Tech Briefs

Topics:

A comprehensive library of technical briefs from engineering experts at NASA and major government, university, and commercial laboratories covering all aspects of innovations in electronics, software, photonics, imaging, motion control, automation, sensors, test, materials, manufacturing, mechanical, and mechatronics.

Latest Tech Briefs

-1
0
30
Briefs: Imaging
A team from the University of Barcelona and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya has designed a methodology that facilitates the recognition of QR codes in these physical environments, where reading is more complicated. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Researchers have successfully developed a wide-bandwidth, low-polarization semiconductor optical amplifier based on tensile-strained quantum wells. The study, published in the journal Sensors, presents a significant advancement in optical communication technology, addressing the growing demand for higher bandwidth and lower polarization sensitivity. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Materials
Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have developed a new technique to integrate 2D materials into devices in a single step while keeping the surfaces of the materials and the resulting interfaces pristine and free from defects. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Researchers have fabricated the world’s highest-performing HTS wire segment while making the price-performance metric significantly more favorable. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Design
A team has created a prototype for what it calls “living bioelectronics” — a combination of living cells, gel, and electronics that can integrate with living tissue. The patches are made of sensors, bacterial cells, and a gel made from starch and gelatin. Tests in mice found that the devices could continuously monitor and improve psoriasis-like symptoms, without irritating skin. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Design
Growing Bio-Inspired Polymer Brains for Artificial Neural Networks
Read on to learn about a technique for growing conductive polymer wire connections between electrodes to realize artificial neural networks that overcome the limits of traditional computer hardware.
Briefs: Aerospace
Want to create a zone of minimum radiation and magnetic/plasma effects for spacecraft? Then read on to find out how!
Feature Image
Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
Researchers at Texas A&M University are working on a new method of infrastructure monitoring using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing systems. SAR allows researchers to inspect and characterize pavements, retaining walls, and embankments from space and can help determine if there are flaws that should be further inspected for repair, saving valuable time. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Owl-Wing Study Could Aid in Developing Low-Noise Fluid Machinery
The study could aid in understanding the role of TE fringes in the silent flight of owls and can inspire biomimetic designs that could lead to the development of low-noise fluid machinery. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Power
University of Virginia researchers showed for the first time that airflow in supersonic combusting jet engines can be controlled by an optical sensor. The finding could lead to more efficient stabilization of hypersonic jet aircraft. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Motion Control
Innovators at the NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a novel foot-pedal-operated system and device to control movement of an object in 3D space. The Foot Pedal Controller system enables operators to control movement of spacecraft, aircraft, and watercraft using only foot pedals. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Imaging
A team led by University of Maryland computer scientists invented a camera mechanism that improves how robots see and react to the world around them. Inspired by how the human eye works, their innovative camera system mimics the tiny involuntary movements used by the eye to maintain clear and stable vision over time. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Design
MIT engineers are designing a pair of wearable robotic limbs that can physically support an astronaut and lift them back on their feet after a fall. The system, which the researchers have dubbed Supernumerary Robotic Limbs or “SuperLimbs,” is designed to extend from a backpack. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
Inspired by a small and slow snail, scientists have developed a robot prototype that may one day scoop up microplastics from the surfaces of oceans, seas, and lakes.
Feature Image
Briefs: Motion Control
Researchers have developed a new soft robot design that engages in three simultaneous behaviors: rolling forward, spinning like a record, and following a path that orbits around a central point. The device, which operates without human or computer control, holds promise for developing soft robotic technologies that can be used to navigate and map unknown environments. The new soft robots are called twisted ringbots. Read on to learn more about them.
Feature Image
Briefs: Design
A Dartmouth-led research team set out to determine if managing green roof soil microbes could boost healthy urban soil development, a methodology that could be applied to support climate resilience in cities. The team created an experimental green roof in Chicago to test how enhancing soil with native prairie microbes would change the soil microbial community over time. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Power
A PNNL research team used a simple mixed-salt water-based solution and their knowledge of metal properties to separate valuable minerals in continuously flowing reaction chambers. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
NASA has selected a team of University of Florida aerospace engineers to pursue a groundbreaking $12 million mission aimed at improving the way we track changes in Earth’s structures, such as tectonic plates and oceans. The mission, titled “GRATTIS” (Gravitational Reference Advanced Technology Test in Space), was the sole proposal selected in a national competition. Read on to learn more about it.
Feature Image
Briefs: Energy
In a study published in Joule, researchers at the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center report that giving batteries a first charge at unusually high currents increased their average lifespan by 50 percent while decreasing the initial charging time from 10 hours to just 20 minutes. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Energy
Researchers have developed a pioneering technique for producing large-scale graphene current collectors. This breakthrough promises to significantly enhance the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), addressing a critical challenge in energy storage technology. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Energy
A multi-institutional research team led by Hailong Chen has developed a new, low-cost cathode that could radically improve lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) — potentially transforming the electric vehicle (EV) market and large-scale energy storage systems. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Energy
Using transmission electron microscopes, Researchers at Graz University of Technology were able to systematically track lithium ions as they traveled through battery material, map their arrangement in the crystal lattice of an iron phosphate cathode with unprecedented resolution, and precisely quantify their distribution in the crystal. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
The global use of lithium-ion batteries has doubled in just the past four years, generating alarming amounts of battery waste containing many hazardous substances. The need for effective recycling methods for spent lithium-ion batteries is becoming increasingly critical. Scientists from various Polish research institutions presented a promising solution to this issue. Read on to learn more about it.
Feature Image
Briefs: Energy
To address stability and safety issues, researchers have designed a lithium-sulfur battery that features an improved iron sulfide cathode. One prototype remains highly stable over 300 charge-discharge cycles, and another provides power even after being folded or cut. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Researchers led by Professor Young Min Song from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology have unveiled a vision system inspired by feline eyes to enhance object detection in various lighting conditions. Featuring a unique shape and reflective surface, the system reduces glare in bright environments and boosts sensitivity in low-light scenarios. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Software
Penn Engineers have developed a new algorithm that allows robots to react to complex physical contact in real time, making it possible for autonomous robots to succeed at previously impossible tasks, like controlling the motion of a sliding object. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
MIT engineers have developed a method that enables robots to make similarly intuitive, task-relevant decisions. The team’s new approach, named Clio, enables a robot to identify the parts of a scene that matter, given the tasks at hand. Read on to learn more about Clio.
Feature Image
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A team of researchers has developed an innovative soft robotic gripper named ROtation-based Squeezing grippEr or ROSE. Read on to learn more about it.
Feature Image
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Biomedical engineers have developed a “bio-ink” for 3D-printed materials that could serve as scaffolds for growing human tissues to repair or replace damaged ones in the body. Read on to learn more.
Feature Image

Videos