Tech Briefs

Briefs: Materials

Unlocking the Gate to the Millisecond CT

A new CT scan method using intense synchrotron radiation produces higher quality images within milliseconds.

Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics

A Combined Optical Transmitter and Receiver

Researchers at Linköping University, together with colleagues in China, have developed a tiny unit that is both an optical transmitter and a receiver.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Quantum Computing at Room Temperature

Quantum computer circuits that will no longer need extremely cold temperatures to function could become a reality.

Briefs: Aerospace

Fabrication of Multilayer Ferritin Arrays

This method creates a thin-film electrode for a bio-nanobattery.

Briefs: Materials

Semiconductors Can Behave Like Metals and Superconductors

This work potentially opens the door to advances like more energy-efficient electronic devices.

Briefs: Transportation

Electrohydraulically Actuated Valve Train

The new technology demonstrates a 20 percent savings in fuel in typical passenger car low-load operating conditions.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Soft Prosthetic Hand Feels Surroundings via Stretchable Optical Waveguides

Sensors in the hand can actually detect forces being transmitted through the thickness of the robot.

Briefs: AR/AI

Machine-Learning Tool for Developing Tougher Materials

This rapid screening system tests fracture resistance in billions of potential materials.

Briefs: AR/AI

Hardware Reduces Energy Draw of Artificial Intelligence

A quantum material could offset energy demand of artificial intelligence.

Briefs: Materials

Multi-Polymer Filament Increases Production from Low-Cost Printers

The new filament allows low-cost printers to produce parts with mechanical properties competitive with injection molded plastics.

Briefs: Aerospace

SMART Solar Sail

The miniaturized, autonomous, reconfigurable solar sail is capable of very fine maneuvering by small surface deformation.

Briefs: Propulsion

Machine Learning Enables Rapid Rocket Engine Design

This method provides a fast way to assess rocket engine performance in a variety of operating conditions.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Robot Automates Blood Drawing and Testing

The device provides quick results and gives healthcare workers more time to treat patients in hospitals and other settings.

Briefs: Wearables

Wearable Cooling and Heating Patch

The patch could serve as a personal thermostat and save energy.

Briefs: Software

Elimination of Mission Clock Drift Contribution to Attitude and Celestial Pointing Error in the MSL Surface Mission

This potentially eliminates the need for future re-synchronizations.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

System Reduces the Carbon Footprint of Artificial Intelligence

An automated system cuts the energy required for training and running neural networks.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Biohybrid Can Turn Carbon Dioxide into New Products

Applications exist both on Mars and on Earth.

Briefs: Motion Control

Autonomous Boats Automatically Target and Clasp Onto Each Other

A fleet of “roboats” could transport people, collect trash, and self-assemble into floating structures.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Super-Fast Method for Ceramic Manufacturing

Scientists have reinvented a 26,000-year-old manufacturing process into an innovative approach to fabricating ceramic materials widely used in batteries, electronics, and extreme environments....

Briefs: Energy

Sodium-Ion Batteries

These can replace rechargeable lithium-ion batteries commonly used in robotics, power tools, and grid-scale energy storage.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Single-Atom Transistors

Linking multiple copies of these devices may lay the foundation for quantum computing.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Nature-Inspired Green Energy Technology

A new design enables artificial photosynthesis to generate fuel that can power homes and vehicles.

Briefs: Motion Control

Navigation Measurement Software

This program provides a relative navigation capability for spacecraft, remotely operated terrestrial vehicles, and machine vision.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Soft Hardware for More Flexible Robots

Combined muscles and sensors made from soft materials allow for adaptable robots.

Briefs: Power

Scavenger Technology Allows Robots to “Eat” Metal for Energy

This type of energy source could be the basis for robots that seek out and “eat” metal, breaking down its chemical bonds for energy like humans do with food.

Briefs: Motion Control

Showing Robots How to Complete Complicated Tasks

By observing humans, robots learn to perform complex tasks such as setting a table.

Briefs: Wearables

Solenoid Valve Health Monitor

The Solenoid Valve Health Monitor System (SVHMS) was developed to remotely monitor the health of solenoid valves, lowering operational costs and increasing reliability by predicting valve failures before they...