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Sensors/Data Acquisition

Tests Show How Plastic Parts Deform During Flight

Scientists have conducted flights using a measurement configuration based on fiber optics to accurately verify the degree to which carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) parts deform during...

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Transportation

Bombardier C Series Taking off in Europe

In early March, Bombardier said that it had started month-long CS100 aircraft route-proving exercises in Europe. The dedicated CS100 is operated by Bombardier from launch operator Swiss Air Line’s...

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Transportation

Aurora Developing Distributed Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System for VTOL X-Plane

Aurora Flight Sciences has officially made it to Phase 2 of DARPA’s Vertical Takeoff and Landing Experimental Plane (VTOL X-Plane) program and will be...

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Software

Probing Ways to Dampen Sonic Boom

One of the reasons there is not a supersonic plane flying in and out of an airport near you is because of that not-so-little thing known as a sonic boom. And that particular reason also has a lot to do with...

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RF & Microwave Electronics

Vehicle Development Heads into the Cloud

Connectivity continues to transform the automotive industry, forcing product development teams to join the movement to cloud computing. The many cloud service providers are playing an increasingly...

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Defense

Researchers Design Bat-Inspired Wings for Micro Air Vehicles

Researchers from the University of Southampton have designed innovative membrane wings inspired by bats, paving the way for a new breed of unmanned Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) that have...

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Aerospace

Armed Forces Are Developing Laser Weapons

Responding to lawmakers' questions about how close the Army is to developing offensive and defensive directed-energy weapons, Mary J. Miller responded: "I believe we're very close." Miller, deputy...

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Aerospace

Electric Patch Holds Promise for Treating PTSD

An average of 30 years had passed since the traumatic events that had left them depressed, anxious, irritable, hypervigilant, unable to sleep well and prone to nightmares. But for 12 people who...

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Transportation

Mr. Bond, Your DB11 Is Ready with Aston Martin's Latest Aero Advancements

The new Aston Martin DB11 2+2 unveiled at the Geneva Show introduced a number of new features in an evolution of the V12-powered DB9. Aston Martin speaks of a new...

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Automotive

PSA's E-TENSE Shows Design Cues for Future DS Models

According to the DS E-TENSE design team, the E-TENSE is not really a concept car because it offers a glimpse of design features that will be seen on future production models. One of the...

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Automotive

2017 Audi Q2 Design Inspired by American Football

Audi unveiled the 2017 Q2, its smallest SUV to date, at the 2016 Geneva Show. Riding on VW Group's MQB modular architecture and fitting into the company’s Q-series SUV models below the Q3,...

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Defense

Long-Range Air Force Strategies Include New B-21 Long-Range Bomber

With the Government Accountability Office (GOA) recently ruling in Northrop Grumman’s favor for the contract for the U.S. Air Force’s new long-range strike bomber, which...

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Automotive

Design Validation for Harsh Off-Highway Conditions

The growing role of electronics and software is altering the design process, requiring a greater focus on validation and verification. Tools are evolving to let developers do more tests...

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Manufacturing & Prototyping

SAE Standards Point Way to Service of R-1234yf Systems

The automotive air-conditioning industry changeover to low global warming R-1234yf involves a lot more than new fittings and a more robust evaporator to prevent leakage of the...

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Automotive

EPA's 2021 A/C Refrigerant Rules Accelerate R-1234yf Changeover

The industry transition to a low global-warming-potential (GWP) air conditioning refrigerant, already underway in Europe, moves into high gear in the U.S., as CAFE (Corporate...

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Automotive

GKN Puts Electric-Drive TV System for 2019 on Ice

GKN Driveline systems integration engineer Rainer Brüning was a little disappointed.

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Manufacturing & Prototyping

A High-Level Look at the Global MRO Market

Aerospace and defense (A&D) companies that provide maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) services increasingly find themselves out of their comfort zone as the recent appetite for new...

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Defense

Northrop Grumman Proves SYERS-2 Ready to Graduate from U-2 to RQ-4

Northrop Grumman flew a SYERS-2 (senior year electro-optical reconnaissance systems) intelligence gathering sensor on an RQ-4 Global Hawk, marking the debut of the legacy...

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Green Design & Manufacturing

EasyJet Puts Its Money on a Hybrid Plane Concept

As one of the infamous "low-cost airlines," easyJet has become much more well known as a company that is cost-cutting as opposed to money spending. But in a step toward expanding its cutting...

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Defense

A Tern Toward a Full-Scale VTOL UAV Demonstrator

Communication is key, during war or peace. In this day and age, both require the ability to conduct airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), at will and upon demand. But...

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Aerospace

NASA Uses Electric Propulsion in Experimental Plane

NASA is researching ideas that could lead to developing an electric propulsion-powered aircraft that would be quieter, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly than today's...

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Materials

Graphene Composite Could Keep Wings Ice-Free

A thin coating of graphene nanoribbons in epoxy developed at Rice University has proven effective at melting ice on a helicopter blade. The lab melted centimeter-thick ice from a static...

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Automotive

GM Rechristens Powertrain Unit as ‘Global Propulsion Systems’

In its latest break from its storied but perceptually stodgy past, General Motors has renamed its Powertrain division—since 1992 the unit responsible for design,...

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Electronics & Computers

Automakers and Suppliers Crank up Their Interest in Electric Bikes

Automakers and Tier 1s are expanding their view of transportation and its potential profit centers. They're rolling out battery-powered electric bicycles that let drivers...

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Automotive

Nissan Readies Light-Duty Version of Titan Pickup

At February’s Chicago auto show, Nissan revealed the 2017 light-duty (half-ton) version of the Titan pickup as the promised follow-up to the 2016 Titan XD quasi-commercial model that...

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Transportation

Volvo's New Plug-In XC90 Is Really a Tri-Motor

Unusually for an OEM, Volvo Cars is being a bit modest about its new XC90 plug-in hybrid, describing it as the T8 Twin Engine. But technically the 2016 PHEV is, in aerospace parlance, a...

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Transportation

Kia's 2017 Niro Hybrid CUV Targets Sub-90 G/km CO2 Emissions

A novel hybrid-electric powertrain debuting on the 2017 Kia Niro subcompact CUV targets sub-90 g/km CO2 emissions and combined highway/city 50 mpg fuel economy.

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Robotics, Automation & Control

Robotic Falcon Captures and Retrieves Renegade Drones

Michigan Technological University is developing a drone catcher that could pursue and capture rogue drones that might threaten military installations, air traffic, sporting events —...

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Aerospace

Cockroach-Inspired Robots Open Doors for Military Missions

Supported by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, University of California-Berkeley researchers have developed a small, crawling robot that mimics a cockroach's ability to squeeze through...

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