Communications

Articles: Test & Measurement

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11: On to Mars

Just 54 years ago, the first photograph of Mars from a passing spacecraft appeared to show a hazy atmosphere. Now, decades of exploration on the planet itself has shown it to be a...

Briefs: Communications

Sensor Network for Air Vehicles

Aircraft currently fly based on coarse estimations of environment and aircraft state. Real-time measurements are traditionally restricted to laboratory environments (e.g. wind tunnel) due to the size and...

Articles: Aerospace

Products of Tomorrow: July 2019

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Integrated Silicon Photonic Switch Demonstrates Lowest Signal Loss Ever in High-Speed Data Transmission

Experimental photonic switches developed at UC Berkeley have shown promise toward the goal of fully optical, high-capacity switching for...

News: Manufacturing & Prototyping

LASER World of PHOTONICS 2019

The bi-annual Laser World of Photonics exhibition begins today.

Application Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Cross-Training Made Possible by Common Control Platform

EMAG L.L.C. is the U.S. subsidiary of a major German machine tool builder that specializes in machine tools for the production of automotive, off-highway, agricultural, and oil field...

Briefs: IoMT

New Electromyography Biofeedback Device

Anew electromyography biofeedback device that is wearable and connects to novel smartphone games may offer people with incomplete paraplegia a more affordable, self-controllable therapy to enhance...

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Single-Photon Detector for Potential Encryption and Sensing

Light is widely used for communications, carrying phone conversations and video signals through fiber optic cables around the world in pulses composed of many photons. Single...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Graphene-Silicon Devices for Optoelectronics Applications

Silicon is a naturally occurring material commonly used as a semiconductor in electronic devices; however, researchers have exhausted the potential of devices with semiconductors made...

Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Key Factors to Consider When Designing a Smart Factory

In recent years, the emergence of Industry 4.0 has been steadily transforming the manufacturing sector into an ultra-high-tech industry. Innovative smart technologies such as robotics,...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Monitor Babies in the NICU Without Wires

An interdisciplinary Northwestern University team has developed a pair of soft, flexible wireless sensors that replace the tangle of wire-based sensors that currently monitor babies in hospitals’...

Blog: Internet of Things

NIWeek 2019: What Will Slow Down 5G? ‘Nothing,’ Says Panel

“Nothing is going to slow 5G down. I mean nothing," said one NIWeek panelist.

Briefs: Communications

High-Performance, Current-Steering Digital-to-Analog Converter

A current-steering digital-to-analog converter (DAC) was developed that achieves improved switching times (up to 75% faster) in high-speed (gigahertz), high-resolution (8-14...

Q&A: Test & Measurement

Q&A: NASA's Dr. Mahmooda Sultana Makes Multifunctional Sensors

Dr. Sultana won funding to advance a nanomaterial-based detector platform that can sense environmental parameters from minute concentrations of target gases and vapors, to...

Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Product of the Month: May 2019 Tech Briefs

S. Himmelstein and Company, Hoffman Estates, IL, announced Model 700+ Series signal conditioners that are flexible, one- or two-channel signal conditioners/displays. They feature...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Miniature, High-Performance, Low-Cost 5G Transceiver Design

Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have devised a strategy to support high-speed mobile data access using the millimeter-wave spectrum for a fifth-generation (5G)...

Briefs: Imaging

Using Common WiFi to Detect Weapons, Bombs, and Chemicals in Bags

Ordinary WiFi can easily detect weapons, bombs, and explosive chemicals in bags at museums, stadiums, theme parks, schools, and other public venues using a low-cost suspicious...

Briefs: Communications

Wearable Devices Allow Direct Communication by Touch

Emergency situations such as trying to escape heavy smoke from fire could leave the sense of touch as the only way to find an exit. Rather than trying to look at a smartphone screen, a...

Briefs: Communications

Multiplexing of Wireless Surface Acoustic Wave Sensors

The traditional approach for wireless sensors involves interrogators that communicate with each other (i.e., the two boxes “talk” to each other). In contrast, surface acoustic wave...

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Quantum Radio Aids Communications and Mapping

GPS signals do not penetrate very deeply or at all in water, soil, or building walls, and therefore can’t be used by submarines or in underground activities such as surveying mines. GPS also...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

The Teletenna — a Hybrid Telescope Antenna System

Innovators at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have developed a hybrid telescope antenna system — Teletenna — to deliver high-data-rate communication over great distances. Teletenna has...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Chip Measures Quantities with Quantum Precision

Many devices use light to probe the quantum states of atoms in a vapor confined in a small cell. Atoms can be highly sensitive to external conditions, and therefore make superb detectors....

Products: RF & Microwave Electronics

Product of the Month: April 2019 Tech Briefs

nanotron, Munich, Germany, introduced 360° Edge Analytics tools and location-aware wireless sensors for manufacturing and healthcare. The products automatically extract event information...