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Organic Sensors Increase Light Sensitivity of Cameras

Researchers from Technische Universität München (TUM) have developed a new generation of image sensors that is more sensitive to light than the conventional silicon versions, with the added bonus of being simple and cheap to produce. They consist of electrically conductive plastics, which...

News: Photonics/Optics
NASA Scientists Build First-Ever Wide-Field X-ray Imager

Three NASA scientists teamed up to develop and demonstrate NASA's first wide field-of-view soft X-ray camera for studying "charge exchange," a poorly understood phenomenon that occurs when the solar wind collides with Earth's exosphere and neutral gas in interplanetary space.

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NASA Integrates First Laser Communication System

A new NASA-developed, laser-based space communication system will enable higher rates of satellite communications similar in capability to high-speed fiber optic networks on Earth.

The space terminal for the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD), NASA's first high-data-rate laser...

News
Cricket Hair Inspires Motion Detection 'Cameras'

Crickets use sensitive hairs on their cerci (projections on the abdomen) to detect predators. For these insects, air currents carry information about the location of nearby predators and the direction in which they are moving.

News: Robotics, Automation & Control
'Cheetah' Robot Hits High Speeds, Wastes Little Heat

A 70-pound “cheetah” robot designed by MIT researchers may soon outpace its animal counterparts in running efficiency: In treadmill tests, the researchers have found that the robot — about the size and weight of an actual cheetah — wastes very little energy as it trots continuously...

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Improved Software Helps Scientists Analyze Biological Sequences

When biologists study proteins, DNA, or other biological molecules that are represented in the computer as sequences, they rely on known information but also must predict missing data. Given that reality, major challenges exist to having accurate results.

At the University of...

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New Modeling Approach Transforms Imaging Technologies

Purdue University researchers are improving the performance of technologies ranging from medical CT scanners to digital cameras using a system of models to extract specific information from huge collections of data and then reconstructing images like a jigsaw puzzle. The new approach is...

News: Software
Researchers Develop New Simulation Capability to Model Plasma

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have developed a new simulation capability to model a classic plasma configuration. They have demonstrated for the first time a fully kinetic model of the dense plasma focus (DPF) Z-pinch device, including the electrodes, in a...

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Scientists Develop Novel Single-Photon Detector System

A single photon may not seem like much of a catch. But detecting photons one- by-one with near-perfect reliability is formidably difficult. It is also an extremely important research goal, not only in fiber-based telecommunications, but in numerous other fields from quantum information...

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New Surface Coating Cuts Through the Fog

A team of MIT researchers has developed a coating that outperforms others not only in preventing foggy buildups, but also in maintaining good optical properties without distortion. Preventing glass from fogging or frosting up is a longstanding challenge with myriad applications, including eyeglasses,...

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Holographic Technique Could Lead to Bionic Vision

Computer-generated holography, they say, could be used in conjunction with a technique called optogenetics, which uses gene therapy to deliver light- sensitive proteins to damaged retinal nerve cells. In conditions such as Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) - a condition affecting about one in 4000 people...

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'Yeti' Robot Explores Arctic and Antarctic Landscapes

A century after Western explorers first crossed the dangerous landscapes of the Arctic and Antarctic, researchers funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) have successfully deployed a self-guided robot that uses ground-penetrating radar to map deadly crevasses hidden in ice-covered...

News: Robotics, Automation & Control
Autonomous Navigation of Mobile Robots Based on Insect Visual System

Scientists from the University of Lincoln and Newcastle University in the U.K. have created a computerized system that allows for autonomous navigation of mobile robots based on the locust’s unique visual system. The work could provide the blueprint for the development of...

News
Virtual Vehicle Vibrations Provide Human Motion Data

A University of Iowa researcher has designed a program to predict the role posture may play in reducing head and neck injuries. The work could help vehicle designers create a robot that is actually a computerized model of a long-distance truck driver or other heavy equipment...

