Question of the Week: Materials
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
New Products: October 2018 Motion Design
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...
Briefs: Energy
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
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: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Optical Mass Sensor for Multi-Phase Flows
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,...
Articles: RF & Microwave Electronics
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: Green Design & Manufacturing
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...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
“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...
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Answering Your Questions: How Can Medical IoT Devices Move Beyond Simple Information Gathering?
Blog: Data Acquisition
Meet Lindley Johnson, Planetary Defense Officer (and Asteroid Hunter)
Podcasts: Medical
Here's an Idea: Vibration Communication
News: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Air Quality Sleuths: Salt Lake's Light Rail Trains
The light rail network in the Salt Lake City area already does a lot to improve air quality. Its three lines move more than 67,000 people a day along 45 miles of track, saving countless car trips and sparing the air tons upon tons of petroleum-powered pollutants.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
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...
Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
NASA's Robotic Sniffer Finds Space Station Leak
Sunnyvale, CA
www.thinksrs.com
The Robotic External Leak Locator (RELL) — a collaboration between NASA's Johnson Space Center and Goddard Space Flight...
Briefs: Defense
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...
Articles: Test & Measurement
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...
5 Ws: Test & Measurement
5 Ws of a Simple Nerve Gas Detector
First responders, soldiers, and scientists in the field.
Hybrid solutions that combine small photovoltaic (PV) panels with industrial grade rechargeable Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries provide long-term power for remote...
Application Briefs: Test & Measurement
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...
Products: Motion Control
New Products: September 2018 Sensor Technology
With its user-friendly new graphical user interface (GUI) for easier setup and connectivity, and cloud-based data access/monitoring, the digiVIT digital...
Briefs: Medical
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...
Products: Test & Measurement
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...
Articles: Lighting Technology
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...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Self-Powered Paper Patch Measures Glucose
The most common methods for glucose self-testing involve monitoring glucose levels in blood. These conventional measurements are not suitable for preventing hypoglycemia during exercise. The...
Articles: Test & Measurement
Key Technologies Needed to Advance Mission-Critical IoT
By 2028, virtually all major sensing and feedback systems benefiting from continuous monitoring will connect to devices currently known as the Internet of Things (IoT). As that...
Briefs: Medical
Ingestible Sensors Powered by Stomach Acid
A small voltaic cell was developed that is sustained by the acidic fluids in the stomach. The system can generate enough power to run small sensors or drug delivery devices that can reside in the...
Application Briefs: Software
Reducing Weight and Design Time for Dream Chaser Spacecraft
Newport News, VA
www.hypersizer.com
With the go-ahead from NASA for a first mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the Sierra...
Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
New on the Market: August 2018
NK Technologies, San Jose, CA, introduced DT-FD Series DC current transducers that provide a large sensing window and the ability to safely monitor circuits with voltages up to...
Application Briefs: Test & Measurement
System Tests Dream Chaser's Atmospheric Flight Control System
Owosso, MI
www.sakor.com
SAKOR Technologies supplied a test system to Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI) to be used to test the...
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Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

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Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: Materials
Ultra-High Purity Silicone in Aerospace and Defense Product Design
Webinars: Medical
Lunch & Learn: Pitfalls of Medical Cord Sets
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
A Four-Pillar Approach to Driving Greater Efficiency ePowertrain...
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Confident TCU Connectivity Through Efficient Functional Testing
Upcoming Webinars: Transportation
7 Levers for Electric and Autonomous Vehicles
Upcoming Webinars: Robotics, Automation & Control
Trending Stories
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Briefs: Physical Sciences
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Articles: Electronics & Computers

New SAE Wireless Charging Standard is EV Game-Changer
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Metallic Glass Shatters Gear Limitations
Briefs: Photonics/Optics

A Solid-State Alternative to the Vacuum Photomultiplier Tube