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Briefs
Materials

High-Temperature Silicon Carbide Power Module for Military Hybrid Electric Vehicles

The ever-increasing electrical power, power density, and cooling requirements of present and future military platforms are pushing silicon-based power...

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Briefs
Electronics & Computers

Prognostic Health Management for Avionics System Power Supplies

Electronic systems such as electronic controls, onboard computers, communications, navigation, and radar perform many critical functions onboard military and commercial...

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Briefs
Electronics & Computers

Energy-Scalable Protocols for Battery Operated Micro Sensor Networks

Networks of microsensors can greatly improve environment monitoring for many civil and military applications. Multiple sensors provide fault tolerance and can provide...

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Briefs
Manufacturing & Prototyping

Fabrication of Carbon Nanotube Channels on Three- Dimensional Building Blocks

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are the most attractive material in the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology due to their chemical, physical, and...

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Briefs
Photonics/Optics

Wide-Field Imaging System and Rapid Direction of Optical Zoom

A breadboard system has been developed for demonstrating nonmechanical zoom using flexible thin films. The project consists of three major task areas: material characterization,...

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Briefs
Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Reactive Structure and Smart Armor for Future Ground Vehicles

AReactive Structure Technology (RST) is a new class of smart structure that can react to external excitations (such as blast or ballistic impacts) in a carefully designed way...

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Briefs
Physical Sciences

Distributed, Collaborative Human- Robotic Networks for Search, Identify, and Track

A human-robotic system is under development that can map an unknown environment, as well as discover, track, and neutralize several static and dynamic objects...

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Articles
Aerospace

Using Standardized Test Methods to Develop Unmanned Ground Vehicles

Traditional test methodologies employ testing as part of the validation phase of a project. While testing plays an important role for validation and quality control, it can...

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Articles
Aerospace

Minimizing Thermal Resistance with Direct Attach Heat Spreaders

As commercial and military electronics applications continue to “push the envelope” with higher powers and smaller packaging requirements, it is becoming more critical to...

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Application Briefs
Defense

Target Location System Performs in Rain, Smoke, Haze, and Combat Scenarios

A combat identification system developed by Cubic Defense Applications, the defense systems business of Cubic Corporation, was successfully tested during a recent...

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Application Briefs
Defense

Rocket Launcher Tubes Protect Troops

The desire to get home safely dwells in the back of the mind of every soldier. The battlefield provides enough mortal dangers without soldiers having to wonder whether or not the weapons they carry could...

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Application Briefs
Defense

Holographic Radar Pinpoints Rapid Shell Fire

Cambridge Consultants has successfully carried out trials tracking 5 inch shells travelling at over 1,000 miles per hour for the US Department of Defense (DoD). The groundbreaking radar developed...

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Articles
Electronics & Computers

Designing High-Speed, Rugged Data Recorders

High-speed recorders represent a major share of electronic instrumentation found in commercial, industrial, scientific research, government, and defense applications. Each system captures specific...

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Articles
Electronics & Computers

Improving Software Reliability in Satellite and Spacecraft Applications

In the space industry, much of the effort to refine system engineering processes has been done by hand using tools as divergent as Microsoft PowerPoint to IBM Rational...

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Products
Electronics & Computers

32-Bit Microcontrollers

Microchip Technology (Chandler, AZ) has announced low-pincount, 32-bit PIC32 microcontrollers (MCUs) that provide 61 DMIPS of performance in packages 5 × 5 mm. The PIC32 “MX1” and “MX2” MCUs feature dedicated...

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Products
Electronics & Computers

Data Review Tool

The PeerReview Complete™ tool from SmartBear Software (Beverly, MA) allows engineers to share, review, and annotate schematics, 2D drawings, diagrams, images, HTML, and other digital content. PeerReview Complete features...

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Products
Electronics & Computers

Evaluation Boards

Bourns (Riverside, CA) offers two evaluation boards for RS-485-port interfaces. The boards use Bourns® TBU® High-Speed Protectors (HSPs), GDTs, TVS diodes, and MOV products. The Bourns RS-485EVALBOARD1 includes two...

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Products
Electronics & Computers

Membrane Switches

APEM Components (Haverhill, MA) has announced a range of customized, ergonomic, low-power membrane switches. The switches can be made with either non-tactile or tactile feedback through sound and light indication. The...

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Articles
RF & Microwave Electronics

Using Software Defined Instruments to Address the Mixed-Signal Test Challenges of Today’s Software Defined Radios

Software Defined Radio (SDR) represents an important move forward for mobile and personal communications, promising a major...