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Flexible Image Sensor Enables Touch-Free Interfaces

An Austrian research team has developed a new way of capturing images based on a flat, flexible, transparent, and potentially disposable polymer sheet. The new imager, which resembles a flexible plastic film, uses fluorescent particles to capture incoming light and channel a portion of it to an...

News
2013 'Create the Future' Contest Begins

The 11th annual "Create the Future" Design Contest, sponsored by COMSOL, SAE International, and Tech Briefs Media Group has begun. The contest will recognize outstanding innovations in product design worldwide, awarding a Grand Prize of $20,000. There is no cost to enter.

News
New Imaging Technique Allows Firefighters to See Through Flames

A team of Italian researchers has developed a new imaging technique that uses infrared (IR) digital holography to peer through chaotic conflagrations and capture potentially lifesaving and otherwise hidden details.

News
Researchers Develop Rechargable, Wireless Brain Sensor

A team of neuroengineers based at Brown University has developed a fully implantable and rechargeable wireless brain sensor capable of relaying real-time broadband signals from up to 100 neurons in freely moving subjects. Several copies of the novel low-power device, described in the Journal...

News
Army Researchers Develop Better Remote Sensors

Robert Pazda says his team within the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center is accustomed to having to fit 10 pounds of equipment into a five- pound bag. But his team's latest project – the Global Strike Near Real Time Battle Data Assessment System – could change all that.

News
Army Upgrades Protected Communications Satellite Terminal Training Suite

The Army recently began schoolhouse computer-based and simulated training upgrades for its advanced Secure Mobile Anti-Jam Reliable Tactical – Terminal to evolve the previous legacy training system to accommodate new system enhancements.

When commanders need...

News
Radio Telescopes Can Spot Clandestine Nuclear Tests

In the search for rogue nukes, researchers have discovered an unlikely tool: astronomical radio telescopes. Ohio State University researchers previously demonstrated another unlikely tool, when they showed that South Korean GPS stations detected telltale atmospheric disturbances from North...

News
Cockroach Gait Inspires New Robotics

Researchers have learned that running cockroaches recover from a shove before their dawdling nervous system kicks in to tell their legs what to do. These new insights on how biological systems stabilize could one day help engineers design steadier robots and improve doctors' understanding of human gait...

News
Scientists Develop Metal-Based Energy Harvesting Methods

A new method of harvesting the Sun's energy is emerging, thanks to scientists at UC Santa Barbara's Departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Materials. Though still in its infancy, the research promises to convert sunlight into energy using a process based on metals that are...

News
Researchers Develop Robotic Bat Wing

Researchers at Brown University have developed a robotic bat wing that provides valuable new information about dynamics of flapping flight in real bats. The robot, which mimics the wing shape and motion of the lesser dog-faced fruit bat, is designed to flap while attached to a force transducer in a wind...

News
“Virtual Chimney” Fences Could Reduce Impact of Airport Pollution

Simple blast fences called baffles could deliver improvements in air quality for people living near airports, new research has found. Placed behind a runway, the baffles could serve as a “virtual chimney,” funneling emissions from aircraft engines upwards where they can...

News
New Aircraft System Forecasts Potential Storms Over Oceans

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has developed a prototype system to help flights avoid major storms as they travel over remote ocean regions. The 8-hour forecasts of potentially dangerous atmospheric conditions are designed for pilots, air traffic controllers, and...

News
Device Removes Rubber Build-Up From Runways

The Air Force Civil Engineer Center, in conjunction with the Air Force Research Laboratory, recently introduced a first-of-its-kind runway rubber removal system for use at remote airfields. The device, which uses a retrofitted Unimog designed for transport to airfields in austere areas of Southwest...

News
'Sniff Test' Technology Detects Traces of Explosives

A quick, accurate, and highly sensitive process to reliably detect minute traces of explosives on luggage, cargo, or traveling passengers has been demonstrated by scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The vapor detection technology accurately detects...

News
New NASA Space Telescope Optics Offer Look at Distant Planets

New NASA technology offers a look at distant planets that not only are the right size and traveling in the temperate habitable zone of their host star, but also show signs of potential life, such as atmospheric oxygen and liquid water.

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