Stories
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3990
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Lidar for Guidance of a Spacecraft or Exploratory Robot
A report describes the Laser Mapper (LAMP) — a lightweight, compact, low-power lidar system under development for guidance of a spacecraft or exploratory robotic vehicle (rover) at Mars or another planet. The LAMP is intended especially for use during rendezvous of two spacecraft in orbit,...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A modular, integrated, completely solid-state system designed to harvest and store solar energy is under development. Called the "power tile," the hybrid device consists of a photovoltaic...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Bending actuators of a proposed type would partly resemble ordinary bending actuators, but would include simple additional components that would render them capable of exerting large forces at small displacements. Like...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A compact optoelectronic sensor unit measures the apparent motion of the Sun across the sky. The data acquired by this chip are processed in an external processor to estimate the relative orientation of the axis...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Micro Sun Sensor for Spacecraft
A report describes the development of a compact micro Sun sensor for use as a part of the attitude determination subsystem aboard future miniature spacecraft and planetary robotic vehicles.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Space missions requiring the highest upset rate immunity typically turn to rad-hard system designs. Unfortunately, these systems are many generations behind...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A proposed optoelectronic instrument would identify targets rapidly, without need to radiate an interrogating signal, apply identifying marks to the targets, or equip...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A finned-ladder structure has been invented in an effort to improve the design of the slow-wave circuit of a traveling-wave tube (TWT). The point of departure for the design effort was a prototype TWT...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Directional Radio-Frequency Identification Tag Reader
A directional radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag reader has been designed to facilitate finding a specific object among many objects in a crowded room. The device could be an adjunct to an electronic inventory system that tracks RFID-tagged objects as they move through reader-equipped...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The combination of a de-embedding technique and a direct on-substrate measurement technique has been devised to enable measurement of the electrical characteristics (impedances,...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A proposed design for a phased array fed cylindrical reflector microwave antenna would enable enhancement of the radiation pattern through partially adaptive amplitude and phase control...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A command interface application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and an analog interface ASIC have been developed as a chip set for remote actuation and monitoring of a collection of...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Figure 1 shows a three-stage monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) power amplifier that features high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) as gain elements. This amplifier is designed to...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
An apparatus that is extremely effective in dispensing a wide range of droplets has been developed. This droplet dispenser is unique in that it utilizes a droplet bias voltage, as well as an ionization pulse, to...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Network Extender for MIL-STD-1553 Bus
An extender system for MIL-STD-1553 buses transparently couples bus components at multiple developer sites. The bus network extender is a relatively inexpensive system that minimizes the time and cost of integration of avionic systems by providing a convenient mechanism for early testing without the need to...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Some prototype parts of a digital beam-forming (DBF) receiver that would operate at multigigahertz carrier frequencies have been developed. The beam-forming algorithm in a DBF...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The Real-Time Interferometer Control Systems Testbed (RICST) timing board is a VersaModule Eurocard (VME)-based board that can generate up to 16 simultaneous, phase-locked timing signals at a rate defined...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A proposed tracking receiver system containing three suitably positioned antenna elements and special signal-processing equipment would determine the direction of incidence of a...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The new high-speed interconnect standards will dramatically change the way computer and communication systems are designed. Switch- based systems will be the winners in new high-performance designs,...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A computer-based simulation system creates a visual and haptic virtual environment for training a medical practitioner in laparoscopic surgery. Heretofore, it has been common practice to...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The designs of microscopic toroidalcore inductors in integrated circuits of DC-to-DC voltage converters would be modified, according to a proposal, by filling the gaps in the cores with...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Improved autoassociative neural networks, denoted nexi, have been proposed for use in controlling autonomous robots, including mobile exploratory robots of the biomorphic type. In comparison with...
Briefs: Energy
A unique safety flasher powered by photovoltaic cells and ultracapacitors has been developed. Safety flashers are used wherever there are needs to mark actually or potentially hazardous...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The F-15 Advanced Controls Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE) airplane (see figure) was the test bed for a flight test of an intelligent flight control system (IFCS). This IFCS...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Sensor packages that would be dropped from airplanes have been proposed for pre-eruption monitoring of physical conditions on the flanks of awakening volcanoes. The purpose of such...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
An effort is under way to develop capacitive sensors for measuring the masses of cryogenic fluids in tanks. These sensors are intended to function in both microgravitational and normal...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Microstrip patch antennas of a proposed type would be tunable over broad wavelength ranges. These antennas would be attractive for use in a variety of microwave communication systems in which there are...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
An ultra-high-frequency microstrip-patch antenna has been built for use in airborne synthetic-aperture radar (SAR). The antenna design satisfies requirements specific to the GeoSAR...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) that includes a high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) has been developed as a prototype of improved frequency doublers for generating signals at frequencies...
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