Sensors
Robotic instruments provide real-time data on Maine red tide
May 8, 2013 12:36 pm | News | Comments
A robotic sensor that won an R&D 100 Award in 2009 has been put to use by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Gulf of Maine coastal waters to monitor the way red tides behave. These harmful algal blooms, which generate a potentially fatal toxin, can be a challenge to track or predict. The Environmental Sample Processors have been remotely deployed and should simplify and enhance this effort.
Record-breaking high-energy particles detected by telescope buried in Antarctic
May 17, 2013 12:26 pm | News | Comments
A massive telescope buried in the Antarctic ice has detected 28 extremely high-energy...
Flawed diamonds promise sensory perfection
May 10, 2013 9:34 am | News | Comments
A team of scientists have improved the performance of one of the most potent possible...
Engineers fine-tune the sensitivity of nano-chemical sensor
May 8, 2013 1:42 pm | News | Comments
Researchers in Illinois have discovered a technique for controlling the sensitivity of graphene...
Open Photonics, VTT collaborate on spectral engine technologies
April 3, 2013 3:09 pm | News | CommentsOrlando-based photonics technology acceleration company Open Photonics Inc. and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have announced a partnership to accelerate the commercialization of VTT’s advanced Fabry-Perot visible and infrared spectroscopy and spectral imaging technologies.
High-efficiency neutron imaging detector features new oblique design
March 31, 2013 6:53 pm | News | CommentsTo increase the neutron detection efficiency of bulk-micromegas (MICRO-MEsh GAseous Structure) neutron detectors, researchers from China and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville have proposed three new types of thin-film converters: micro-channel, parallel micro-pillar, and oblique micro-pillar 2D array. When validated using Monte Carlo simulations, the latter design showed a threefold increase in neutron detection efficiencies.
Wireless sensor diagnoses “stressed” machines remotely
March 20, 2013 10:18 am | News | CommentsSingapore company Hoestar PD Technology is working with that country’s leading research organization, A*STAR, to deploy wireless piezoelectric sensors that will track vibrations and stresses that affect the health of machinery such as motors, pumps and generators. The size of a coin, the sensors increase productivity by saving time, reducing manual checking, and offering precision at detecting defects.
Wireless, implanted sensor broadens range of brain research
March 19, 2013 3:31 pm | News | CommentsA compact, self-contained sensor recorded and transmitted brain activity data wirelessly for more than a year in early stage animal tests, according to a recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health. In addition to allowing for more natural studies of brain activity in moving subjects, this implantable device represents a potential major step toward cord-free control of advanced prosthetics that move with the power of thought
Peratech working on “nose in clothes" for wearable electronics
March 18, 2013 10:49 am | News | CommentsTouch technology company is working with the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London to develop wearable electronics that use Peratech's QTC sensors. This years-long research project is exploring the needs base and applications for wearable technology bringing together the expertise of industry and academe in a highly creative way.
Engineers make vibration sensor in the quantum world
March 18, 2013 9:21 am | News | CommentsResearchers in France and Germany have found a way to combine both carbon nanotubes with magnetic molecules on the atomic level to build a quantum mechanical system that acts as a vibration sensor. In their experiment the researchers used a carbon nanotube that was mounted between two metal electrodes, spanned a distance of about 1 µm, and could vibrate mechanically.
Waves generated by Russian meteor recorded in U.S.
March 7, 2013 10:44 am | News | CommentsWhile thousands of earthquakes around the globe are recorded by seismometers in these stations—part of the permanent Global Seismographic Network (GSN) and EarthScope's temporary Transportable Array (TA)—signals from large meteor impacts are far less common. The meteor explosion near Chelyabinsk on Feb. 15, 2013, generated ground motions and air pressure waves in the atmosphere. The stations picked up the signals with seismometers and air pressure sensors, and recorded the pressures waves as they cross the United States.
College tests fingerprint purchasing technology
February 22, 2013 10:28 am | by Amber Hunt, Associated Press | News | CommentsFuturists have long proclaimed the coming of a cashless society, where dollar bills and plastic cards are replaced by fingerprint and retina scanners. What they probably didn't see coming was its debut not in Silicon Valley but at a small state college in remote western South Dakota. Two shops on the campus are performing one of the world's first experiments in “biocryptology”, a mix of biometrics—using physical traits for identification—and cryptology—the study of encoding private information.
