Test & Measurement

Instrumentation

Explore a range of technical briefs and articles on advanced instrumentation. Find the latest applications that design engineers are using to meet their design challenges.

Briefs: Materials
Generation of Polystyrene Latex Spheres with Incorporated Fluorescent Dyes
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
High-Altitude Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for Monitoring Meteorological Parameters
Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
Robot Detects and Shares Changes in 3D in Real Time
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Experimental Hearing Implant Succeeds in Registering Brain Waves
Technology Leaders: Materials
Smart Batteries Include Force and Pressure Sensing
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Top Stories

Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping

A Robot That Moves Like a Bug (and a Cheetah)

Blog: Software

How to Bring Digital Twins to 'Any System'

INSIDER: Nanotechnology

Infrared Imaging by Ultrathin Nanocrystal Layers

Videos: Materials

Structural Battery for Lighter Aircraft and Electric Cars

Blog: Test & Measurement

How to Contain Thermal Runaway

Blog: RF & Microwave Electronics

'm-Widar' Uses Radio Waves to Image Hidden Objects

Latest Briefs & News

Briefs: Test & Measurement
A Better Way to Measure Acceleration
Researchers have developed a millimeter-thick accelerometer.
Q&A: Robotics, Automation & Control
Q&A: Team of Robots Maps Composition of an Environment
New autonomous robotic devices can survey hazardous or difficult-to-reach sites faster than humans.
Briefs: Materials
Mode I Fracture Testing Apparatus
The device uses load frames to test bonded structures in aerospace, automotive, defense, and energy storage applications.
Briefs: Aerospace
LogFire
The software automatically checks mission operations logs.
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Device Measures Toxic Lead in Minutes
The portable lab-on-a-chip detects many contaminants in water supplies.
Q&A: Sensors/Data Acquisition
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: Electronics & Computers
Surgical Tools with Smart Sensors Can Advance Cardiac Surgery and Therapy
Medical instruments equipped with a soft electronics system improve diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in minimally invasive surgeries.
Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Readers Select 2020 Products of the Year
This year's winners included industrial-automation software, simulation tech, and digital storage oscilloscopes.
Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition
New on the Market: March 2021
Vision software, thermal sensors, ceramic pastes, and more.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
System Standardization Streamlines Industrial Designs
Equipment designers can simplify design efforts and adjust controller platforms as needed when they standardize on electronic input/output products.
Special Reports: Test & Measurement
Test & Measurement - February 2021

Sensors to search for ancient life on Mars...nano-thermometers that could revolutionize temperature measurement...a major advance in semiconductor testing. These are just a few of the technologies you'll...

Briefs: Test & Measurement
Method Tracks What Happens Inside Batteries
The method could be key to designing more efficient batteries for specific uses such as electric cars and airplanes.
Briefs: Materials
Sensing Magnetic Fields
Applications include detection of explosives, navigation, and aerospace altitude sensing.
Question of the Week: Test & Measurement
Will We Make Vibration-Free Helicopters?

A Tech Briefs TV video features a test technology from the Army that’s informally known as a “Shaker.” The Multi-Degree of Freedom (MDOF) system will study the causes of vibrations in a helicopter’s many components and subcomponents. The Army researchers hope to use the conclusions of their study...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Cavity-Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (CEAS) for Ozone Detection
This simple and inexpensive design achieves high-quality ozone measurements.
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Microstrip Circuit and Material Characterization System
The system enables measurement of active or passive microstrip line devices with DC probing capability.
Special Reports: Transportation
ADAS/Connected Car - December 2020

Today's Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and connected cars are paving the way for tomorrow's automated vehicles. To help you keep pace with the latest technology developments, we present this...

Articles: Test & Measurement
20 Years of Science on the International Space Station
We explore the major scientific breakthroughs achieved during 20 years of human presence on the ISS.
5 Ws: Electronics & Computers
5 Ws of the SARS-CoV-2 RapidPlex Sensor
A low-cost sensor enables at-home diagnosis of a COVID infection.
Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Products of Tomorrow: December 2020
Robotic exoskeletons, a breath-test for cancer, and plastic-eating enzymes are Products of Tomorrow.
Application Briefs: Test & Measurement
Giant Telescope Construction Viewed Through an Industrial Lens
Once installed at Las Campanas Observatory in the Chilean Andes, the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) will introduce incredible opportunities for astrophysics.
NASA Spinoff: Test & Measurement
Balance Scale Predicts and Helps Prevent Falls
A technique to assess astronauts’ balance recovery helps people assess their risk of falling.
Products: Imaging
New Products: November 2020 Photonics & Imaging Technology
Multi-sensor imaging systems, eyesafe laser finders, machine vision algorithms, and more.
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Overcoming Pitfalls When Measuring Thin, Parallel Optics
A "TPSI" process makes it possible to distinguish between the front and back of optical surfaces, and to characterize the quality of both in a single measurement.
Products: Electronics & Computers
Product of the Month: November 2020 Tech Briefs
The SHFQA Quantum Analyzer from Zurich Instruments operates at up to 8.5 GHz and can perform direct readout of superconducting and spin qubits.
Blog: Test & Measurement
Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Testing: Simulation vs. Closed-Course vs. Public Roads
A reader asks, "For AV testing, what are the respective role of simulation, closed course, and public road testing?"
Q&A: Photonics/Optics
Q&A: NanoLED Architecture Overcomes Efficiency Droop
A nanoLED has up to 1,000 times the brightness of conventional submicron-sized LEDs.
Products: Motion Control
New Products: October 2020 Motion Design
Accelerometers, actuators, hexapods, and more.

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Upcoming Webinars: Medical

The Pathway to Successful Device Development

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Trending Stories

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

Infrared Imaging by Ultrathin Nanocrystal Layers

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Articles: Lighting

Dimming LEDs, Without the Flicker

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

New Products: July 2021 Photonics & Imaging Insider

Articles: Materials

Evaluating Electrically Insulating Epoxies

Briefs: Energy

Carbon Fiber Structural Battery for “Mass-Less” Energy Storage in Vehicles

Videos