Sensors & Test

Sensors/Data Acquisition

This is your resource for developments in smart sensor systems and data acquisition. Browse technical briefs, articles, and white papers on advanced applications in transducer technologies, detector systems, data acquisition, and sensor-related technologies.

Stories

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Smart Fabric Detects and Collects Space Dust

A smart fiber being tested on the International Space Station could be used to develop space dust telescopes and allow astronauts to feel through their pressurized suits.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Split-Ring Torque Sensor

This optical-based device measures position, velocity, and torque.

Briefs: Nanotechnology

Wearable, Stretchable Gas Sensor

The stretchable sensor has applications in environmental monitoring and healthcare.

Products: Electronics & Computers

New on the Market: February 2021

Disconnect terminal blocks, oscillioscope probes, test modules, and more.

Q&A: Energy

Q&A: Oil and Gas Wells for Energy Storage

USC researchers found a way to use idle oil and gas wells for energy storage.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Sensitive Optical Receivers for Space

This concept could help break through the present-day data-return bottleneck in deep space missions.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Material for Wearable Biosensors

Electrospinning is used to make porous silicone that allows sweat to evaporate.

NASA Spinoff: Wearables

NASA Brain-Training Technology Makes Smart Glasses

With a technique first used at NASA, researchers are making glasses that can improve your concentration.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Niobium Titanium Nitride Thin Film Coating

Applications include terahertz medical imaging and communications.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Ultra-Thin, Battery-Free Strain Sensors for Industrial Robotic Arms

These nanomaterial strain sensors are ten times more sensitive when measuring minute movements compared to existing technology.

Articles: Communications

Executive Roundtable: Facility & Network Security

Tech Briefs asks industry experts about cybersecurity, the cloud, wireless devices, and securing a remote workforce.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Printable Chemical Nanosensor

This integrated nanosensor is printed on a daughter board using 3D printing techniques.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Chemical Identification by Magneto-Elastic Sensing (ChIMES)

The sensor is suitable for both overt and covert applications, and can detect multiple and variable targets.

Articles: Test & Measurement

Integrating QC Measurement Data into Manufacturing Systems

Learn about the kinds of wireless meters that can provide precise test data.

Facility Focus: Software

Facility Focus: University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering

Some of the technologies coming from the UT labs include COVID antibody tests, self-watering soil, and the "DRACO" robot.

Articles: Energy

Nano Diamond Battery Provides Universal Applicability

Energy is absorbed in the diamond through a process called inelastic scattering, which is used to generate electricity.

Articles: Transportation

Greater Precision for EV Battery Leak Testing

Inficon’s lithium-ion battery cell test can detect a leak many times smaller than current methods identify.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Stretchable Micro-Supercapacitors Self-Power Wearable Devices

A stretchable system can harvest energy from human breathing and motion.

Podcasts: Sensors/Data Acquisition

RepelWrap

Learn how RepelWrap began, and how the material can fend off drug-resistant bacteria, from MRSA to coronaviruses.

INSIDER: Data Acquisition

Large-Area Flexible Organic Photodiodes Can Compete with Silicon Devices

The performance of flexible large-area organic photodiodes has advanced to the point that they can now offer advantages over conventional silicon photodiode...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Combining Electronic, Photonic Chips Enables Super-Fast Quantum Light Detection

Researchers from the University of Bristol’s Quantum Engineering Technology Labs (QET Labs) and Université Côte d‘Azur have made a new miniaturized light...

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Orbiting Instrument Hints That Stored Magnetic Energy Heats Solar Atmosphere

A phenomenon first detected in the solar wind may help solve a long-standing mystery about the sun: why the solar atmosphere is millions of degrees hotter than the...

Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

Experts Weigh In: How Will a Robotic Future Impact Nature?

A survey of over 170 experts assessed the opportunities and challenges that drones, robots, and autonomous systems could have for urban nature and green spaces.