Sensors/Data Acquisition

Access our comprehensive library of technical briefs on sensors and data acquisition, from engineering experts at NASA and government, university, and commercial laboratories.

Briefs: Materials

New Material Enables Stable Semiconductor Neutron Detectors

It can be used both in small, portable devices for field inspections and in very large detectors that use arrays of crystals.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Algorithm Helps Swarming Robots Avoid Collisions

This technology could help control driverless cars and automated warehouses.

Briefs: Imaging

Seeing Around Corners to Detect Object Shapes

Special light sources and sensors see around corners or through gauzy filters, enabling reconstruction of the shapes of unseen objects.

Briefs: Transportation

Relaxor Piezoelectric Single-Crystal Multilayer Stacks for Energy Harvesting Transducers (RPSEHT)

Applications include powering portable electronic devices and sensors, and harvesting waste mechanical energy for aircraft, automobile, and other transportation equipment.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

RFID-Based System Enables Internet of Things

The technology could help in elder care with sensors throughout a home.

Briefs: Internet of Things

Machine Learning Algorithm Identifies Objects Using Microwaves

Hardware and software tweak microwave patterns to discover the most efficient way to identify objects.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Model Predicts Breaking Point of Conducting Material

This work could accelerate the development of flexible electronics.

Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics

Terahertz Imaging System Uses Small, Efficient Lasers

The lasers are small and efficient enough to fit on a microchip.

Briefs: Materials

Researchers Create Nanoscale Sensors to Better See How High Pressure Affects Materials

Researchers have developed new nanoscale technology to image and measure more of the stresses and strains on materials under high pressures.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Stretchable Wireless Sensor Could Monitor Healing of Cerebral Aneurysms

A wireless sensor small enough to be implanted in the blood vessels of the human brain could help clinicians evaluate the healing of aneurysms.

Briefs: Wearables

New Solution to Elderly Falls: Drones, Smartphones and Sensors

Drones, smartphones, and sensors could provide a lifeline to the world’s growing elderly population at risk of falls.

Briefs: Wearables

Oxygen Sensor for Sick Infants

A mobile, wearable device the size of a Band-Aid could allow babies to leave the hospital and be monitored from home.

Briefs: Aerospace

Magnetic Shield Using Proximity Coupled, Spatially Varying Superconducting Order Parameters

This magnetic shielding design can be easily incorporated into a wide range of electronic sensing applications.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Wireless System Powers Devices Inside the Body

The technology could enable remote control of drug delivery, sensing, and other medical applications.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Conductive Polymer/Carbon Nanotube Structural Materials

These materials can be used in aerospace vehicles, automobiles, clothing, helmets, and chemical sensors.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Blood Test Detects Multiple Types of Cancer

The test can screen for numerous types of cancer with a high degree of accuracy.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Remote, Noninvasive Cardiac Activity Tracer (RENCAT)

This vibrometer has uses in analyzing spasms in humans, as a breath analyzer for diagnosis of cancer and other diseases, and as a preventative healthcare sensor.

Briefs: Aerospace

Sensor Uses Microwaves to Determine Real-Time Ice Accumulation

The sensor makes it easier to detect and manage ice accumulation on aircraft wings.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Augmented Reality System Lets Smartphone Users Interact with Virtual Objects

This system places virtual objects within real-world backgrounds on cellphone screens and lets people interact with those objects by hand as if they were really there.