Stories
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Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Development of Gear Technology and Theory of Gearing
A NASA Reference Publication discusses gear technology from mathematical and historical perspectives. Following a preface containing historical and philosophical observations, the first of three chapters presents mathematical details of the theory of gearing, including recent developments...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A laboratory apparatus called a "vacuum damper investigation and performance evaluation robot" ("V-DIAPER") affords capabilities for vacuum dynamic testing of torsional dampers. The apparatus was...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Up a creek without a paddle? Not if you're an International Space Station astronaut with a CRV. That's short for Crew Return Vehicle, and it's being developed following an innovative approach in the X-38...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The linear motor was invented in the mid-nineteenth century, at much the same time as its brother, the rotating electric motor. Because the linear motor always has to effect a reversing movement -...
Briefs: Aerospace
The Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) has been a partner in many uninhabited-aerial-vehicle (UAV) test programs. Our participation has largely been in the areas of...
Briefs: Motion Control
PC-based control has become one of the fastest-growing automation solutions for the factory floor. Control engineers are quickly dropping their proprietary PLC boxes and replacing them with PC-based control...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
The figure shows a robot arm that is essentially a miniature crane actuated by electroactive polymers. This mechanism has been constructed as part of a continuing effort to develop lightweight,...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Active Homopolar Magnetic Bearing
A report presents information on an earlier work on active magnetic bearings with high-critical-temperature superconducting coils. To recapitulate, the device is a homopolar radial-type active magnetic bearing with a bias coil and control coils made of a high-critical-temperature superconductor. The report...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
An experiment consisting of flight tests on the X-31A airplane (see figure) has demonstrated the ability to use thrust vectoring to replace the functions of stabilization and turn...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Human-powered machines that can be operated as centrifuges or as stationary exercise stations have been invented. These machines are suitable for a variety of terrestrial and...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Small, lightweight sensors that exploit the unique characteristics of nanoceramics are being developed for use in measuring air/fuel ratios in the exhaust gas flows of advanced aircraft...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Mobile System for Control of a Remote Rocket-Launching Range
The Wallops Flight Facility of the Goddard Space Flight Center has designed and built in-house a Mobile Range Control System (MRCS), which is a self-contained system to be deployed in support of rocket launches at remote ranges in cases in which termination of flight may be required for...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Early experiments in a continuing research program have demonstrated that thermal batteries made from powdered solid electrode and electrolyte materials can be improved by use of smaller...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
According to a proposal for small electric-power systems that must operate in cold environments, heat released in the operation of solar photovoltaic arrays with solar concentrators would be...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Each member of the aircrew of an advanced fighter airplane wears a complex, multilayered ensemble that imposes a significant thermal burden by inhibiting normal transport of heat from the...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A spark-ignited reciprocating gasoline engine, intake-pressurized with three cascaded stages of turbocharging, was selected by NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor...
Briefs: Motion Control
Wiping devices that exploit fingerlike bending motions produced by electroactive polymeric (ionomeric) actuators are undergoing development. These wiping devices function similarly to...
Briefs: Aerospace
It is not necessary to allocate valuable forebody volume to strake-deployment mechanisms.
Briefs: Motion Control
The figure presents a partial cross section of two poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) tubes with machined ends butted and sealed together in a special coupling fixture. This coupling scheme, in...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Ceramic Hybrid Electromechanical Systems
Ceramic hybrid electromechanical systems (CHEMS) have been proposed to overcome some of the disadvantages while retaining most of the advantages of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Whereas MEMS are fabricated mostly by micromachining of silicon and have typical feature sizes of the order of microns or...
Briefs: Motion Control
A surface-micromachining process has been devised for use in fabricating microscopic polycrystalline diamond structures (e.g., bridges and cantilevers) as integral parts...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Performance of an Arc-Jet Thruster
A report discusses the design and testing of a laboratory-model arc-jet thruster designed to operate at a nominal power level of 300 W. This thruster is an intermediate product of continuing efforts to develop smaller, lower-power, higher-specific-impulse thrusters for use in a forthcoming generation of small...
Briefs: Software
When developing the guidance system of a missile, it is necessary to know the resonant frequencies and mode shapes of the missile in flight. Simulating the free vibration condition in the laboratory,...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Miniature, lightweight, low-power, low-vibration Joule-Thomson Rankine-Cycle refrigerators have been proposed for cooling portable scientific instruments. These refrigerators would be made...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
The automated propellant-blending machine, a Johnson Space Center (JSC) innovation, refines the production processes of commercial rocket-propellant manufacturers by: (1) generating inert blends that...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Harmonic drive gearing is recognized by designers for its zero backlash, high gear ratios, and compact design features. A recent development by HD Systems incorporates a large hollow shaft...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Collision-Avoidance Experiments on 7-DOF Robot Arms
A report describes experiments on the concept described in "Real-Time Collision Avoidance for a Robot Arm" (NPO-19861), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 20, No. 12 (December 1996), page 98. Under this concept, collision-avoidance software processes data computed by model-based obstacle-detection software...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Update on System for Robot-Assisted Microsurgery
Two reports present updated information on a robotic system that extends the dexterity of a microsurgeon. The system was described in two articles in NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 21, No. 10 (October 1997); namely, "Telerobot Control for Microsurgery" (NPO-19823), on page 46 and "Force-Feedback Device for...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A swivel-head drill bit has been invented for use in acquiring a sample of a possibly hard material at a predetermined depth. This mechanism is a simpler and thus potentially cheaper alternative to deep-coring...
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Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
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Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
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Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: Motion Control
Next-Generation Linear and Rotary Stages: When Ultra Precision...
Upcoming Webinars: Power
Hydrogen Engines Are Heating Up for Heavy Duty
On-Demand Webinars: AR/AI
The Real Impact of AR and AI in the Industrial Equipment Industry
Podcasts: Medical
How Wearables Are Enhancing Smart Drug Delivery
Podcasts: Energy
SAE Automotive Podcast: Solid-State Batteries
Podcasts: Test & Measurement
