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
2610
30
Briefs: Materials
The Environmental Protection Agency has listed trinitrotoluene (TNT) as a possible carcinogen, and exposure to the material has been linked to disorders of the blood, such as anemia, and abnormal liver function,...
Feature Image
Briefs: Test & Measurement
The ability to measure the electronic conductivity of battery film coatings is a pressing need in the battery industry; however, these measurements can be...
Feature Image
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Faster, More Efficient Information Processing
For decades, computer chips have been shrinking thanks to a steady stream of technological improvements in processing density. Experts have, however, been warning that we'll soon reach the end of the trend known as Moore's Law, in which the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits...
Briefs: Materials
Extremely fine porous structures with tiny holes — resembling a kind of sponge at the nano level — can be generated in semiconductors. A method was developed for the controlled manufacture of...
Feature Image
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a direct-current detector technology to help emergency responders safely detect high voltages, which they have...
Feature Image
Briefs: Transportation
Magnetic sensors play a key role in a variety of applications, such as speed and position sensing in the automotive industry and in biomedical applications. The...
Feature Image
Briefs: Data Acquisition
For wireless networks that share time-sensitive information on the fly, it's not enough to transmit data quickly: that data also needs to be fresh. Consider the many sensors in your car. While it may...
Feature Image
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
When it comes to the “smell test,” the nose isn't always the best judge of food quality. Now in a study appearing in ACS’ journal Nano Letters, scientists...
Feature Image
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Infrared spectroscopy is the benchmark method for detecting and analyzing organic compounds. However, that requires complicated procedures and large, expensive instruments, making...
Feature Image
Briefs: Aerospace
What had been a peaceful and productive mission for the six men aboard the Russian space station Mir, including U.S. astronaut Jerry Linenger, nearly became a tragic...
Feature Image
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Stanford and Seoul National University researchers have developed an artificial sensory nerve system that can activate the twitch reflex in a...
Feature Image
Briefs: Imaging
Researchers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have demonstrated that deep learning, a powerful form of artificial intelligence, can discern and enhance...
Feature Image
Briefs: Test & Measurement
A next-generation X-ray beamline now operating at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) brings together a unique set of capabilities to measure the...
Feature Image
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Optoelectronic engineers in China and Hong Kong have manufactured a special type of liquid crystal display (LCD) that is paper-thin, flexible, light, and tough. With this, a daily newspaper...
Feature Image
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Researchers have developed an inkjet printing technique that can be used to print optical components such as waveguides. Because the printing approach can also fabricate...
Feature Image
Briefs: Energy
Electrode Design Boosts Supercapacitor Performance
Supercapacitors are rechargeable energy storage devices that deliver more power for their size than similar-sized batteries. They also recharge quickly, and they last for hundreds to thousands of recharging cycles. Today, they are used in hybrid cars’ regenerative braking systems and for other...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
NASA Ames Research Center has developed an innovative built-in temperature sensing method for micro-heaters. The temperature sensing of chip-based microheaters is conventionally done with the...
Feature Image
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Today's glass-based lenses are bulky and resist miniaturization. To address the problem, two different imaging methods — a type of lens designed for nanoscale interaction with lightwaves, and robust...
Feature Image
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Information Sharing Protocol VCR (ISPVCR)
The Information Sharing Protocol (ISP) VCR (ISPVCR) is a software program written in Tcl/Tk that provides the capability to record and play back ISP data (telemetry, computations, ground system status, etc.) via Source Independent Telemetry Format (SITF) files. The ISPVCR provides a graphical user interface...
Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
Hyperfine Interpolated Range Finding for CW Lidar, Radar, and Sonar Using Repeating Waveforms and Fourier Transform Reordering
NASA's Langley Research Center has developed a novel fine interpolation technique that is useful in signal processing for applications in lidar, sonar, radar, and similar modalities. The interpolation technique uses...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Location Awareness Algorithm for Internet of Things Devices
Positioning of wireless devices is centralized, depending on “anchors” with known locations such as cell towers or GPS satellites to communicate directly with each device. As the number of devices increases, anchors must be installed at higher density. Centralized positioning can...
Briefs: Materials
Liquid metal printing is integral to the flexible electronics field. Additive manufacturing enables fast fabrication of intricate designs and circuitry. The field features a...
Feature Image
Briefs: Materials
The unique capabilities of soft robots are to bend, deform, stretch, twist, or squeeze in all the ways that conventional rigid robots cannot. Today, it is easy to envision a world in...
Feature Image
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Ultra-Thin Capacitive Sensor Has the Least Possible Resistance to Motion
A thin and flexible sensor was developed for sensing sounds, since it can move with the airflow made by even the softest noises. With the least possible resistance to motion, the sensor addresses issues with accelerometers, microphones, and many other similar sensors. The goal...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
In the early years of manned flight, wing warping was used for lateral control of an aircraft. This technique consisted of a system of pulleys and cables used to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposite...
Feature Image
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Resistance welding with direct current (DC) using inverter technology reduces costs by improving quality, reducing maintenance, and increasing productivity. Switching from...
Feature Image
Briefs: Motion Control
Today's crop breeders are trying to boost yields while preparing plants to withstand severe weather and changing climates. To succeed, they must locate the genes for high-yielding, hardy traits in crop plants’...
Feature Image
Briefs: Imaging
Hydraulic-Based Spherical Robot
Current spherical robots rely upon rotating mechanical weights inside the sphere to change the center of gravity of the sphere, causing the robot to roll. The use of rotating mechanical weights is not optimal due to the reliance upon moving parts, which can present burdensome maintenance issues. It would be...
Briefs: Automotive
There are applications that require multiple electric machine drives, such as electric or hybrid electric vehicles, where there is a main traction motor and one or more accessory...
Feature Image

Videos