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.

Stories

46
202
0
390
30
Application Briefs: Software
Attitude detection is a crucial element in aircraft and spacecraft navigation. The motion of an aircraft consists of a translational component (motion of its center of mass with respect to...
Feature Image
Articles: Materials
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.
Feature Image
Briefs: Nanotechnology
Colloids — insoluble particles or molecules anywhere from a billionth to a millionth of a meter across — are so small they can stay suspended indefinitely in a liquid or even in air. Robots about...
Feature Image
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
An advanced, highly compact thermal camera that traces its heritage to one now flying on NASA's Landsat 8 has been mounted in a corner of NASA's next...
Feature Image
Blog: Test & Measurement
Rivers Ingersoll spoke with Tech Briefs about why it is so important to have an up-close understanding of the hummingbird and nectar bat.
Feature Image
Question of the Week: Test & Measurement
Are You Currently Using Mechanical Test Equipment to Measure Strain?
One way to measure strain and deformation in a material is through digital image correlation and non-contact sensors. Next week, in a live webinar presentation, speakers from Trilion Quality Systems and MTS Systems Corp. will review how customers have used their imaging and...
Products: Motion Control
Multi-Voltage Motors Simotics SD Pro low-voltage motors from Siemens (Munich, Germany) are suited for mains-fed operation or with a converter for voltages up to 690 volts. There is generally no need to use special filters at the...
Feature Image
Articles: Imaging
For six decades, NASA has led the peaceful exploration of space, making discoveries about our planet, our solar system, and our universe. At home, NASA research has made great advances in aviation,...
Feature Image
Articles: Aerospace
NASA at 60: Celebrating Success
Over the past 60 years, NASA scientists and engineers have developed many advanced technologies and processes. But NASA has also partnered with industry, using commercially available products to complete its missions. Here, some of those companies join NASA in celebrating these collaborative successes.
Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
The benefits of NASA's space exploration efforts are not limited to the cosmos. NASA technologies provide innovative solutions for people around the world. NASA missions have generated thousands of spinoffs —...
Feature Image
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Power Line Detection System for Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Electrical power lines pose a serious crash hazard to helicopters and other air-based vehicles, especially small aerial vehicles such as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This is because power lines are so widespread, hard to see, and strung at roughly the same height above the ground at...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is offering opportunities for its new fiber optic mass flow sensor system. Capable of measuring multi-phase flows in a pipe, the technology is minimally invasive,...
Feature Image
Products: Test & Measurement
Temperature Transmitters The Sitrans TH320/420 and TR320/420 WirelessHART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer Protocol) temperature transmitters from Siemens, Erlangen, Germany, are available for a range of...
Feature Image
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Configuration Enables RFID Tags to Work as Sensors
The detection and localization of gas releases, such as methane from leaking natural gas pipelines or nitrogen oxides from failing electrical equipment, require high sensitivity to the target gas and insensitivity to non-target gases. Infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy gives highly specific...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
As the demand for air transportation increases, the capacity of the current U.S. ATM system will eventually be stressed to its limits. New technologies in communication, navigation, and surveillance (CNS),...
Feature Image
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Optical fibers have been traditionally produced by making a cylindrical object called a preform — essentially, a scaled-up model of the fiber — and then heating it. Softened material...
Feature Image
Blog: Test & Measurement
Answering Your Questions: How Can Medical IoT Devices Move Beyond Simple Information Gathering?
Is there more to the "Internet of Medical Things" than just data gathering? A reader asks our experts.
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
NASA's Lindley Johnson explains how the exciting business of asteroid detection does have its moments that are “like any other office job.”
Feature Image
Podcasts: Data Acquisition
The haptics field is wide open, and researchers are finding new and exciting ways to send a message through touch.
Feature Image
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
A NASA researcher spoke with Tech Briefs about the importance of the Curiosity rover's latest find on Mars.
Feature Image
Articles: Energy
Hybrid solutions that combine small photovoltaic (PV) panels with industrial grade rechargeable Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries provide long-term power for remote wireless...
Feature Image
Application Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Wireless sensor networks frequently operate in hazardous areas where explosive atmospheres pose a safety risk to equipment and operators. The design of these systems must follow...
Feature Image
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Warfighters and law enforcement personnel encounter many situations where they need to assess and determine if a situation is hostile or benign. Currently available field explosive detection kits are...
Feature Image
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Stray Energy Indicator for Pyrotechnic Applications
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...
Application Briefs: Test & Measurement
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OHwww.wpafb.af.mil/afrl Mars rovers are sophisticated, multi-instrumented pieces of equipment that travel over the surface...
Feature Image
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A battery pack is only as strong as its weakest cell. As battery packs become larger and more integral to the stable operation of devices and systems, the need to monitor battery dependability and performance in...
Feature Image
Briefs: Medical
To further develop semiconductor technology, the field of molecular electronics is seeking to manufacture circuit components from individual molecules instead of silicon. Because of...
Feature Image
5 Ws: Test & Measurement
Who First responders, soldiers, and scientists in the field.
Feature Image
Briefs: Test & Measurement
The objective of this effort was to design, fabricate, integrate, and fly a nuclear thermal rocket without having to build massive ground test facilities. Furthermore, this nuclear rocket would...
Feature Image

Videos