Tech Briefs

A comprehensive library of technical briefs from engineering experts at NASA and major government, university, and commercial laboratories covering all aspects of innovations in electronics, software, photonics, imaging, motion control, automation, sensors, test, materials, manufacturing, mechanical, and mechatronics.

-1
1830
30
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The new technology demonstrates a 20 percent savings in fuel in typical passenger car low-load operating conditions.
Feature Image
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Sensors in the hand can actually detect forces being transmitted through the thickness of the robot.
Feature Image
Briefs: Materials
This rapid screening system tests fracture resistance in billions of potential materials.
Feature Image
Briefs: Transportation
A quantum material could offset energy demand of artificial intelligence.
Feature Image
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The new filament allows low-cost printers to produce parts with mechanical properties competitive with injection molded plastics.
Feature Image
Briefs: Aerospace
The miniaturized, autonomous, reconfigurable solar sail is capable of very fine maneuvering by small surface deformation.
Feature Image
Briefs: Test & Measurement
This method provides a fast way to assess rocket engine performance in a variety of operating conditions.
Feature Image
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The device provides quick results and gives healthcare workers more time to treat patients in hospitals and other settings.
Feature Image
Briefs: Energy
The patch could serve as a personal thermostat and save energy.
Feature Image
Briefs: Software
Feature Image
Briefs: Energy
An automated system cuts the energy required for training and running neural networks.
Feature Image
Briefs: Energy
Solid-State Lithium Battery
This thin film battery can be used for on-package power in mass market electric vehicles (EVs) and electronic devices.
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Applications exist both on Mars and on Earth.
Feature Image
Briefs: Transportation
Bio-Inspired Propulsion
Frequencies and passive dynamics of vehicles moving in air or water help enhance propulsion performance.
Briefs: Unmanned Systems
A fleet of “roboats” could transport people, collect trash, and self-assemble into floating structures.
Feature Image
Briefs: Materials
Scientists have reinvented a 26,000-year-old manufacturing process into an innovative approach to fabricating ceramic materials widely used in batteries, electronics, and extreme environments....
Feature Image
Briefs: Energy
These can replace rechargeable lithium-ion batteries commonly used in robotics, power tools, and grid-scale energy storage.
Feature Image
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Linking multiple copies of these devices may lay the foundation for quantum computing.
Feature Image
Briefs: Transportation
A new design enables artificial photosynthesis to generate fuel that can power homes and vehicles.
Feature Image
Briefs: Motion Control
This program provides a relative navigation capability for spacecraft, remotely operated terrestrial vehicles, and machine vision.
Feature Image
Briefs: Motion Control
Combined muscles and sensors made from soft materials allow for adaptable robots.
Feature Image
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
This type of energy source could be the basis for robots that seek out and “eat” metal, breaking down its chemical bonds for energy like humans do with food.
Feature Image
Briefs: Imaging
By observing humans, robots learn to perform complex tasks such as setting a table.
Feature Image
Briefs: Motion Control
The Solenoid Valve Health Monitor System (SVHMS) was developed to remotely monitor the health of solenoid valves, lowering operational costs and increasing reliability by predicting valve failures before they...
Feature Image
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The new method produces strips of rubbery material that can pick up and release objects.
Feature Image
Briefs: Test & Measurement
An inexpensive gyroscope could help drones and autonomous cars stay on track without a GPS signal.
Feature Image
Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
The process provides a cost-effective solution for applications in space-based imaging systems, military reconnaissance, and satellite and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Feature Image
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Electrical cables are used in services such as power delivery, automation signaling, and communications.
Feature Image
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
This system can amplify a faint signal from a neighboring system even when that signal’s amplitude is as small as ten trillionths of a meter.
Feature Image

Videos