Tech Briefs

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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.

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Briefs: Physical Sciences

An instrumentation system for direct measurement of the thermal conductivity of a small sample of a highly insulating material has been devised. As used here, (1) “small”...

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Briefs: Physical Sciences

An alignment jig (see figure) places a THz horn and power detector at the proper locations with respect to the focal points of a conic reflector in order to couple total power of the...

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Autoignition Chamber for Remote Testing of Pyrotechnic Devices

The autoignition chamber (AIC) performs by remotely heating pyrotechnic devices that can fit the inner diameter of the tube furnace. Two methods, a cold start or a hot start, can be used with this device in autoignition testing of pyrotechnics. A cold start means extending a pyro -...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

A modulator circuit board has recently been developed to be used in conjunction with a vector modulator to generate any of a large number of modulations for bandwidth-efficient radio...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Schemes for combining power from coherent microwave sources of arbitrary (unequal or equal) amplitude have been proposed. Most prior microwave-power-combining schemes are limited...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers

A system that includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna and associated apparatus for keeping the antenna aimed upward has been developed for use aboard a...

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Haptic interfaces in the form of arrays of balloonlike pneumatic actuators are being developed to provide tactile feedback from (1) remote-manipulator hands, tools on the tips of robot arms, and other, similar...

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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

A two-step plasma process has been developed as a means of removing surface oxide layers from indium bumps used in flip-chip hybridization (bump bonding) of integrated circuits. This...

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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

An improved assembly for inert-gas shielding of a metallic joint is designed to be useable during any of a variety of both laser-based and traditional welding and brazing...

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Briefs: Materials
Polyimide-Foam/Aerogel Composites for Thermal Insulation

Composites of specific types of polymer foams and aerogel particles or blankets have been proposed to obtain thermal insulation performance superior to those of the neat polyimide foams. These composites have potential to also provide enhanced properties for vibration dampening or acoustic...

Briefs: Materials

Yb14MnSb11 has been found to be well-suited for use as a p-type thermoelectric material in applications that involve hot-side temperatures in the...

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Briefs: Physical Sciences

A method of calculating (usually for the purpose of maximizing) the power-conversion efficiency of a segmented thermoelectric generator is based on equations derived from the fundamental...

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Briefs: Physical Sciences

The complementary barrier infrared detector (CBIRD) is designed to eliminate the major dark current sources in the superlattice infrared detector. The concept can also be applied to bulk...

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Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
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Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Synthetic Foveal imaging Technology (SyFT) is an emerging discipline of image capture and image-data processing that offers the prospect of greatly increased capabilities for real-time processing of large,...

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Briefs: Imaging

An improved type of starting materials for the fabrication of silicon-based imaging integrated circuits that include back-illuminated photodetectors has been conceived, and a process...

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Briefs: Electronics & Computers

An architecture for autonomous operation of an aerobot (i.e., a robotic blimp) to be used in scientific exploration of planets and moons in the Solar system with an atmosphere (such as Titan and Venus) is...

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Briefs: Medical
Biomedical Wireless Ambulatory Crew Monitor

A compact, ambulatory biometric data acquisition system has been developed for space and commercial terrestrial use. BioWATCH (Bio medical Wireless and Ambulatory Telemetry for Crew Health) acquires signals from bio-medical sensors using acquisition modules attached to a common data and power bus....

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

The figure shows a dual-beam, dual- polarization Ku-band antenna, the reflector of which comprises an assembly of small reflectarrays arranged in a piecewise-planar approximation of a parabolic...

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Briefs: Information Technology
EOS MLS Level 1B Data Processing, Version 2.2

A computer program performs level- 1B processing (the term “1B” is explained below) of data from observations of the limb of the Earth by the Earth Observing System (EOS) Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), which is an instrument aboard the Aura spacecraft. This software accepts, as input, the raw EOS...

Briefs: Software
Auto-Generated Semantic Processing Services

Auto-Generated Semantic Processing (AGSP) Services is a suite of software tools for automated generation of other computer programs, denoted cross-platform semantic adapters, that support interoperability of computer-based communication systems that utilize a variety of both new and legacy...

Briefs: Software
Geospatial Authentication

A software package that has been designed to allow authentication for determining if the rover(s) is/are within a set of boundaries or a specific area to access critical geospatial information by using GPS signal structures as a means to authenticate mobile devices into a network wirelessly and in real-time has been...

Briefs: Software
Maneuver Automation Software

The Maneuver Automation Software (MAS) automates the process of generating commands for maneuvers to keep the spacecraft of the Cassini-Huygens mission on a predetermined prime mission trajectory. Before MAS became available, a team of approximately 10 members had to work about two weeks to design, test, and...

Briefs: Software
Event Driven Messaging With Role-Based Subscriptions

Event Driven Messaging with Role-Based Subscriptions (EDM-RBS) is a framework integrated into the Service Management Database (SMDB) to allow for role-based and subscription-based delivery of synchronous and asynchronous messages over JMS (Java Messaging Service), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer...

Briefs: Software
Estimating Relative Positions of Outer-Space Structures

A computer program estimates the relative position and orientation of two structures from measurements, made by use of electronic cameras and laser range finders on one structure, of distances and angular positions of fiducial objects on the other structure. The program was written...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Fabricating PFPE Membranes for Capillary Electrophoresis

A process has been developed for fabricating perfluoropolyether (PFPE) membranes that contain microscopic holes of precise sizes at precise locations. The membranes are to be incorporated into “laboratory-on-a-chip” microfluidic devices to be used in performing capillary...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Installing a Test Tap on a Metal Battery Case

A mechanical fitting and relatively simple and safe method of installing it on the metal case of a battery have been devised to provide access to the interior of the battery to perform inspection and/or to measure such internal conditions as temperature and pressure. A metal boss or stud having an...

Briefs: Materials
Catalysts for Efficient Production of Carbon Nanotubes

Several metal alloys have shown promise as improved catalysts for catalytic thermal decomposition of hydrocarbon gases to produce carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Heretofore almost every experiment on the production of carbon nanotubes by this method has involved the use of iron, nickel, or cobalt...

Webcasts

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On-Demand Webinars: Defense

From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

April Battery & Electrification Summit

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Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024

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Upcoming Webinars: Materials

Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...

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Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement

Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

The Moon and Beyond from a Thermal Perspective

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