Aug 2008 NTB

Welcome to your Digital Edition of
NASA Tech Briefs and

Motion Control Technology
Included in This August Edition:
NASA Tech Briefs Motion Control Technology
August 2008 www.techbriefs.com Vol. 32 No. 8
August 2008
Selecting the Optimal

Vision Equipment to Meet
Automation Needs ......................IIa
Machine Vision Advances Benefit
Motion Applications ........................4a
Vision Advances Improve Optical
Inspection ....................................8a
Cognex Machine Vision
System Helps Meister Reduce
Part Defects ...............................10a
IDS Camera Automates
Inspection ..................................12a
New Products ............................13a
Cover image courtesy of IDS Imaging

Development Systems. See page 12a.
Three Strategies for

Building Efficient Test Systems
National Manufacturing Week
Product Preview
Handheld Ultrasonic Instrument Reads
Matrix Symbols
Motion Control Technology™
tion
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efs.co
echbri
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August 2008 www.techbriefs.com Vol. 32 No. 8
Three Strategies for

National Manufacturing Week
Product Preview
Handheld Ultrasonic Instrument Reads
Matrix Symbols
Motion Control Technology™
➮
➭
Green Engineering
Powered by National Instruments
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Analyze power quality and consumption Prototype next-generation energy technologies
Present measured data to adhere to regulations Deploy advanced controllers to optimize existing equipment
For more than 30 years, National Instruments has empowered engineers and scientists to measure, diagnose, and solve
some of the world’s most complex challenges. Now, through the NI graphical system design platform, engineers and scientists
are using modular hardware and flexible software to not only test and measure but also fix inefficient products and processes
by rapidly designing, prototyping, and deploying new machines, technologies, and methods. Today, a number of the world’s
most pressing issues are being addressed through green engineering applications powered by NI products.
>> Download green engineering resources at ni.com/greenengineering 800 890 1345
©2008 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved. National Instruments, NI, and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments.
Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 2008-9267-104-101
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August 2008 • Vol. 32 No. 8
FEATURES
12 Three Strategies for Building Efficient xx

Test Systems
16 Application Briefs
72 NASA TechNeeds
8
SOLUTIONS
65
18 Technology Focus: Data Acquisition
18 Hand-Held Ultrasonic Instrument for Reading Matrix Symbols
18 Visual Data Analysis for Satellites
72
20 Two-Camera Acquisition and Tracking of a Flying Target
24 Customizable Digital Receivers for Radar
26 A Data Type for Efficient Representation of Other Data Types
28 Semiconductors & ICs DEPARTMENTS

28 Lower-Dark-Current, Higher-Blue-Response CMOS Imagers
8 UpFront
30 Electronics/Computers
30 Broadband Microstrip-to-Coplanar Strip Double-Y Balun
10 Who’s Who at NASA
32 A Topographical Lidar System for Terrain-Relative Navigation
34 Electronic Switch Arrays for Managing Microbattery Arrays
37 Technologies of the Month
36 Programmable Low-Voltage Circuit Breaker and Tester
70 NASA’s Innovative Partnerships Program
38 Manufacturing & Prototyping
38 Fabricating Large-Area Sheets of Single-Layer Graphene
71 Advertisers Index
by CVD
40 Heat Transfer Analysis for Optimizing Solar Cell Casting
Equipment NEW FOR DESIGN ENGINEERS
44 Software 65 Product Focus: National Manufacturing

44 Support for Diagnosis of Custom Computer Hardware Week Exhibitor Preview
44 Providing Goal-Based Autonomy for Commanding a Spacecraft
44 Dynamic Method for Identifying Collected Sample Mass 66 New Products/Software
44 Optimal Planning and Problem-Solving
45 Attitude-Control Algorithm for Minimizing Maneuver
Execution Errors
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
45 Grants Document-Generation System
August 2008
1a — 14a
46 Materials
Selecting the Optimal Motion Control Technology™
46 Precipitation-Strengthened, High-Temperature, High-Force
Motion Applications. ......................4a
Shape Memory Alloys Follows page 36 in selected editions only.

