Electronics & Software

Laser Consult A novel technology investigates reservoir beds of oil, gas, freshwater, and thermal water deposits. The system, which uses electromagnetic frequency broadband sounding, gathers information to a depth of up to 7,000 meters. For effective operation on deposits, the technology draws up...

In two new papers, MIT researchers demonstrate the promise of printable robotic components that, when heated, automatically fold into prescribed three-dimensional configurations.One paper describes a system that takes a digital specification of a 3-D shape — such as a computer-aided design,...

A wireless system uses the same power as a cell phone to safely transmit energy to chips the size of a grain of rice. The technology paves the way for new "electroceutical" devices to treat illness or alleviate pain.The central discovery is an engineering breakthrough that creates a...

Using radio signals from satellite navigation systems, Scientists at Chalmers Department of Earth and Space Sciences have developed and tested a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) tide gauge, an instrument that measures the sea level.The GNSS tide gauge uses radio signals from satellites in orbit...

Two new "cyberlearning" platforms allow non-artists to create illustrations rivaling the work of expert designers. The platforms sidestep a key creative barrier by eliminating the need for drawing skills in developing new designs. "Non-experts are becoming more empowered and interested in means...

GPS radio occultation measurements are vital for climate monitoring and atmospheric temperature change detection. However, the data are irregularly distributed in space and time, which makes it inconvenient for many applications.

The innovation provides enhanced health management routines for batteries. A mathematical model has been developed to describe battery behavior during individual discharge cycles, as well as over the cycle life. Different prognostic modes for estimating the state of charge, state of life, end of discharge,...

To reduce the cost of building specialized interfaces, missions can adopt Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center (GMSEC) technologies and applications. Assurances need to be made that application implementation should follow the GMSEC messaging standards. The GMSEC Interface...

Many control applications require precision, high-voltage-capable stimulus current drivers for sensor excitation. In particular, a requirement for a stimulus driver that can be primarily integrated into a motor feedback signal conditioning ASIC (application...

Scandate cathodes are able to produce about 20 times the emission of conventional all-tungsten cathodes at the same temperature. Conversely, they operate at about 200 °C lower temperature for the same emission. Scandate cathodes have been studied since at least the 1960s. Between...

This innovation uses an active materials-based force-amplified mechanism and advanced piezoelectric materials for more efficient energy harvesting from mechanical shock and vibration. The harvested energy is stored in rechargeable batteries. The hybrid force/stress...

Battery health monitoring is an emerging technology field that seeks to predict the remaining useful life (RUL) of battery systems before they run out of charge. Such predictive measures require interpretation of large amounts of battery status data within a Bayesian prognostic framework.

A high-rate GMSK (Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying) modulator was developed for space operation. Currently, multi-user modems are under development, and the GMSK modulator provides a way of packing more users within a space environment, especially for Mars exploration.

The NASA Experiment Designer (NED) is a client-server application that enables end-to-end support for driving long-running scientific computer simulations such as climate and weather models. The tool provides a friendly, single point of entry for configuring parameters associated...

This software was designed to automate delivery of tasking requests to a central queue, enabling integrated observation scenarios across multiple assets. It is a JAVA code application that enables machine-to-machine access between a client platform and the Campaign Manager application program interface (API) to...

This library provides an abstraction layer that an end user can access, interpolate, and perform fieldline integration for space weather simulation data. Normally, accessing and interpolating space weather simulation data requires knowledge of...

Lossless data compression has been employed in space to reduce communication bandwidth requirements for onboard storage for more than 15 years. A widely used space compression standard is the recommendation published by the Consultative Committee on Space Data Systems (CCSDS). The standard describes a simple,...

This software implements the protocols described in the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) publication CCSDS 735.1-B-1. The purpose of the protocols is to enable the exchange of messages among a group of applications. The protocols provide several mechanisms for message...

Advanced remote-sensing instruments in recent years often employ multiple wavelengths for maximal science return. Many of them comprise hundreds to over a thousand spectral bands. These instruments multiply the data volume and stress the communication bandwidth. With previously deployed space...

This innovation consists of the Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Request (TASAR) concept and the associated Traffic Aware Planner (TAP) software. TASAR is intended to enable pilots to discover trajectory improvement opportunities while en route that will result in...

Module::Build::Database was developed as part of the Atmospheric Composition Processing System, which works with the Science Investigator-Led Processing System for the Ozone Monitoring Instrument. The technology allows the user to distribute changes to the schema in a database alongside software that relies on the database.

Different types of information are used to help aircraft maintain separation standards. At the lowest level, information is needed to indicate if separation standards will be violated in the near future, called a conflict. Once a conflict is detected, then conflict resolution information may be used...