Servos are the go-to technology for robotics and servo systems play an important role in operating the supporting equipment around robots for loading and unloading parts and products. The term “motion control” for industrial automation equipment is usually applied to the use of electrical servo moto

NASA Langley developed a technology that harvests electrical energy utilizing a pyroelectric device that generates voltage when cyclically heated. The device consists of a pyroelectric material sandwiched between two electrodes, which in turn are contained within two thermally conductive protective

Insects can be remarkably acrobatic and resilient in flight. Those traits help them navigate the aerial world, with wind gusts, obstacles, and general uncertainty. Researchers have developed insect-sized drones with similar dexterity and resilience. The aerial robots are powered by a new class of so

Automation can produce large quantities of product quickly, but ensuring end-part quality is a critical challenge. Visual, manual, or periodic sampling methodologies can be imprecise, slow, or come in too late to trigger a timely line stoppage once a manufacturing error has occurred, resulting in a

Using advanced machine learning, drones could be used to detect dangerous “butterfly” landmines in remote regions of post-conflict countries. Researchers had previously developed a method that allowed for highly accurate detection of butterfly landmines using low-cost commercial drones equipped with

A new algorithm significantly speeds up the planning process required for a robot to adjust its grasp on an object by pushing that object against a stationary surface. Whereas traditional algorithms would require tens of minutes for planning out a sequence of motions, the new approach shaves this pr

Acoustical studies of atmospheric events like convective storms, tornadoes, shear-induced turbulence, micro-bursts, acoustic gravity waves, and hurricanes over the past 50 years have established that these events are strong emitters of infrasound. Current methods to forecast near-term weather phenom

A wearable technology made from stretchy, lightweight material could make heart health monitoring easier and more accurate than existing electrocardiograph machines — a technology that has changed little in almost a century. The electronic tattoo (e-tattoo) technology is graphene-based and is placed

Polymeric particles are used extensively for seeding airflows in wind tunnels, and biological and histological staining, among other applications. For wind tunnel applications, particle image velocimetry is often used to determine the interaction of various models and surfaces with surrounding airfl

Ear infections occur when fluid builds up in the middle ear behind the eardrum and is infected. This buildup is also common in another condition called otitis media with effusion. Any kind of fluid buildup can be painful and make it hard for children to hear. A new smartphone app can detect fluid be

Photodetectors — also known as photosensors — contribute to the convenience of modern life. They convert light energy into electrical signals to complete tasks such as opening automatic sliding doors and automatically adjusting a cellphone’s screen brightness in different lighting conditions. Resear

Flutter is a complex oscillatory phenomenon that can destroy aircraft turbine blades and has historically been the cause of several plane accidents. In aerospace research, flutter generally refers to undesired and self-sustained vibrations in turbine blades that can readily grow out of control, dest

Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, from electric vehicles to your phone, but the electronics component can fail in big ways. In fact, the battery continues to be a bit of a mystery. We are still in a learning process, said Roeland Bisschop, project manager at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden&nb

Lets say two vehicles are heading right at each other down a one-way street. If youre behind the wheel in this kind of tight, challenging driving scenario, you can negotiate with the parties nearby. You can pull over to the side of the road and then motion for the driver ahead to pull through the th

This episode of our Tech Briefs podcast series Here’s an Idea™ explores a variety of new-and-improved hearing aids, from $1 “do-it-yourself” devices to advanced systems that monitor brain waves. Here’s an Idea brings you the inspiration behind invention, through interviews with the makers of today’s

Calnetix TechnologiesCerritos, CAwww.calnetix.com NASA’s Four Bed Carbon Dioxide Scrubber (4BCO2) is planned for installation on the International Space Station (ISS) after rigorous ground testing. The next-generation CO2 removal system incorporates a high-speed in-line blower and dual controller fr

Help Nasa Predict Landslides Each year, landslides cause billions of dollars in damage and thousands of deaths. To date, there is no global picture of exactly when and where landslides occur. The Cooperative Open Online Landslide Repository (COOLR) is an open platform where you can share landslide

Spinoff is NASA’s annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and services in the fields of health and medicine, consumer goods, transportation, public safety, computer technology, and environmental r

Engineers developed a soft, stretchy skin patch that can be worn on the neck to continuously track blood pressure and heart rate while measuring the wearer’s levels of glucose as well as lactate, alcohol, or caffeine. It is the first wearable device that monitors cardiovascular signals and multiple

A phenomenon related to the invar effect — which enables magnetic materials such as nickel-iron (Ni-Fe) alloys to keep from expanding with increasing temperature — has been discovered in paramagnetic, or weakly magnetized, high-temperature alloys. The research, which includes a general theory explai