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News Imaging
How NASA Tracks the Asteroids Flying by Earth
On Wednesday, April 19, an asteroid missed Earth by 1.1 million miles – a distance closer than you might think. This week, Tech Briefs spoke with NASA’s Planetary Defense Officer about the...
INSIDER Sensors/Data Acquisition
Heated Concrete Could Pave the Way for Ice-Free Runways
Iowa State University tested slabs of electrically conductive concrete at Des Moines International Airport. The test slabs are made up of 1 percent carbon fiber and a special mix of...
INSIDER Imaging
Fragment Tracking Gives Insights Into What Happens In Explosions
A bang and a swirl of dust from detonating 9 pounds of plastic explosive in the desert signaled the beginning of tests that — thanks to advances in high-speed cameras,...
INSIDER Photonics/Optics
Software Gives Bomb Techs X-Ray Vision
In the chaos that followed the terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon, bomb squads scanned packages at the scene for explosive devices. Two homemade pressure cooker bombs had killed three people...
INSIDER Aerospace
NASA Shines Lasers on Future Aircraft Concept
As NASA aeronautics engineers prepare to develop a series of greener, quieter, faster X-planes, they are already testing concepts that could be candidates. One of those is a Boeing blended wing...
INSIDER Defense
Shrinking the Inside of an Explosion
Testing explosions is epic science. The most detailed studies of explosive charges have been conducted at national laboratories using a gun as big as a room to fire a flat bullet – the flyer plate,...
INSIDER Defense
Researcher Creates System to Control Robots With the Brain
A researcher at Arizona State University has discovered how to control multiple robotic drones using the human brain. A controller wears a skull cap outfitted with 128 electrodes...
INSIDER Sensors/Data Acquisition
Advances in Vision-Aided Navigation Keep Soldiers on Track
The Army Materiel Command’s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, or CERDEC, is using miniature cameras to create vision-aided navigation...
Articles Photonics/Optics
Seeing the Light
In order to meet the requirements of current-generation military ruggedized displays and monitors, various technology innovations have been developed that allow for an enhanced user experience. Accommodating all of these needs...
INSIDER Test & Measurement
New Technique Could Improve Detection of Concealed Nuclear Materials
Researchers have demonstrated proof of concept for a novel low-energy nuclear reaction imaging technique designed to detect the presence of “special nuclear materials”...
Briefs Unmanned Systems
Undersea Communications Between Submarines and Unmanned Undersea Vehicles in a Command and Control Denied Environment
Nuclear powered submarines can stay submerged for days at a time and only have to come to periscope depth (PD) for...
Articles Sensors/Data Acquisition
Next Generation FPGAs for Electronic Warfare Systems
Designers of virtually all electronic warfare system applications exploit CPUs and FPGAs, each offering unique strengths and advantages for handling a wide range of tasks. This diversity...
INSIDER Aerospace
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...
News RF & Microwave Electronics
Airbus Streamlines Fiber Optic Cable Repair Process
Airbus put together what it describes as a transnational, transfunctional team to develop an efficient new method to repair fiber optic cables.
Articles Sensors/Data Acquisition
Fighting for Life in Military Markets
Visits to the Seville headquarters of Airbus Defence & Space (Airbus DS) have often reflected stormy prospects for the company’s large-capacity A400M Atlas transport, which has suffered cost...
INSIDER Imaging
NASA Takes First Steps Toward Drone Traffic Management
NASA recently successfully demonstrated rural operations of its unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) traffic management (UTM) concept, integrating operator platforms, vehicle performance, and ground infrastructure. The next steps involve further validation through Federal Aviation Administration...
INSIDER Test & Measurement
New Methods Detect and Predict Fatigue-Related Aircraft Cracks
Researchers are developing tools and technology to detect the formation of cracks in aircraft components and monitor their progression. The team is conducting comprehensive...
INSIDER Photonics/Optics
Armor Plating Has Built-In Transparent Ceramic Eyes
Protecting yourself usually involves a tradeoff. If you want maximum physical protection, whether from biting predators or exploding artillery shells, it generally compromises your ability to...
Articles Defense
Developing Secondary Surveillance Radar Automated Test Equipment
Unlike primary radars, Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) calculates the range and azimuth of a target, such as an aircraft, using a bidirectional communication link to gather...
Briefs Photonics/Optics
Structural Composites with Tuned EM Chirality
Work on structural composites with tunable chiral elements has produced electronically tunable overall chiral composites, mechanically tunable chiral composites, flat lenses with soft hyperbolic...
INSIDER Aerospace
"Fused Reality" Combines Simulation and Flying to Train Pilots
There are two ways for pilots to gain proficiency in an airplane and evaluate its handling qualities: climb into the cockpit and take off, or practice in a ground-based simulator....
NASA Spinoff Photonics/Optics
Radio Relays Improve Wireless Products
In order to transmit communications through Earth’s atmosphere, satellites and space vehicles need radio equipment that can operate at higher frequencies than on Earth. These higher frequencies, until...
INSIDER Test & Measurement
NASA Tests New Green Propellants for Satellites
To stay in the proper orbit, many satellites have thrusters – small rocket engines – that fire to change altitude or orientation in space. On Earth, where gravity dominates, five pounds of...
INSIDER Aerospace
NASA System Would Enable Unmanned Aircraft to Fly in US Airspace
NASA, working with government and industry partners, is testing a system that would make it possible for unmanned aircraft to fly routine operations in United States airspace. The...
Articles Defense
Stand-Off Scanning and Pointing with Risley Prisms
With the ever increasing threat of improvised explosive devices, both in the military arena and the civilian realm, there is a growing demand for technologies with the ability to detect...
Application Briefs Photonics/Optics
Embedded Computing Subsystems
GE Intelligent Platforms Huntsville, AL 1-800-433-2682 www.geautomation.com GE’s Intelligent Platforms division recently secured orders from General Dynamics UK valued at £64 million (~$100 million) to provide a...
Articles Aerospace
Controlling the Seas: Introducing a New Concept in Autonomous Surface/Underwater Vehicles
The boundary between the sea and sky is an important place to be. It’s the critical connecting layer for commercial and military information exchange...
Technology Update Aerospace
EOS and MTU Advance Quality Measures for Metal-Based Additive Manufacturing
EOS and MTU Aero Engines have partnered to develop quality-assurance measures for metal engine components using additive manufacturing (AM), signing a framework...
INSIDER Medical
Quantum Radar Detects “Invisible” Objects
A prototype quantum radar has the potential to detect objects that are invisible to conventional systems. The new breed of radar is a hybrid system that uses quantum correlation between microwave...
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INSIDERDefense
New Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Agreements Expand Missile Defense Production
NewsAutomotive
Ford Announces 48-Volt Architecture for Future Electric Truck
INSIDERManufacturing & Prototyping
Active Strake System Cuts Cruise Drag, Boosts Flight Efficiency
ArticlesTransportation
Accelerating Down the Road to Autonomy
INSIDERMaterials
How Airbus is Using w-DED to 3D Print Larger Titanium Airplane Parts
Road ReadyTransportation
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Electronics & Computers
Cooling a New Generation of Aerospace and Defense Embedded...
Power
Battery Abuse Testing: Pushing to Failure
Connectivity
A FREE Two-Day Event Dedicated to Connected Mobility
Automotive
Quiet, Please: NVH Improvement Opportunities in the Early Design Cycle
Transportation
Advantages of Smart Power Distribution Unit Design for Automotive &...
Aerospace
Sesame Solar's Nanogrid Tech Promises Major Gains in Drone Endurance