Sensors & Test

SkinKit Offers Versatile, Wearable On-Skin Computing

The next generation of wearable computing technology will be even closer to the wearer than a watch or glasses: It will be affixed to the skin.

RFID Slot Antenna Offers Big Performance, Small Form Factor

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a quarter-wavelength RFID slot antenna that provides polarization diversity and employs dual resonances, but in a form factor that is much smaller than other RFID antennas that provide similar functionality.

Thin Flexible Sensor Characterizes High-Speed Airflows on Curved Surfaces

To improve efficiency, it is necessary to characterize and reduce flow separation on curved surfaces.

Sensors Quickly Spot Coronavirus Proteins and Antibodies

Scientists have created a new way to detect the proteins that make up the pandemic coronavirus as well as antibodies against it. They designed protein-based biosensors that glow when mixed with components of the virus or specific COVID-19 antibodies.

Soft Skin Patch Could Provide Early Warning for Strokes, Heart Attacks

The patch uses ultrasound to monitor blood flow to organs.

Mind-Controlling Machines

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have developed biosensor technology that will allow you to operate devices, such as robots and machines, solely through thought-control.

Engineering the Flow of Light

A novel nanostructure produces uniquely shaped light.

Extractor for Chemical Analysis of Lipid Biomarkers in Regolith (ExCALiBR)

NASA Ames Research Center has developed a novel technology that provides an autonomous, miniaturized fluidic system for lipid analysis.

Flow-Through Transducer for Wind Tunnel Analysis

To enable key aerospace R&D applications, NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a single-piece flow-through transducer design capable of measuring all six components adding in the Axial force measurement.

Implantable Chip Uses Machine Learning to Detect Neural Disease

Boasting a 256-channel high-resolution sensing array and an energy-efficient machine learning processor, NeuralTree can extract and classify a broad set of biomarkers from real patient data and animal models of disease in-vivo.

Augmented Reality Headset Provides X-Ray Vision

MIT researchers have built an AR headset that gives the wearer X-ray vision. The headset combines computer vision and wireless perception to automatically locate a specific item that is hidden from view.

New Microchip Sensor Measures Stress Hormones from Drop of Blood

A Rutgers-led team of researchers has developed a microchip that can measure stress hormones in real time from a drop of blood.

New Nanoparticle-Based Sensors Can Measure Residual Herbicides in Food

The work shows the real-world viability of their easy-to-use and inexpensive methods of testing.

Can Your Phone Tell if a Bridge Is in Good Shape?

A new study suggests mobile data collected while traveling over bridges could help evaluate their integrity.

Automatic Observation Management System, New Tool to Coordinate Telescope Network

The "AOM" performs complex observations with ten observation modes and 175 strategies.

Researchers Acquire 3D Images with LED Room Lighting and a Smartphone

Researchers are tapping into dynamically controlled LEDs to create a simple illumination system for 3D imaging.

Vision Sensing is Becoming More Accessible

Vision sensing systems are needed to improve operations in many industrial applications, where they can be arranged to detect the presence, position, and other characteristics of objects and products.

Wearable Sensor Uses Ultrasound to Provide On-the-Go Cardiac Imaging

Researchers have developed a wearable ultrasound device — about the size of a postage stamp — that can assess both the structure and function of the human heart.

Printing High-Fidelity Sensors

Printed radio frequency (RF) surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor devices are a promising technology for providing highly reconfigurable, cost-effective, and multi-parameter sensing.

Artificial Skin Provides Haptic Feedback

The skin could help rehabilitation and enhance virtual reality by instantaneously adapting to a wearer's movements.

Peeling Back the Layers: Adhesives Testing for Wearables

Trends in wearable technology follow those of the broader biomedical and electronics industries — devices are getting smaller, smarter, and easier to use. Specifically, wearables in...

Crack Image Quality Indicator

Engineers have developed a modeling and manufacturing technique that generates unique verification tools which simulate cracks in metals within X-ray setup part-testing geometries.

An Energy-Efficient Method to Monitor Soil Moisture

The University of Maine’s Wireless Sensor Networks laboratory has developed a novel method of using AI and machine learning to make monitoring soil moisture more energy and cost efficient.

Low-Cost Device Can Measure Air Pollution Anywhere

Air pollution is a major public health problem. Now, an MIT research team is rolling out an open-source version of a low-cost, mobile pollution detector that could enable people to track air quality more widely.

New Hydration Sensor Enables “Smart Diapers” and Other Health Monitors

A new sensor — so cheap and simple to produce that it can be hand-drawn with a pencil onto paper treated with sodium chloride — could clear the way for wearable, self-powered health monitors.

New Sensor May Be Groundbreaking Tool for Soil Health

Bioengineers have developed sensors that monitor multiple soil parameters to provide farmers with accurate, real-time, continuous data to improve soil health and productivity.