New imaging device is flexible, flat, and transparent
February 20, 2013 12:20 pm | News | CommentsA research team in Austria has developed an entirely new way of capturing images based on a flat, flexible, transparent, and potentially disposable polymer sheet. The new imager, which resembles a flexible plastic film, uses fluorescent particles to capture incoming light and channel a portion of it to an array of sensors framing the sheet. With no electronics or internal components, the imager’s elegant design makes it ideal for a new breed of imaging technologies.
Affordable sensor could detect a single molecule of carbon dioxide
February 4, 2013 9:20 am | News | CommentsCurrent sensors used to detect CO2 at surface sites are either very expensive or they use a lot of energy. And they’re not as accurate as they could be. Researchers in Canada are working on single nanowire transistors that could bring sensor technology up to speed with other technologies required for carbon capture and storage.
Experiment to reshape future of atmospheric science
January 17, 2013 8:38 am | by Kathryn Hansen, NASA | News | CommentsNASA scientists and engineers are working now to lay the groundwork for the Aerosol-Cloud-Ecosystem (ACE) mission, which will change what we can learn about clouds and aerosols. To that end, the Polarimeter Definition Experiment (PODEX) in Southern California will soon commence, testing a new class of polarimeters that are especially suited for finding the type, shape, and size of particles in the upper atmosphere.
Robofish glides with the greatest of ease
January 17, 2013 8:15 am | News | CommentsMichigan State University scientists have made a number of improvements on their robotic fish, which now has a name: Grace. The fish also now has the ability to glide through the water practically indefinitely, using little to no energy, while gathering valuable data that can aid in the cleaning of our lakes and rivers.
Toyota tests cars that communicate with each other
November 12, 2012 4:45 pm | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsToyota Motor Corp. is testing car safety systems that allow vehicles to communicate with each other and with the roads they are on in a just completed facility in Japan. The size of three baseball stadiums, the Intelligent Transport System site hosts a fleet of cars that receive information from sensors and transmitters installed on the streets. The sensors help to minimize the risk of accidents in situations such as missing a red traffic light, cars advancing from blind spots, and pedestrians crossing the street.
Tooth “tattoo” sensor may help dentists assess patients' oral health
November 9, 2012 8:58 am | by David Levin, Tufts University | News | CommentsA sensor invented by Tufts University bioengineers, when attached temporarily to a tooth, could one day help dentists fine-tune treatments for patients with chronic periodontitis, for example, or even provide a window on a patient’s overall health. The thin foil-like sensor is built from gold, silk, and graphite, has a built-in antenna to receive power and signals, and is applied directly to a tooth.
Power supply for sensors created with a printer
November 7, 2012 9:13 am | News | CommentsWireless sensor networks monitor machinery and equipment in factories, cars and power stations. They increasingly “harvest” the energy they need to transmit measurement data from the environment, thus making them self-sufficient. At the Electronica 2012 trade fair, researchers will present a printed thermogenerator, which they say will be able to generate energy supply for sensors through temperature differences.
Versatile optomechanical sensors aid atomic force microscopy
October 25, 2012 2:25 pm | News | CommentsResearchers from NIST have developed on-chip optomechanical sensors for atomic force microscopy (AFM) that extend the range of mechanical properties found in commercial AFM cantilevers, potentially enabling the use of this technology to study a wide variety of physical systems.
Acidification recorder recovered from icy Antarctic waters
October 19, 2012 10:23 am | News | CommentsA research team from the University of California, Santa Barbara and Portland State University has retrieved a sensor containing previously unavailable data about changes in chemistry or acidification in the remote waters of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. The device collected data through June, when the battery expired in the harsh polar sea.
Spider silk’s hidden talents may produce eco-friendly optics
October 11, 2012 12:25 pm | News | CommentsAt this week’s Frontiers in Optics 2012, physicists are presenting possible applications based on research that uses natural spider silk to catch light. Recent findings could present an eco-friendly alternative to glass or plastic fiber optics: the traditional materials for manipulating light. Silk-enabled implantable biosensors, lasers, and microchips could result.
