Tech Briefs

Photonics & Imaging

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Access our comprehensive library of technical briefs on photonics and imaging, from engineering experts at NASA and major government, university, and commercial laboratories.

Briefs: Software
Algorithm Improves Navigation of Autonomous Driving Robots
Briefs: Data Acquisition
“Alexa, Go to The Kitchen and Fetch Me a Snack”
Briefs: AR/AI
Virtual and Augmented Reality Device Simulates Vision Loss
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Latest Tech Briefs

Briefs: Imaging
Infrared Detectors Enhance Night-Vision Cameras
The ability to enhance night vision could improve what can be seen in space, in chemical and biological disaster areas, and on the battlefield.
Briefs: Medical
High-Performance, Low-Field MRI for Cardiac and Lung Imaging
The system could enhance image-guided procedures that diagnose and treat disease and make medical imaging more affordable and accessible.
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Detector Senses X-Rays Over a Broad Energy Range
New materials generate precise X-ray images with a lower amount of exposure.
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Radar Enables Cars to Spot Hazards Around Corners
Using radar commonly deployed to track speeders and fastballs, the automated system “sees” around corners to spot oncoming traffic and pedestrians.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Solid-State Sensor for Detection and Characterization of Electric Fields
The sensor enables detection of items for security screening, intrusion detection, forensics, and medical imaging.
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Lenslet-Based Integral Field Spectrograph
Applications include biomedical imaging, remote sensing, and heliophysics research.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Imaging Technology Could Improve Cancer Surgery
Cancer treatment could be dramatically improved by precisely locating the edges of tumors during surgery to remove them.
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Ambient Light Alters Refraction in 2D Material
See how tantalum disulfide is supporting new kinds of optics, and potentially new kinds of application for VR and self-driving cars.
Briefs: AR/AI
Recovering Data: NIST’s Neural Network Model Finds Small Objects in Dense Images
A NIST method employs a neural network to detect patterns like geometric objects in imaging data.
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Psychosensory Electronic Skin Technology for AI and Humanoid Development
This technology enables robots, electronic devices, and prosthetic devices to feel pain through sense of touch.
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Printable Light Sensors Can See Colors
Printable organic photodiodes can distinguish wavelengths and enable data transmission by light.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Robotic Assembly of Photovoltaic Arrays
Adaptable automation reduces manufacturing time and costs.
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Continuous and Stable Lasing Achieved From Low-Cost Perovskites at Room Temperature
With low-cost materials called perovskites, stable, continuous lasing is achieved at room temperature for over an hour.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Electricity-Free Radiative Cooling System
The system is effective in urban environments where there are tall buildings on all sides.
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Hybrid Material is an Efficient Photodetector
A metal-organic framework does not contain cost-intensive raw materials and can be produced in bulk.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Mass-Producible, Centimeter-Scale Metalens
Applications include low-light conditions such as on orbital satellites and VR applications where the lens needs to be larger than a pupil.
Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
Testing Swarming Drones
This system has a capacity of more than 1,500 times the volume of a typical testing facility.
Briefs: Nanotechnology
Nanocardboard Aircraft with No Moving Parts
Tiny aircraft that weigh as much as a fruit fly could serve as Martian atmospheric probes.
Briefs: Imaging
AI Software Enables Real-Time 3D Printing Quality Assessment
The software assesses the quality of parts in real time, without the need for expensive characterization equipment.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Wavy Surfaces for Better Light Control
This method could impact optical technologies such as smartphone cameras, biosensors, or autonomous vision for robots and self-driving cars.
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Measuring Optical Null Lens Aberrations
This method can be used in astronomy, surveillance, and optics manufacturing.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Optical Neural Network Recognizes Objects Instantly
This technology can work with multiple wavelengths of light simultaneously.
Briefs: Materials
Quantum Switch Turns Metals into Insulators
This approach could engineer quantum materials atom-by-atom for new electronic, magnetic, and sensing applications.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Laser Spark Distribution and Ignition System
Traditional spark plugs are replaced by an optical pumping source.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Combined Optical Transmitter and Receiver
The tiny unit is significant for the miniaturization of optoelectronic systems.
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Acoustic Monitoring of Laser Welds
Empa researchers were able to demonstrate real-time acoustic monitoring of laser weld seams.
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Leap in Lidar Could Improve Safety and Security of New Technology
University of Colorado researchers have described a new silicon chip that improves the resolution and scanning speed needed for a lidar system.
Briefs: Materials
T-Ray Camera Speed Boosted a Hundred Times Over
Real-time terahertz imaging with a single-pixel detector.
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Occulter for CubeSat Coronagraph
The instrument has uses in photography where the goal is to image a dim object near a bright one.
Question of the Week
Will Indoor Light Someday Power Our Smart Devices?

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