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Application Briefs
RF & Microwave Electronics

Jamming-Resistant Adaptive Radio System

Developing smart antennas for jam-resistant cognitive or software-defined radio systems entails a number of challenging issues. Researchers at the University of Texas are investigating methods to...

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Products
RF & Microwave Electronics

Vector Signal Generator

X-COM Systems, a subsidiary of Bird Technologies Group (Reston, VA), has introduced the 4CHVSG2000 four-channel arbitrary waveform vector signal generator that combines four independently programmable arbitrary...

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Products
RF & Microwave Electronics

Digitizer/Signal Generator

Innovative Integration (Simi Valley, CA) offers the X6-1000M that integrates highspeed digitizing and signal generation with signal processing on a PMC/XMC IO module. The coupling of the digitizing to a Virtex6...

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Products
RF & Microwave Electronics

Radio Signal Analysis

Agilent Technologies (Santa Clara, CA) offers the Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) measurement application for the X-Series signal analyzers. It enables one-button, standards-based testing per the RF requirements defined in...

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Products
RF & Microwave Electronics

Coax Contact Assemblies

Southwest Microwave (Tempe, AZ) offers SSBP-20 miniature microwave coax contact assemblies that fit into the standard Size 20 contact cavities of D-Subminiature connectors, as well as Size 02 and larger contact...

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Products
RF & Microwave Electronics

Monopole Antenna

Antenna Factor (Merlin, OR) has introduced the WRT-MON Series monopole antenna that is tamper-resistant and designed for use in power equipment where space is limited. It requires a proximity ground plane and installs...

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Products
RF & Microwave Electronics

Bandpass Filters

The TFSB series of thin-film bandpass filters is available from TDK-EPC Corp. (Tokyo, Japan). The filters have a footprint of 1.0 × 0.5 square millimeters, and an insertion height of 0.3 mm. The filters feature terminal...

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Products
Electronics & Computers

OpenVPX Reference Platform

Elma Electronic (Fremont, CA) offers the VPX-300, an OpenVPX reference platform that provides interoperability among 3U VPX boards. The OpenVPX backplane profile provides two separate clusters through a data and...

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Products
Electronics & Computers

MIL-DTL 38999 Series III Connectors

ITT Interconnect Solutions (Santa Ana, CA) has developed a MIL-DTL 38999 Series III connector. The KJAYA Series connector utilizes lightweight aluminum shells that provide a sealed, watertight, and...

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Products
Software

3D Modeling Software

VISTAGY (Waltham, MA) has released SyncroFIT® 2011, which allows airframe manufacturers to implement advanced manufacturing processes. CAD designers can use the software to define and manage fasteners, holes, joints,...

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Products
Sensors/Data Acquisition

Navigation Sensors

Sparton Corp. (De Leon Springs, FL) has introduced navigation sensors that provide magnetic heading and orientation information, even in areas where GPS signals are unavailable and GPS-based devices are unable to operate....

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Products
Electronics & Computers

FPGA Sensor Development Kit

Alico Systems (Torrance, CA) has announced the Kinetic 3500 OMAP FPGA Sensor Development Kit (SDK). Powered by a Texas Instruments (TI) OMAP3530 (Cortex A8 RISC processor and DSP) together with a Xilinx Spartan 6...

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Products
Electronics & Computers

MEMS Gyroscope

Analog Devices (Norwood, MA) has released the ADIS16136 iSensor® digital MEMS gyroscope, which provides 3.50/hr typical bias stability in a module consuming less than 1 watt and weighing 25 grams. The tactical grade (below...

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Products
Weapons Systems

3D Video Tracking System

Specialised Imaging Ltd. (Tring, Hertfordshire, UK) has announced a new version of its Trajectory Tracker video tracking system that correlates high-speed video data with 3D visualization and measurement information....

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INSIDER
Defense

Army Tests Special Ops Weapon For Conventional Units

With the need for Soldiers in Afghanistan to engage the enemy at longer distances, Picatinny Arsenal has completed initial training and fielding of a weapon for traditional Army units...

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INSIDER
Defense

Wool Being Reevaluated for High-Performance Combat Clothing

Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center has contracted for several efforts with the American Sheep Industry Association and its subsidiary, Sheep Venture...

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INSIDER
Automotive

Army Drives Ahead With Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Program

The U.S. Army has issued a request for proposal for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program. The Joint Light Tactical...

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