Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Access our comprehensive library of technical briefs on mechanical and fluid systems, from engineering experts at NASA and government, university, and commercial laboratories.

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The gripper’s soft, sensitive fingers could enable robots to help with tying knots, wire shaping, or surgical suturing.
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Briefs: Motion Control
This technology can help robots walk up to 40 percent faster on uneven terrain such as pebbles and wood chips.
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Briefs: Aerospace
Applications include absorbers, tuned mass dampers, harmonic absorbers, and seismic dampers.
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The battery design increases the number of possible cycles from tens to more than 100 with little degradation.
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Briefs: Materials
Using ceramic material and graphene, the toughness of solid-state lithium-ion batteries can be doubled.
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
New safety relay modules follow updated standards to give designers more options for a tailored electrical safety implementation.
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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
This approach allows scientists to study the communication within plants, providing valuable insights to improve crop yields.
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Briefs: Materials
These are important traits in electronics and electrical systems including electric cars, industrial drills, and electric grids.
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
This gel-like material leads a path toward “mechanoceuticals.”
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Briefs: Materials
These sensors monitor electrical loads from household appliances to support grid operations.
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Briefs: Transportation
The new technology demonstrates a 20 percent savings in fuel in typical passenger car low-load operating conditions.
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Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Sensors in the hand can actually detect forces being transmitted through the thickness of the robot.
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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The new filament allows low-cost printers to produce parts with mechanical properties competitive with injection molded plastics.
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Briefs: Aerospace
The miniaturized, autonomous, reconfigurable solar sail is capable of very fine maneuvering by small surface deformation.
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Briefs: Aerospace
Applications exist both on Mars and on Earth.
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Briefs: Propulsion
Bio-Inspired Propulsion
Frequencies and passive dynamics of vehicles moving in air or water help enhance propulsion performance.
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
An inexpensive gyroscope could help drones and autonomous cars stay on track without a GPS signal.
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Electrical cables are used in services such as power delivery, automation signaling, and communications.
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
This system can amplify a faint signal from a neighboring system even when that signal’s amplitude is as small as ten trillionths of a meter.
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The rainproof, stainproof technology turns clothing into self-powered remotes while turning away bacteria.
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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
This method uses fiber optic probes for measurement of semiconductors, optical coatings, magnetic read/write heads, and precision machines.
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Researchers described a new strategy of designing metamolecules.
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Briefs: Propulsion
This diffuser provides double the pumping efficiency in one-quarter the space.
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Briefs: Materials
This passive device relies on a layer of material that blocks incoming sunlight but lets heat radiate away.
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
An inexpensive 3D-printed microfluidics device could be used to personalize cancer treatment.
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
This device could enable rapid, inexpensive liquid biopsies to help detect cancer and develop targeted treatment plans.
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Applications include distributed computer systems, computer security, and commercial satellite systems.
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
The technique could be used to improve navigation for robots, drones, or pedestrians.
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Briefs: Medical
This diagnostic device allows doctors to detect cancer quickly from a droplet of blood or plasma.
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