Detectors

Radar Scanner Tests Wind Turbine Blades for Defects

Wind power has become an indispensable part of an environmentally friendly power supply. Therefore, it is important for this growth market that wind turbines become more efficient, more...

Shoebox-Sized Chemical Detector

A chemical sensor prototype was developed that can detect single-fingerprint quantities of substances from a distance of more than 100 feet away, and could be shrunk to the size of a shoebox. The portable...

Smart Fabric Stores Information Without Electronics

Conductive thread — embroidery thread that can carry an electrical current — often is combined with other types of electronics to create fabric that lights up or communicates. This thread...

Sound-Off: Do You Data Log?

In an increasingly mobile world, manufacturers want to keep an eye on their facilities and equipment – no matter how far away they are from their test fixture.

Design Considerations: How to Keep Wearers Wearing Wearables

In a Tech Briefs Q&A, professor and biosensor creator Albert Titus reviews the state of wearable sensor design.

Float Like a Robot, Think Like a Bee

Cornell University engineers have been experimenting with a new type of programming that mimics the mind of an insect.

Product of the Month

The BGA244 Binary Gas Analyzer from Stanford Research Systems, Sunnyvale, CA, continuously and non-invasively determines the ratio of gases in a binary mixture, or checks the purity of a single gas. It operates without...

Products of Tomorrow

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.

A Giant Leap: Reconstructing NASA’s Moon-Mission Audio

During the historic Apollo 11 mission, the astronauts, mission control specialists, and back-room support staff did plenty of communicating. The University of Texas at Dallas launched a project to make all of the moon-mission audio accessible.

Sensor Assists NASA with Wearable CO2 Monitor

SST Sensing Ltd.Coatbridge, UKwww.sstsensing.com Studies show that heightened carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations can have an adverse effect on the human metabolism, slowing down thought processes,...

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, WA, has been operated by Battelle and its predecessors since the lab’s inception in 1965. For more than 50...

With a Commercial Printer, Researchers Manufacture Motion Sensors in Bulk

Using a commercial printer and some silver ink, researchers from Florida State University have found a novel way of producing motion sensors en masse. The low-profile...

Prototype Shows How Tiny Photodetectors Can Double Their Efficiency

Physicists at the University of California, Riverside have developed a photodetector by combining two distinct inorganic materials and producing quantum mechanical...

Electric ‘Smart’ Paper Picks Up on Pipe Leaks

Although spills inside a lab can often spell trouble, a University of Washington scientist found a way to turn an accidentally doused conductive material into an inventive new sensor. The lab...

Trick or Treat: Spooky Space Sounds from NASA, and 7 Techs that Creep and Crawl

Getting into the Halloween spirit, NASA released a collection of the spookiest sounds ever recorded by the agency's spacecraft instruments. Captured radio emissions...

Sound-Off: How Do Automotive OEMs Detect Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)?

A technique known as Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) instantly analyzes air down to part-per-trillion (ppt) concentrations. The SIFT-MS technology...

The 2017 OEM Sensors Supplier Guide

The editors of September’s Sensor Technology magazine compiled a list of top sensor vendors, organized by product type. Explore this year’s OEM Sensors Supplier Guide.

To Watch the Warehouse, Researchers Turn to Drones

Despite the growing use of wireless radio frequency ID (RFID) tags, lost inventory still costs warehouses billions of dollars every year. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of...

Pen Device Identifies Cancer in Seconds

Engineers at The University of Texas at Austin have invented the MasSpec Pen that rapidly and accurately identifies cancerous tissue during surgery, delivering results in about 10 seconds — more...

Product of the Month

The Measuring Division of Kaman Precision Products, Middletown, CT, announced the OEM-2306 non-contact linear displacement measuring instrument using eddy current technology. The board is factory-configured for each...

Self-Powered Wireless Sensors in the Industrial Internet of Things

Sensors have a key role in industrial production. For example, they can be used for quality and process monitoring or condition-based maintenance. The range of applications is...

Secure 3D Printing: 'Three-Layer' System Protects Parts from Hackers

A 3D printer is essentially a small embedded computer — and can be exploited like one. Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology and Rutgers University have developed...

Soft, Stretchy Fabric Sensors Enable Wearable Robots

A highly sensitive, soft, capacitive sensor made of silicone and fabric that moves and flexes with the human body can unobtrusively and accurately detect movement. The technology consists...

Researcher Sees the Power of Solar Glasses

New eyeglasses from Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology generate solar power. Featuring semitransparent organic solar cells, the eyewear powers a microprocessor and two small displays...

Sound-Off: How Do a Vehicle’s Imaging Sensors Filter Out Weather, Crosstalk?

A "Geiger-mode" lidar sensor sends out pulses at a high repetition rate (200 kHz), forming an image on the percent of pulses that return. The technology has been...

Sensors Detect Disease Markers in Breath

A small, thin square of an organic plastic that can detect disease markers in breath could soon be the basis of portable, disposable sensor devices. By riddling the thin plastic films with pores,...

LAB-ON-A-GLOVE: Enables Onsite Detection of Chemical Threats

Wearable sensors are uniquely placed to fill the technology gap for real-time analytics at the point of need. Seamless integration of chemical sensors into wearable platforms gives...

Handheld Laser Probe Detects Cancer in Real Time

An optical probe that detects cancerous brain cells in real time is impressive enough. Scientists in Montreal say they’ve developed one that is “infallible.”

Space Radiation Detector with Spherical Geometry

NASA’s Glenn Research Center has developed and patented the Compact Full-Field Ion Detector System (CFIDS), a radiation particle detection system that provides information on the kinetic...