Measuring Instruments

NASA at 60: From Space to Earth

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...

Air Traffic Management (ATM) System

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),...

“Soft Hardware” Cloth Has Built-In Electronic Devices

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...

Hybrid Silicone-Fabric Sensor for Wearable Robots

Wearable technologies are exploding in popularity in both the consumer and research spaces, but most of the electronic sensors that detect and transmit data from wearables are made of hard,...

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.

Here's an Idea: Vibration Communication

The haptics field is wide open, and researchers are finding new and exciting ways to send a message through touch.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finds a New Way to Drill Down

A NASA researcher spoke with Tech Briefs about the importance of the Curiosity rover's latest find on Mars.

Researchers Devise New Way to Measure Light Beams

If you want to get the greatest benefit from a beam of light—whether to detect a distant planet or to remedy an aberration in the human eye—you need to be able to measure it. Well, a...

Microtesting Rig

The measurement of mechanical behavior in very small samples whose dimensions are on the order of microns and below can offer advantages over conventional macroscopic testing in many instances. Motivations for investigating...

Integrated Multiphysics and Advanced Diagnostics

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...

Device Detects Explosives, Drugs, or Lead

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...

NASA's Robotic Sniffer Finds Space Station Leak

Stanford Research Systems
Sunnyvale, CA
www.thinksrs.com

The Robotic External Leak Locator (RELL) — a collaboration between NASA's Johnson Space Center and Goddard Space Flight...

New on the Market: September 2018

Data Acquisition System

The SLICE IP68 data acquisition system from DTS, Seal Beach, CA, measures physical signals in extreme test environments. It can embed in most test articles, and the rugged...

Multifunctional, Integrated, Photonic Lab-on-a-Chip for Astronaut Health Monitoring

While widely used for terrestrial medical applications, handheld blood analyzers are not suitable for space missions due to the short shelf-life of...

Coating Erosion Tests Help Keep Mars 2020 Rover Safe

Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH
www.wpafb.af.mil/afrl

Mars rovers are sophisticated, multi-instrumented pieces of equipment that travel...

Active Measurement Cancellation

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...

5 Ws of a Simple Nerve Gas Detector

Who

First responders, soldiers, and scientists in the field.

Flexible, Compliant, Multiline Microprobes for Measuring Material Electrical Properties

The ability to measure the electronic conductivity of battery film coatings is a pressing need in the battery industry; however, these measurements can...

Direct-Current Detector for Emergency Responder Safety

The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a direct-current detector technology to help emergency responders safely detect high voltages, which they have...

Solar PV and Lithium-Ion Battery Hybrids for the IIoT — A User's Guide

Hybrid solutions that combine small photovoltaic (PV) panels with industrial grade rechargeable Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries provide long-term power for remote...

How to Specify Intrinsically Safe Remote Monitoring Sensor 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...

A Nanotech Sensor Turns Molecular Fingerprints into Bar Codes

Infrared spectroscopy is the benchmark method for detecting and analyzing organic compounds. However, that requires complicated procedures and large, expensive instruments, making...

COSMIC Impact: Next-Gen X-Ray Microscopy Platform

A next-generation X-ray beamline now operating at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) brings together a unique set of capabilities to measure the...

Product of the Month: September 2018 Tech Briefs

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, North Kingstown, RI, announced a new release of HxGN SMART Quality software that combines connectivity, statistical evaluation, and resource...

Machine Vision Can Do More Than You Think

The ability to automatically extract information from digital images opens many doors for manufacturers striving to cut costs, improve quality, and streamline their processes overall. The primary...

IMTS2018 Preview

Presented by the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) has been the premier manufacturing technology show in the Northern Hemisphere. IMTS is held every even...