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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Light-emitting devices based on semiconductor quantum dots have been shown to be suitable for use in environments that include high levels of radiation that causes displacement damage...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Optical-Based Method for Characterizing Protein Crystals
A method of characterization of growing of protein crystals involves the utilization of an optical imaging technique known as spatial phase imaging. The methods used heretofore have been, variously, invasive (e.g., adding a dye that is absorbed by the protein of interest), destructive (e.g.,...
Briefs: Software
Embeddable Fuzzy-Logic-Toolkit Software for Tcl/Tk
A computer program of the fuzzy-logictoolkit type has been devel- oped as a relatively simple, portable, highly compatible, means of providing fuzzy-logic reasoning capabilities for control and expert-system applications.This program is designed to work with the high-level scripting language Tcl/Tk...
Briefs: Software
Program Analyzes Use of Registers by Another Program
Regprof is a computer program that analyzes the use of registers by another program that runs on a PowerPC
750 (or equivalent) computer. Regprof is useful for showing how well compilers make use of registers and for obtaining an indication of the susceptibility of application programs to...
Briefs: Software
Real-Time Desktop Manager
Real-time Desktop Manager (RDM) is a computer program that manages displays and application programs. RDM was developed for use in connection with NASA’s remote manipulator system (RMS) group of flight controllers; it could also be used in chemical plants, laboratories, factories, hospitals, and other settings where it...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A proposed method of FQPSK modulation and demodulation of a radio signal would incorporate any of a number of relatively simple (short-constraintlength) outer codes. By affording significant...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Noncontact Scanning Surface Profilometers
A class of optoelectronic noncontact computer-controlled scanning surface profilometers is undergoing development for use in automated or semiautomated in- spection of nominally flat surfaces. When fully developed, these profilometers would generate three-dimensional maps of the scanned surfaces for...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The Full Immersion Telepresence Testbed (FITT) is an experimental anthropomorphic-robot remote-control system that is so named because it gives a human control operator some of the sensations of...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Fiber-optic couplers for spherical, toroidal, and other, similarly shaped microscopic optical resonators that operate in whispering-gallery (WG) modes would be fabricated with integral...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A proposed radiometric instrument denoted the spotlight radiometer (SLR) would operate in a frequency band centered at ≈557 GHz and would scan in a conical or circular pattern. The SLR was conceived for use in obtaining...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A design for an unobscured, large-aperture but otherwise compact laser-beam expander relies solely on spherical reflecting and refracting surfaces, yet provides a reasonably...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
An improved and expanded method of stereo imaging velocimetry (SIV) for diagnosing three-dimensional flows of gases, liquids, and other fluids involves the use of standard charge-coupled-device cameras...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Infrared Fiber-Optic Endoscope
A proposed infrared transmitting fiber-optic endoscope, which would partly resemble a visible-light fiber-optic endoscope, instrument could be used to perform thermal imaging in harsh environments and/or confined spaces in a variety of situations in aerospace, industrial, automotive, and medical settings.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
An unconventional and highly effective technique has been devised to reduce cyclic errors that arise in the operation of a displacement-measuring heterodyne optical interferometer. The...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Fiber-Optic Probe Uses Evanescent Waves To Sense Biofilm
A compact instrument includes a fiber-optic probe that utilizes the evanescent-wave interaction to measure the accumulation of a biofilm. This instrument is a prototype of instruments that could be used to effect continuous monitoring and provide early warning of biofilms associated with...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Ultrasonic System Tracks Body Movements in Three Dimensions
A system based on ultrasonic sensors has been developed as a means of tracking moving objects with centimeter accuracy. The system is intended especially for tracking pertinent parts of the body of a human subject engaged in control of a remote anthropomorphic robot or immersed in a...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Cylindrical Shape-Memory Rotary/Linear Actuator
A compact actuator generates rotary or linear motion with a large torque or force, respectively. The original version of this actuator is designed to pull a wedge that, until pulled, prevents retraction of the proposed extended nose landing gear of the space shuttle. The original version is also...
Briefs: Software
Program Finds Target-Chemical Signals in Multisensor Outputs
A computer program deconvolves the digitized outputs of multiple chemical sensors in an array to extract indications of the identities and con- centrations of target chemicals (which could be individual compounds or specified mixtures of compounds). Chemical-sensor arrays — denoted,...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
A portable pressure-application device has been designed and built for use in testing and calibrating piezoelectric pressure transducers in the field. The device generates pressure pulses...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
The figure depicts a single-arm, slabwave- guide interferometer that has been demonstrated to be useable as a means of sensing ammonia in wet air. The slabwaveguide portion of this...
Briefs: Software
Program Computes Outer-Space Heat-Sink Temperatures
TSCALC is a computer program that calculates the space sink temp- erature (TS), defined as the equilibrium temp- erature of a spacecraft heat-dissipation radiator or other object nominally isolated except for radiative exchange of heat with the Sun, or any star for which equilibrium sink temp-...
Briefs: Materials
An ablative composite coating has been developed to protect a steel substrate against a short-duration exposure to supersonic stream of hot gases and molten ceramic particles. In the...
Briefs: Materials
Insertion of Reactive Material for Treating Groundwater
An improved method of inserting reactive material in the ground for treating groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvents has been devised. An older method involves the removal of a significant portion of soil overlying the treatment volume, and consequently the expensive off-site...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A table-top experiment on formation alignment of three air-levitated robotic vehicles has been performed to demonstrate the feasibility of a more general concept of controlling multiple...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Microfabricated Flow Controllers and Pressure Regulators
Efforts are underway to develop microfabricated flow controllers and pressure regulators that contain as few discrete components as feasible and that are cheaper, more robust, and orders of magnitude smaller than are currently commercially available devices that have similar capabilities. The...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A process has been proposed for growing carbon nanotubes aligned substantially parallel with the nominal planar surfaces of substrates and further aligned with patterns on the substrates. Prior to...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Process for Rapid Prototyping in Ceramic-Matrix Composites
The ceramic-composite advanced tow- placement (CCATP) process is a means of laying down continuous-fiber-reinforced, ceramic-matrix composite (CMC) materials in patterned layers to form objects that could have complex three-dimensional shapes. The CCATP process is a member of the growing...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A technique of thermocompressive gold-to-gold diffusion bonding at relatively low temperature has been devised to provide stable, uniform, strong bonds between struc- tural components...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Improved electrical resistance heaters for preventing the accumulation of ice on aircraft surfaces are undergoing development. The primary intended market for these heaters is that of...
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