Stories
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Technology Leaders: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Powered by smart machines, the new industrial revolution is changing how machine builders design, and how manufacturers operate today and in the future. To remain competitive and...
Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
In recent years, cable management has come into the limelight because machine reliability has increased dramatically, even though robots have grown more complex. Unfortunately, the methods...
Products: Electronics & Computers
Assembly Pins
JW Winco, New Berlin, WI, offers GN 2342 RoHS-compliant stainless steel assembly pins with three washer types available that place the bolt in an axial position in its insertion direction. The washer...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Soft robots inspired by nature can crawl, swim, grasp delicate objects, and even assist a beating heart, but none of them has been able to sense and respond to the...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Mobile Instrument Detects and Samples Aerosol Particles
Hazardous airborne particles pose a risk for health and safety in a variety of environments; thus, detection of these small particles is essential. Current particle magnification systems are bulky and require a lot of power for operation, making them unsuitable to easily detect and analyze...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Correlation spectroscopy is an attractive technique for sensing and analysis applications because it combines the attributes of mechanical and optical simplicity, high selectivity, and good sensitivity. In correlation...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Large-scale liquid rocket engines with regeneratively cooled nozzles will enable reliable and reduced-cost access to space. The coolant that circulates through the internal...
Briefs: Materials
Polymer-Based 2D-to-3D Transformable Surfaces
Technologies using stretchable materials are increasingly important. Yet, in general, it is not possible to control how they stretch with much more sophistication than inflating balloons. A method was developed that allows the calculated transformation of 2D stretchable surfaces into targeted 3D shapes.
Question of the Week: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Can a Harpoon Help with Space Clean-Up?
Once released from the International Space Station, the "RemoveDEBRIS" spacecraft will facilitate four demonstrations. One of the ideas: A harpoon. During the scheduled RemoveDEBRIS demo, the spear will be aimed at a target plate made of representative satellite materials.
Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A “RemoveDEBRIS” satellite set to launch today will demonstrate new ideas for clearing out space junk near the International Space Station.
Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Mounted Ball Bearings
SKF (Lansdale, PA) launched mounted ball bearing units with industry-standard inch series cast iron housings in several designs, inch or metric insert bearings, and several shaft-locking methods. The mounted...
Briefs: Medical
Because of their high precision and speed, Delta robots are deployed in many industrial processes, including pick-and-place assemblies, machining, and welding. Delta...
Application Briefs: Software
A600-pound spider-like robot, called Spidernaut, was part of a prototype robot team built in 2005 to assemble a solar array on the Moon. The goal was not only to have robots do the manual...
Articles: Nanotechnology
As the need for nano precision has become increasingly important in many fields of research and manufacturing — such as microelectronics fabrication,...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Industrial robots play an essential role in manufacturing, from assembly, to pick-and-place, to packaging. One of the major risks of robotics — and what OEMs seek to mitigate — is...
Articles: Energy
Rotary encoders play important roles in motion control and industrial automation systems, providing control systems with information about the motion of motor shafts,...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Pressure Sensor Mechanism
The Pressure Sensor Mechanism is designed to measure or monitor tactile pressure. It is based on passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) sensor tags and is applicable to a variety of systems. As RFID sensors transmit information wirelessly, they eliminate many challenges associated with traditional wired systems such...
Briefs: Motion Control
A small robot with the ability to hoist large loads could have countless applications, not only as a small, inexpensive, disposable, mobile sensor in the realms of search and rescue,...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
The robotic gripper was developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as part of a robotic satellite servicing mission. The gripping device can be used to autonomously or remotely grasp and...
Briefs: Materials
Every complex human tool has contained multiple materials wedged, tied, screwed, glued, or soldered together. But the next generation of tools, from autonomous squishy robots to flexible...
Briefs: Materials
A new way to treat wood makes it 12 times stronger than natural wood and ten times tougher. The wood substance could be comparable to steel or titanium alloys; it is also comparable to...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Anew grasp system with robotic hands works without previously knowing the characteristics of objects, learning by trial and error. The robot features two hands based on human hands in terms of...
Briefs: Motion Control
The Orangutank™ is a remote-controlled, tethered robotic platform for traveling from one pipe to another using a network of vertical pipes for support. It combines specialized robotic grippers to provide...
Briefs: Materials
By binding photosensitive dyes to common plastic membranes and adding water, chemists have made a new type of solar power generator. The device is similar to familiar silicon...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Axial Magnetic Flux Airflow Integrated Compressor-Generator-Motor Turbojet Design
Innovators at the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center have developed a compressor-generator-motor turbojet design concept that integrates the generator with the aerodynamic blade structures of the compression section of turbomachinery. This reduces weight and volume...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
System and Method for Managing Autonomous Entities Through Apoptosis
This NASA innovation is a biologically inspired system management method designed to make sensor webs as well as other autonomous and autonomic systems more self-directing and self-managing. Based on the mechanisms of cell apoptosis, this method ensures safe and correct operation...
NASA Spinoff: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Initially designed for use on the Moon, the Electro-Hydraulic Fracturing system — developed at Auburn University with NASA funding — relies upon short, high-pulse power created by...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Microphones, from those in smartphones to hearing aids, are built specifically to hear the human voice — humans can’t hear at levels higher than 20 kHz, and microphones max out at...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Autonomous Robotic Self-Righting
Robots are increasingly being used for various applications including search and rescue operations and combat situations. Unfortunately, during the performance of maneuvers, a robot may fall or tip over, preventing it from moving normally. Controlling the robot to successfully right itself can be a difficult and...
Top Stories
Blog: Lighting
A Stretchable OLED that Can Maintain Most of Its Luminescence
INSIDER: Design
Advancing All-Solid-State Batteries
Blog: Energy
Batteries that Can Withstand the Cold
Blog: AR/AI
My Opinion: We Need More Power Soon — Is Nuclear the Answer?
News: Power
Blog: Aerospace
Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: Transportation
Quiet, Please: NVH Improvement Opportunities in the Early Design Cycle
Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement
From Spreadsheets to Insights: Fast Data Analysis Without Complex...
Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace
Cooling a New Generation of Aerospace and Defense Embedded...
Upcoming Webinars: AR/AI
Beyond AI-Copy-Paste Engineering: Advanced AI-Integration Success...
Upcoming Webinars: Energy
Battery Abuse Testing: Pushing to Failure
Upcoming Webinars: Power
