Sensors

Software Brings Movement to Linear Actuators

Linear actuator manufacturers have a history of strong mechanical design expertise, which is the core of any linear actuation; however, giving motion to modern powered equipment goes beyond a...

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.

A Wearable UV Sensor — At Your Fingertips

Creators of a new, M&M-sized wearable device aim to bring UV detection to users’ fingertips – or more precisely, fingernails.

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.

Q&A: Dr. Zeeshan Ahmed, Senior Sensor Scientist, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD

Dr. Ahmed and scientists from NIST and American University are researching the use of metal organic frameworks (MOFs)...

Facility Focus: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory

The explosion of the first Soviet atomic bomb in August 1949, followed by the Soviet development of bombers that could traverse the Arctic Circle, created a...

Using Ground Sensors to Defend Aircraft Against Laser Strikes

A growing safety concern for pilots and aircraft passengers is laser strikes, or the aiming of high-power laser pointers at aircraft. To address the present lack of effective laser...

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...

Wireless Handheld Spectrometer Transmits Data to Smartphone

Spectral images, which contain more color information than is obtainable with a typical camera, reveal characteristics of tissue and other biological samples that can't be seen by the...

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.

Sound-Off: The Most ‘Startling’ Discovery in IoT? A Lack of Security

The “Internet of Things” links a variety of devices, from computers and industrial machines to heart monitors and robots. The interconnection also leads to some...

New Products

Corrosion-Resistant Valve GF Piping Systems (Irvine, CA) introduced a corrosion-resistant pneumatic diaphragm valve for highly corrosive dosing and open/close applications. The Type 604/605 pneumatically actuated dosing valve is...

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...

New Motion Sensors Enable Low-Cost Wearables

Researchers from Florida State University developed a class of motion sensors made using buckypaper. The new technology is versatile, and the sensors are affordable to print.

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...

Sound-Off: Can Executives Make or Break Your Cybersecurity Program?

In a live presentation last week, Michael G. Morgan revealed what distinguishes a good cybersecurity program from a bad one: support from the top.

New Products

Laser Confocal Scanning Microscope The new Olympus (Waltham, MA) LEXT® OLS5000 3D laser confocal scanning microscope delivers precise imaging in a fast, easy-to-use system for research and development and quality control...

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...

Technique Produces Wearable Gas Sensors

A transfer technique could allow high-performance gallium nitride gas sensors to be grown on sapphire substrates and then transferred to metallic or flexible polymer support materials. The process...

New Way to Test Body Armor

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new way to investigate the high-performance fibers used in modern body armor. The testing of soft body armor has been a big...

Soft Sensor Material Enables Tactile Technology

iSoft, a new type of soft and stretchable sensor, is capable of sensing in real time, and can perform “multimodal” sensing of stimuli such as continuous contact and stretching in all...

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...

Breathalyzer Replaces Blood Test

In the future, breathalyzers will not just be used by police checking for alcohol intoxication, but also for testing the condition of athletes, and for people who want to lose weight. When exactly the body...