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Briefs: Motion Control
Technological advances have driven the evolution of aircraft flight-control systems. In the dawn of 20th-century aviation, the Wright Brothers used cables and warping of wing surfaces to change...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Improved miniature biotelemetric units resembling large pills have been proposed for use in physiological monitoring of the gastrointestinal tract. The broad principles of design, operation,...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Lightweight Reflector Dishes Would Be Made by Spin Casting
Lightweight reflector dishes for radio antennas would be mass-produced cheaply by spin casting of polymers, according to a proposal. These reflector dishes were conceived for compact stowage followed by deployment and operation aboard spacecraft, but might also be useful on Earth in...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Retroreflective Communication Systems
A retroreflective communication system (RCS), is a state-of-the-art system that provides (1) two-way optical communication using only one transmitter and (2) multipath communication among remote locations. RCSs were conceived for use in communication among stations on the ground and aboard spacecraft in...
Briefs: Medical
Urine-Sample-Collection Device for Use on the Space Shuttle
The in-flight urine collection absorber (IUCA) is a Johnson Space Center (JSC) breakthrough. It features a lightweight, compact design and is easy to use for collection of urine samples by male and female space shuttle crewmembers. The IUCA is superior to currently available hardware for...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Adaptive variable bias control (AVBC) is an improved technique for controlling the currents supplied to the electromagnets in magnetic bearings. In AVBC, the bias currents are varied in such...
Briefs: Motion Control
The term "mechanical mirroring using controlled stiffness and actuators" ("MEMICA") denotes a developmental concept for reflecting contact forces, displacements, mechanical damping,...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A phased-array-fed cylindrical-reflector antenna with superquadric projected aperture has been designed to afford the ability to scan the beam over a wide angular range without having...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Open-cell silicon carbide foam coated with a ferrite-filled absorbing resin has been found to be useful for black-body absorbers at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The...
Briefs: Motion Control
A commercial version of the NASA plasma-contactor hollow-cathode assembly (PC HCA) has been developed. The NASA PC HCA is a highly reliable hollow discharge cathode that is the most thoroughly...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Adaptive Filtering of SAR Interferograms
An algorithm for filtering synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) interferograms has been developed which substantially improves the performance of subsequent phase-unwrapping. It accomplishes this task by filtering the interferogram strongly in areas where the scene contains little detail, and weakly where the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Solar-blind photodetectors respond only to ultraviolet light at wavelengths shorter than those of the solar radiation that can penetrate atmosphere of the Earth. This wavelength range, traditionally...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Parallel 3D EMPIC Algorithm Using Nonorthogonal Grids
Electromagnetic particle-in-cell (EMPIC) codes provide a capability for numerically simulating the motions of electrically charged particles in electromagnetic fields, and hence have become standard software tools in plasma physics research. Most existing EMPIC codes are based on the use of...
Briefs: Information Technology
A recently developed method of parameterizing complex shapes that one seeks to optimize differs from prior such methods in two major respects: (1) instead of entirely...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A versatile, ultrafast, low-power machine vision system in the form of a single integrated-circuit chip has been proposed for use in military targeting, industrial robotics, and other...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A special-purpose interface circuit for a computer hard-disk drive (HDD) enables rapid writing of image data from a scientific instrument to sequential sectors on the hard disk. The...
Briefs: Software
NASA has developed a system of hardware and software that can accommodate all necessary interfaces between (1) space-station flight computers and (2) a simulation host computer used...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Forward-Link/Simulator PCI Card
The forward-link/simulator card (FLS) performs the fundamental satellite-telemetry data-transmission function for the forward (Earth-to-spacecraft) link in real time at rates up to 400 Mb/s. The FLS also simulates a Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) telemetry data source that outputs data at rates...
Briefs: Wearables
Wearable sensor patches — miniature biotelemetric units — have been proposed for use in measuring temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and possibly other physiological parameters. The...
Briefs: Information Technology
Developmental Software for Exploiting Hyperspectral Imagery
A unique state-of-the-art process for exploiting hyperspectral satellite imagery, based on evolutionary computing methods, has been developed and a proof-of-concept demonstration has been conducted. This development is projected to lead to several important commercial products, including...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Techniques for Controlling Buoyancy of Balloons on Titan
A report discusses alternative techniques for controlling the buoyancy, and thus the altitude and landings, of a balloon-borne instrumentation system that would be launched to explore the moon Titan of the planet Saturn. Some of the techniques are based on established concepts of heating or...
Briefs: Information Technology
An algorithm for rapid acquisition of a pulse-position-modulation (PPM) optical data signal implements a pattern-matching technique for synchronization of receiver timing with the temporal...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Lightweight, low-power-consumption, inexpensive ozone sensors based on colorimetric chemical sensing would be developed, according to a proposal. Colorimetric chemical sensing is an...
Briefs: Materials
Update on Electrolytes for Low-Temperature Lithium Cells
A report presents results of research on carbonate-based electrolytes to improve the low-temperature-performances of lithium-ion rechargeable electrochemical cells. The loss of performance with decreasing temperature is attributable largely to a decrease of ionic conductivity and the increase...
Briefs: Medical
A technique for noninvasive determination of the pressure in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been proposed. This technique would involve two main steps: First, an optical coherence tomographic...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The figure illustrates a chair-base mechanism with a bushing-mounted drag chain. The bushing-mount design provides for one end of the drag chain to be free to pivot; this provision makes it possible to wrap the drag...
Briefs: Medical
An improved solution for preserving samples of urine has been formulated. This solution preserves a much broader spectrum of analytes in urine than do other urine-preservative solutions here-tofore in use by NASA,...
Briefs: Medical
Primers for Amplifying CMV DNA in Body Fluids and Tissue
A novel set of primers has been developed for use in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of cytomegalovirus (CMV). The purpose of this development is to enable faster, more sensitive detection of CMV virus infecting body fluids and tissues.
Briefs: Software
The Automated Fatigue Calculation Program (FATPLUS)
Since it was developed in the late 1980s, the Automated Fatigue Calculation Program (FATPLUS) has consistently demonstrated its ability to predict fatigue life, independently validate proprietary fatigue methodologies, identify fatigue-sensitive parts, and train engineers in predicting...
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Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: AR/AI
The Real Impact of AR and AI in the Industrial Equipment Industry
Upcoming Webinars: Motion Control
Next-Generation Linear and Rotary Stages: When Ultra Precision...
Upcoming Webinars: Energy
Hydrogen Engines Are Heating Up for Heavy Duty
Podcasts: Medical
How Wearables Are Enhancing Smart Drug Delivery
Podcasts: Power
SAE Automotive Podcast: Solid-State Batteries
Podcasts: Power
