Sensors/​Data Acquisition

Data travels down fiber-optic cables at frequencies of several terahertz. As soon as the data arrives on a PC or television, this speed must be throttled down to match the data processing speed of the device components; this speed currently is in the range of a few hundred gigahertz...

Transferring data using light passed along fiber optic cables has become increasingly common over the past decades, but each pulse currently contains millions of photons. That means that in principle, a portion of these could be intercepted without detection. Secure data is already encrypted, but if an...

A compact and portable system is used to monitor and store real-time measurements of stray energy through a pyrotechnic firing circuit using infrared technology. The infrared sensor is mated to the NASA Standard Initiator simulator, and is calibrated such that the current input through the...

A reader asks our expert: As autonomous vehicles enter the market, where are the weak spots in simulation?

A reader asks: “If autonomous vehicles are too expensive for an individual to own, how is the cost per mile so low to hail one?”

Automated vehicles – fleets of them – may soon change the way we travel through cities. "How soon?" asks a reader.

Positioning of wireless devices is centralized, depending on “anchors” with known locations such as cell towers or GPS satellites to communicate directly with each device. As the number of devices increases, anchors must be installed at higher density. Centralized positioning can...