Electrical/​Electronics

A document discusses the continuing development of a navigation system that would enable a spacecraft to approach Mars on a trajectory precise enough to enable the spacecraft to land within 1 km of a specified location on the Martian surface. This degree of accuracy would represent an...

A report proposes that cylindrical asymmetrical capacitors (CACs) be used to generate small thrusts for precise maneuvering of spacecraft on long missions. The report notes that it has been known for decades that when high voltages are applied to CACs in air, thrusts are generated — most...

A team from MIT has demonstrated wireless power transfer, which would enable cell phones, MP3 players, laptops, and other portable electronics to charge themselves without being plugged in. Some of these devices may not even need their batteries to operate. The team was able to light a 60W light bulb from a power source...

Multiprocessing system architectures come in all shapes and sizes, so it is dangerous to make any generalizations. But perhaps there's agreement that most systems can be classified as either symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) or asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP).

High performance multi-core processors are providing opportunities to consolidate multiple applications into a single system. However, embedded applications often have real-time requirements that cannot be put in jeopardy by other software clamoring for the same system resources such as CPU...

A digital phase meter has been designed to satisfy stringent requirements for measuring differences between phases of radiofrequency (RF) subcarrier signals modulated onto laser beams involved in the operation of a planned space-borne gravitational- wave-detecting heterodyne laser...

Use of multiple-antenna radar systems aboard moving high-altitude platforms has been proposed for measuring rainfall. The platforms contemplated in the proposal would be primarily spacecraft, but, in principle, the proposal could also apply to aircraft. The problem of measuring rainfall...

A document discusses the physical and engineering principles affecting the design of the Smart Data Node in the Sky (SDNITS) — a proposed Earthorbiting satellite for relaying scientific data from other Earth-orbiting satellites to one or more ground station(s). The basic concept of the SDNITS is similar to that of...

This monthly review lets you "meet" the new advertisers appearing in NTB and its supplements. Here's a sneak peek at the products, services, and offers available from May's first-time advertisers. 3Dconnexion (San Jose, CA) is a provider of 3D navigation devices for 3D design and visualization applications.

As noted in the article "Mini CW Lasers Enable Next-Generation Bioinstrumentation" in May's edition of Photonics Tech Briefs (PTB), continuous-wave (CW) lasers have helped advance research in fields such as cell sorting and DNA sequencing. Written by Jurgen Niederhofer, product manager of Newport's Spectra-Physics Lasers...

Avionics systems are becoming more powerful and more dependent upon data exchanged between instruments. These instruments and subsystems reside on a network and must share time-critical data to achieve their mission. For example, targeting systems require real-time input of...