Sensors/​Data Acquisition

Briefs: Wearables

Biometric Security System Based on the Human Heartbeat

The wearable prototype can stream, in real time, an identifying signature based on the electrical activity of a person's heart.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Paper-Based Sensor Detects COVID-19 in Minutes

The electrochemical sensor can detect the presence of the virus in less than five minutes.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Ultra-Sensitive Flow Microsensors

The sensors could be used in medical applications such as neuroscience and metabolism processes.

Briefs: Unmanned Systems

System Helps Drones Detect and Avoid Power Lines

This technology provides drones sufficient time and distance to react, avoid wires, and navigate follow-on maneuvers.

Briefs: IoMT

Chip Delivers COVID-19 Test Results on a Smartphone

Programmed magnetic nanobeads are used to detect the virus in 55 minutes or less.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Device Measures Toxic Lead in Minutes

The portable lab-on-a-chip detects many contaminants in water supplies.

Application Briefs: Test & Measurement

I/O Module Enables Remote Data Capture

See how makers of an automated truck wash system added a monitoring option for customers.

Q&A: Wearables

Q&A: Platform Converts Headphones from 'Dumb' to 'Smart'

Rutgers researcher Xiaoran Fan developed a "HeadFi" method that uses ordinary headphones as sensors.

Products: Data Acquisition

Product of the Month: May 2021 Tech Briefs

A smart temperature transmitter delivers measurements via Bluetooth.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Novel Flexible Terahertz Camera Can Inspect Objects with Diverse Shapes

A flexible, free-standing THz sensor array images blind ends of irregularly shaped objects.

Briefs: IoMT

RFID-Based Rotary Position Sensor

Innovators have developed an RFID-based system for sensing the angular position of rotating systems. The RFID-Based Rotary Position Sensor can be used as a position/orientation sensor or implemented in a...

Briefs: Motion Control

Accelerometer and Gyroscope Designs Based on Carbon Nanotube Tape

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center developed designs for two micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) motion and position sensors: a single-axis accelerometer and a gyroscope....

Facility Focus: Robotics, Automation & Control

Facility Focus: Princeton University School of Engineering and Applied Science

Notable graduates of the school include Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, Google executive Eric Schmidt, Internet pioneer Bob Kahn, former Chrysler head Lee Iacocca, and six NASA astronauts.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Carbon-Based Air Quality Sensor

This affordable, scalable sensor could be a vital tool in the fight against air pollution and its associated health risks.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Pollen-Based Paper Bends and Curls in Response to Humidity

The paper-like material could be useful in soft robots, sensors, artificial muscles, and electric generators.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Turning Diamond into Metal

Normally an insulator, diamond becomes a metallic conductor when subjected to large strain.

5 Ws: Sensors/Data Acquisition

5 Ws of Robot Healthcare Helpers

A research team programmed two robots — a humanoid figure and a robotic arm — to measure human physiological signals.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Passive Polarized Fiber Optic Sensing

This technique has applications in strain, temperature, pressure, vibration, and acoustic sensing.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Hybrid Propellant Formulation Uses Graphene Foams

This method increases burn rate of solid propellants.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Extreme Low-Frequency Hydrophone

Applications include monitoring of earthquakes and tsunamis as well as manmade infrasonic sources such as boats.

Products: RF & Microwave Electronics

New on the Market: May 2021

Cable ties, milling software, snap-action switches, and more.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Disease-Sniffing Device Rivals a Dog's Nose

The miniaturized detector mimics the process dogs use to detect cancer and other diseases by smell.

Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Wearable Sensor Detects Toxic Gases, With a Hologram

Wearable gas sensors being developed at the Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH) display an instantaneous visual holographic alarm.

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Sensors Collect Crucial Data on Mars Landings with Arrival of Perseverance

“Tango delta. Touchdown confirmed. Perseverance safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking the signs of past life.” For more than six years, the...

INSIDER: Materials

A Scalable Method for the Large-Area Integration of 2D Materials

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have a huge potential for providing devices with much smaller size and extended functionalities with respect to what can be achieved with...

INSIDER: Physical Sciences

Record-Breaking Heat Conduction Material Will Save Computer Chips

In collaboration with groups from China and the United States, a research team from TU Wien set out to find the optimal heat conductor. They finally found what they were...