Latest Stories

News

AR/AI

Machine Learning Software Monolith Cuts Development Time for BMW’s Test Engineers

BMW faced a problem. Because leg injuries can be common in vehicle crashes, the effect of all manner of deformation must be measured in order to...

Q&A

Test & Measurement

Hyundai’s ‘Edgy’ New Ideas for Safety Testing

In June 2022, Hyundai Motor America broke ground for its Safety Test and Investigation Laboratory (STIL), an industry-unique testing facility dedicated to root-cause crash...

News

Test & Measurement

Nissan Opens New Vehicle-Safety Lab in Michigan

It takes days for a safety team to prep a vehicle for a crash test that lasts mere seconds. “The number of required crash tests is increasing, so your flexibility is decreasing when...

News

Regulations/Standards

Nissan’s Reed Is Not Your Typical R&D Boss

Chris Reed is not the typical R&D boss. In his diverse 25-year engineering career at Nissan Americas, Reed has done everything from body design to leading development of the Murano SUV,...

Briefs

Sensors/Data Acquisition

WIAMan Technology Demonstrator Sensor Codes Conforming to International Organization for Standardization/Technical Standard (ISO/TS) 13499

The Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin (WIAMan) Project is in the process of developing anthropomorphic test devices.

News

Materials

ZwickRoell Rallies for EV Battery Testing

A lightweight, higher-capacity lithium-ion or Li-blended battery could fast-track the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) by increasing the driving range, but progress could be easily sidetracked...

News

Connectivity

Honda Ready with New Injury-Reducing Airbag

Starting next year, Honda will begin fitting vehicles with a new, advanced-design passenger-side front airbag that its engineers said is designed to mitigate brain and neck injuries by...

News

Unmanned Systems

Safety Testing for AVs Is Just Beginning

NHTSA’s plan to eventually update its New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) with new crash-test protocols is good news for both consumers and the mobility safety-systems industry. A revised NCAP...

News

Test & Measurement

Autonomous Vehicles Present Passive-Safety Challenges

Reclined and rotated seating positions are commonly depicted for autonomously driven vehicles. But for the Autoliv engineers tasked with developing occupant safety for tomorrow’s...

Briefs

Test & Measurement

Inter-Laboratory Combat Helmet Blunt Impact Test Method Comparison

As the medical community learns more about brain injury, the importance of blunt impact mitigation becomes more apparent. As such, it is critical to make sure that research...

Articles

Sensors/Data Acquisition

WIAMan

The newest crash test dummy in development is actually a blast test dummy. WIAMan (Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin) is a ground-breaking anthropomorphic test device (ATD) being developed by the U.S. Army. It’s the first...

Features

Packaging & Sterilization

New HAI-Prevention Cleaning Protocols Reinforce Need for Material Consideration for Medical Device Housings

As in any industry, new technologies and material choices present new opportunities and challenges for OEMs looking to build brand...

Briefs

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Impact Tester Device

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a portable device to simulate low-velocity impacts on a material or structure. As composite materials are highly susceptible to damage caused by low-velocity impact, they...

Articles

Photonics/Optics

Inside NASA’s White Sands Test Facility: How High-Speed Cameras Support Hypervelocity Experiments

At NASA’s White Sands Test Facility, Donald Henderson and his team spend much of their days shooting projectiles at 15,700 miles per hour....

Briefs

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Puncture-Healing Thermoplastic Resin Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Composites

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed carbon fiber reinforced composites with self-healing properties. The initiation and propagation of damage to carbon...

Briefs

Information Technology

BUMPER-CEV Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris Risk Assessment Code Rev. A

BUMPER-CEV Version 1.71 is used to perform micrometeoroid/orbital debris (MMOD) risk assessments for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) spacecraft. BUMPER is the primary risk analysis program used by NASA to provide for reliable and safe operations of spacecraft...

Briefs

Photonics/Optics

Hermetic Phototube Housing

This innovation is a hermetically sealed case or very small chamber. A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is mounted inside the chamber. The circuit board is also installed inside the chamber with appropriate feedthroughs for signals. An adapter/floating mount called the phototube to light pipe system mount (PLPSM) allows the...

Briefs

Aerospace

Non-Destructive Damping Measurement for MEMS Acceleration Switches

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) three-axis acceleration threshold sensors have been developed to measure acceleration threshold levels using voltage switching when the...

Briefs

Defense

Damping Measurement for Wafer-Level Packaged MEMS Acceleration Sensors

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) three-axis acceleration threshold sensors have been developed to measure acceleration threshold levels using voltage switching when...

Briefs

Sensors/Data Acquisition

Cooling Test Samples With a Combined Convective and Conductive System to Rapidly Reach 77 K

In this innovation, a team successfully developed and implemented a combined convective and conductive cooling system that permits rapid cooling....

Briefs

Materials

Improving Foreign Object Damage Performance for 2D Woven Ceramic Matrix Composites

As the power density of advanced engines increases, the need for new materials that are capable of high operating temperatures, such as ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), is critical for turbine hot-section static and rotating components. Such advanced materials...

Technology Leaders

Medical

Hospital-Grade Standards for Power Cords and Other Power System Components for Global Markets

While a number of countries have standards in regards to overall medical equipment, a few countries have related component requirements (e.g. plugs...

Application Briefs

Sensors/Data Acquisition

Data Acquisition System Helps NASA Improve Aircraft Crash Performance

Data acquisition system
DTS (Diversified Technical Systems)
Seal Beach, CA
562-493-0158
www.dtsweb.com

Aircraft impact testing and hard landing...

Application Briefs

Photonics/Optics

Ruggedized Displays Improve Automotive Safety

Navigation and entertainment screens in cars are becoming ever-larger and, in some cases, the central control point for drivers and passengers. Many manufacturers consider using glass to cover...

Application Briefs

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Prototype Recovers Lost-At-Sea Images

New hardware built by research engineers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is helping NASA retrieve experimental images otherwise lost at sea. The hardware weighs less than two pounds, and...

Articles

Photonics/Optics

High Speed Cameras for Non-Destructive Testing

In the “old” days when high speed cameras used film, there was a very definite period of time in which the event one wished to record had to occur. This was between the point at which the...

Briefs

Software

Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD) Shield Ballistic Limit Analysis Program

This software implements penetration limit equations for common micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) shield configurations, windows, and thermal protection systems. Allowable MMOD risk is formulated in terms of the probability of penetration (PNP) of the...

Briefs

Test & Measurement

Measuring Impact Damage to Toughened CFRP Laminates with Time Domain Reflectometry

Laminated Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites are very effective in weight saving in aeronautical structural components. For these laminated...

Articles

Motion Control

Linear Guide Systems Streamline Aircraft Seat Assembly and Operation

When airline passengers travel in coach class, expectations are fairly low with regard to comfort. For example, most seats only offer two positions: straight for takeoff and landing, and a slight recline for the journey. Coach seats are relatively simple and lightweight structures compared to their more sophisticated counterparts in business class, first class, and super first class. Whereas a coach seat weighs approximately 100 pounds, seats in higher classes weigh 200 to 300 pounds each, depending on their features.