Modular, Portable, and Reconfigurable Wireless Sensing System

Monday, February 01 2010

This system records environmental conditions in an aircraft cabin to create a database for determination of normal conditions.

A modular, portable, reconfigurable wireless sensor system monitors and records environmental conditions in an aircraft cabin. By designing a sensor system that can be easily configured for different needs (with the ability and flexibility to accommodate different/ extra sensors), the system can be used to measure parameters that meet multiple research requirements. Through design considerations such as generalized signal interface, and hierarchical code structure that can be easily reworked for new sensors, this system can be used to measure parameters that meet multiple research requirements. This sensor system, the ASCENT 1000, is configured with temperature, humidity, sound level, carbon di-oxide, and pressure sensors. The system has been calibrated in the laboratory without the use of a pressure chamber.

This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).

Modular, Portable, and Reconfigurable Wireless Sensing System (reference FAA-0001) is currently available for download from the TSP library.

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This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).

Modular, Portable, and Reconfigurable Wireless Sensing System (reference FAA-0001) is currently available for download from the TSP library.

Login first to download.

 

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Metallic Foam Reduces Airplane Noise

Monday, March 01 2010

For people who live around airports, noise created by planes can cause a disturbance. Researchers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, OH have been working with metallic foam that is installed around an engine to reduce noise. The firm foam, crafted from stainless steel, looks like a tightly compacted honeycomb made of silver metal, and feels uniform on the surface — gently abrasive, like a fine-grained pumice stone. “This is an open cell foam, which is mostly air. The foam is formed by ligaments — like a sponge that you use in your kitchen, except the ligaments are metal,” according to Glenn engineer, Cheryl Bowman.

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Designing the Next Generation of Military Robots

Monday, February 01 2010

Many recent blockbuster films and best-selling books depict the robotic apocalypse and have shed a negative light on military robotics. However, not all unmanned system development is aimed toward building autonomous machines that spy on foreign nations or neutralize enemy threats. The United States Department of Defense (DoD) continues to aggressively invest in developing unmanned systems and technologies because robots can perform the tasks that are too dull, dirty, or dangerous to warrant warfighter intervention.

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Advancing Automotive Design With Innovative Collaboration

Monday, March 01 2010

The automotive industry has faced hardships in recent times, but it can and will survive by renewing itself through innovation. After enduring a $14.6 billion loss in 2008, Ford reported a $2.7 billion profit in 2009 and applied for a total of 119 patents for the 2010 Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid. Clearly, now more than ever, inventive thinking is key to any automaker’s success. In the process, automotive engineers have not gone it alone — collaborations with various scientific disciplines continue to inspire and reinvent the design of safer and more efficient vehicles.

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