DAQ, Testing & Sensors

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Miniature Rotorcraft Flight Control Stabilization System

Autonomous rotorcraft provide improved capability in performing military missions such as reconnaissance, targeting, border patrol, and environmental sensing. A common difficulty in...

Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Man-Wearable Control Units for Military Robotics

It is no secret that robots are rapidly asserting themselves in today's military applications. For the duration of the Iraq War, robots have roamed the streets of Baghdad, Fallujah, and other...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Characterization of a MEMS Directional Sound Sensor

There is a wide range of potential military applications in which ambiguity in bearing occurs with respect to sound. For example, autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) could employ a...

Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Digital Light Control Simplifies Focal Plane Array Testing and Image Sensor Production

Characterization of the performance of image sensors and image sensor systems is critical to success in many defense and security applications. From image...

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Cracking of Aluminum Panels Repaired With Composite Patches

An experimental study of the mechanical behavior of cracked aluminum specimens repaired with composite-material patches has yielded findings that may eventually contribute to the...

Briefs: Physical Sciences

Improvements in Measurement of Permeability and Permittivity

The two-transmission method is an improved method of determining, from microwave measurements, the complex permeability and complex permittivity of a sample of a material typified...

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Detecting Explosives by Use of LIBS

Laser-induced breakdown spectros - copy (LIBS) has been investigated for potential utility as a means of detecting trace amounts of chemical explosives and residues thereof in lawenforcement, forensic...

Briefs: Information Technology

Fusion of Image- and Inertial-Sensor Data for Navigation

Amethod of real-time fusion of readout data from electronic inertial and image sensors for passive navigation has been developed. By "passive navigation" is meant navigation without...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Effect of Laser Noise on an Analog RF/Photonic Link

Aset of equations has been formulated to enable quantification of several aspects of the performance of an analog photonic communication link as affected by laser noise. A procedure for...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Delta-Sigma UHF Digital Waveform Generator

A prototype Digital Waveform Generator (DWG) in the ultra-high-frequency (UHF) range uses Delta-Sigma (Δ−Σ) modulation techniques, which permit arbitrary and accurate waveform...

Briefs: Information Technology

Multiscale Virtual Design and Testing of Materials

Progress has been made in research on several fronts in an effort to develop computational simulation capabilities for use in virtual design and testing of advanced structural materials. It...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Life Tests of a Microwave MEMS Capacitive Switch

Life tests have demonstrated the longevity of an electrostatically actuated capacitive switch of a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) type suitable for handling radio signals having...

Briefs: Physical Sciences

Measuring Corrosion-Related Properties of Coupled Metals

Amethod and apparatus have been conceived for using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for determining rates of corrosion of coupled metals. EIS has been used heretofore for...

Briefs: Physical Sciences

Scaling of Flight Tests of Unmanned Air Vehicles

A program of research has addressed a methodology of scaling of flight tests of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) intended primarily for military use in observing and/or attacking targets on the...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Small-Scale Combustion-Chamber Testing Facility

A small-scale combustion-chamber testing facility has been designed and partly built for use in evaluating advanced combustor designs for future gas turbine engines. The specific model...

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Dense Functionalized-Nanowire Biosensor Arrays

Progress has been made in the development of compact sensor arrays containing molecular electronic devices for detecting molecules of interest (especially biomolecules) with high sensitivity and...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Photonic Analog-to-Digital Converters

Early steps have been taken toward the development of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) that would incorporate photonic quantizers based on the technology of InP semiconductors. These photonic ADCs are...

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Nanosensor Arrays for Detecting Breast-Cancer Compounds

Arrays of nanosensors for detecting biomolecules associated with breast cancer are undergoing development. It has been proposed to construct the arrays as silicon-based large-scale...

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Thermal Design and Analysis of a Rocket-Engine TAN Injector

A subscale thrust - augmented - nozzle (TAN) rocket engine was designed, built, and hot-fire tested to demonstrate the validity of the TAN concept. As described in more detail in...

Briefs: Information Technology

Data Fusion for Space Situational Awareness

Satellites greatly enhance US defense operations; however, these key assets are vulnerable to perils such as space weather and acts of aggression. Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine the...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Composites Design and Structural Analysis Tool

AFRL researchers developed a unique design and structural analysis tool for composite materials, and they subsequently transitioned their product to manufacturers of helicopters and other...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Surface-Emitting Laser Arrays Bring Light to the Top

Laser diodes are an integral part of everyday life, incorporated into commonplace items as diverse in function as laser pointers, fiber-optic communications systems, and DVD players....