rotary Stages: When Ultra Precision...
Upcoming Webinars: Energy
Hydrogen Engines Are Heating Up for Heavy Duty
Podcasts: Medical
How Wearables Are Enhancing Smart Drug Delivery
Podcasts: Power
SAE Automotive Podcast: Solid-State Batteries
Podcasts: Power
