Sensors & Test

Browse extensive resources on the advances in Sensor and Test technologies. Find applications for smart sensor systems, data acquisition, transducers, detector systems plus the latest in advanced measuring instruments and monitoring systems, devices and instrumentation.

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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...
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Question of the Week: Defense
What NASA Spin-Off Stands Out to You?
NASA technologies have led to many of the commercial products and innovative solutions we use every day, from memory foam and freeze-dried foods to exercise equipment and water purifiers. The October issue of Tech Briefs showcased a number of these NASA spinoffs. Read the Tech Briefs feature article, and share...
Blog: Aerospace
Robert Holmes spoke with Tech Briefs about his path from "amateur" astronomer to NASA pro.
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Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Rivers Ingersoll spoke with Tech Briefs about why it is so important to have an up-close understanding of the hummingbird and nectar bat.
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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...
Articles: Motion Control
The need for Ethernet-based communication within the factory has grown over the past 10 years. Detailed information about the tasks and performance of machines at every stage is critical...
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Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A technique was developed to quickly teach robots novel traversal behaviors with minimal human oversight. The technique allows mobile robot platforms to navigate autonomously in...
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
When heated, popcorn can expand more than 10 times in size, change its viscosity by a factor of 10, and transition from regular to highly irregular granules with surprising force. These unique qualities can...
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Application Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), under construction atop 8,737-foot El Peñón peak in northern Chile, is a partnership project of the National Science...
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Products: Test & Measurement
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...
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Researchers have developed a method to simultaneously control diverse optical properties of dielectric waveguides by using a two-layer coating, each layer with a...
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Q&A: Test & Measurement
A team led by UCSD has built a stretchable electronic patch that can be worn on the skin like a bandage and used to wirelessly monitor a variety of physical and electrical...
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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
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...
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Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
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.
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Briefs: Aerospace
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...
Articles: Government
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,...
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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: Data Acquisition
NASA's Langley Research Center, in collaboration with Michigan State University (MSU), has developed a microphone array that...
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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,...
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Facility Focus: Software
In 1951, the first nuclear reactor in Idaho was built, starting a legacy at what is now Idaho National Laboratory (INL). INL is the site where 52 pioneering nuclear reactors were designed and...
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Briefs: Materials
It is often desirable to sense the angular position of a rotating part. Numerous kinds of rotation sensors have been developed over the years; one type is a capacitive sensor, where a capacitance...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A process for engineering next-generation soft materials with embedded chemical networks that mimic the behavior of neural tissue lays the foundation for soft active matter with highly...
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
When hit with light, semiconductors (materials that have an electrical resistance in between that of metals and insulators) generate an electric current....
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Articles: Test & Measurement
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
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 —...
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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),...
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
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...
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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Polymer Nanofiber-Based Reversible Nano-Switch/Sensor Schottky Diode (nanoSSSD) Device
Innovators at NASA's Glenn Research Center have developed a unique nano-structure device that operates as a nano-switch/sensor for detecting toxic gases and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Conventional microsensors are limited by their short life, high cost and...
5 Ws: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Who Billions of objects ranging from smartphones and buildings, to machine parts and medical devices, to furniture and office supplies — any object that has a need to communicate with or sense other objects.
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