Inspection ....................................8a
Part Defects ..............................10a
Inspection ..................................12a
New Products ............................13a
48 Heat-Storage Modules Containing LiNO3•3H2O and Cover image courtesy of IDS Imaging
Graphite Foam
50 Mechanics/Machinery /motion
fs.com
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50 Improved Relief Valve Would Be Less Susceptible to Failure www.t
(Solutions continued on page 6)
4 www.techbriefs.com NASA Tech Briefs, August 2008
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COMSOL. Solves for magnetostatics,
EM waves, temperature and thermal
stress simultaneously.
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ofluidics
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fluids and solids Polymer mechanics
• Polymer
• Bioengineering Resistive and inductive
• Resistive inducttive heating
• Electr
ro
omechanical machinery
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• Fluid-structur
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➮
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Contents continued
51 Using Composite Materials in a Cryogenic Pump
PRODUCT OF THE MONTH
53 Safety Modification of Cam-and-Groove Hose Coupling
iMonitor 2.0 software from
54 Bio-Medical Aegis Software (Horsham, PA)
lets manufacturers monitor
54 Using Electronic Noses to Detect Tumors During factories and processes via
Neurosurgery the Web.
55 Producing Newborn Synchronous Mammalian Cells
56 Physical Sciences
8
56 Smaller, Lower-Power Fast-Neutron Scintillation Detectors
57 Particle-Charge Spectrometer ON THE COVER
59 Rotationally Vibrating Electric-Field Mill
60 Estimating Hardness From the USDC Tool-Bit The European Organization for Nuclear Research, more
Temperature Rise commonly known as CERN, is the world’s largest particle
physics laboratory. CERN houses the Large Hadron
Collider (LHC), a particle accelerator that crashes beams
62 Information Sciences of ions or protons either together or into other targets.
The LHC, which is more than 88,000 feet in circumference
62 Automated Production of Movies on a Cluster of and is buried up to 500 feet underground, is capable of
Computers producing head-on collisions between particle beams
traveling at close to the speed of light. CERN uses hardware
and software from National Instruments (Austin, TX) to measure and
64 Books and Reports control, in real time, the position of bulk components to absorb energetic
64 FIDO-Class Development Rover particles out of the nominal beam core. Find out about other test and
measurement strategies in the feature article beginning on page 12.
64 Tone-Based Command of Deep Space Probes Using
Ground Antennas (Image courtesy of CERN and National Instruments)
This document was prepared under the sponsorship of the National Aeronautics and Space Permissions: Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or
Administration. Neither Associated Business Publications Co., Ltd. nor the United States personal use of specific clients, is granted by Associated Business Publications, provided that
Government nor any person acting on behalf of the United States Government assumes any the flat fee of $3.00 per copy be paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (222 Rose
liability resulting from the use of the information contained in this document, or warrants that Wood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923). For those organizations that have been granted a photocopy
such use will be free from privately owned rights. The U.S. Government does not endorse any license by CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. The fee code for users of the
commercial product, process, or activity identified in this publication. Transactional Reporting Service is: ISSN 0145-319X194 $3.00+ .00
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6 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/15136-705 NASA Tech Briefs, August 2008
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Accelerating the pace of engineering and science
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A Help Us Celebrate
egis Software, Horsham, PA,
has introduced iMonitor 2.0
software that enables manu- NASA’s 50th
facturers to create real-time dash-
boards to monitor their enterprise,
factory, and processes through Web
N ASA turns 50 in October!
As part of our special
anniversary coverage in the
browsers. It provides interactive pro- October issue of NASA Tech
duction tracking, materials, utiliza- Briefs, we invite our readers to
tion, alarm, line condition, tooling share how NASA and this mag-
life, and quality dashboards, which azine have inspired you. How
are constructed by dragging and have NASA and NTB helped in
dropping gauges, charts, and other your career or business, or
elements into a design view, along improved your life? What other benefits have you
with user-provided graphics such as line pictures or plant drawings. derived from NASA technologies and programs?
The software operates like a Web site — users link gauges or charts in Submit your story at www.techbriefs.com/inspired
one dashboard to another, creating a dashboard site structure. Users by September 3. If we publish it in the October issue,
can create unlimited numbers of dashboards and store them for view- Tech Briefs Media Group, publishers of NASA Tech
ing on the Web. Briefs, will send you a NASA wall poster or calendar as a
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/15136-120 thank-you.
NASA Nano Sensor Helps Detect Biohazards This Month in NASA

History
A nanotechnology-based biosensor devel-
oped by NASA’s Ames Research Center in
Moffett Field, CA, detects trace amounts of T his year, as NASA celebrates its 50th
anniversary, we’ll be highlighting tech-
bacteria, viruses, and parasites. The sensor has nology innovations and important
been licensed to Early Warning Inc. of Troy, moments in NASA history, leading to our
NY, which will use the sensor to prevent the special 50th Anniversary Issue in October.
spread of potentially deadly biohazards in This Month in NASA History: On August
water, food, and other sources. 7, 1959, NASA launched the Explorer 6
Initially, the sensor will be configured to satellite, which returned the first crude TV
detect the presence of common and rare images of Earth from space. Explorer 6
strains of microorganisms associated with was a small, spheroidal satellite designed
water-borne illnesses and fatalities. Said Meyya to study trapped radiation of various ener-
Meyyappan, chief scientist for exploration gies, galactic cosmic rays, geomagnetism,
A prototype of the NASA-developed technology at NASA Ames, “The biosensor radio propagation in the upper atmos-
nanotechnology-based biosensor
licensed to Early Warning for biohazard makes use of ultra-sensitive carbon nanotubes, phere, and the flux of micrometeorites. It
detection. (NASA) which can detect biohazards at very low levels.” also tested a scanning device designed for
He explained that “when biohazards are pres- photographing the earth’s cloud cover.
ent, the biosensor generates an electrical signal, which is used to determine the One of the satellite’s VHF transmitters
presence and concentration levels of specific microorganisms in the sample. failed on September 11, 1959, and the last
Because of their tiny size, millions of nanotubes can fit on a single biosensor chip.” contact with the payload was made on
Early Warning predicts that food and beverage companies, water utilities, indus- October 6, 1959. A total of 827 hours of
trial plants, hospitals, and airlines could use the biosensor to prevent outbreaks of analog and 23 hours of digital data
illnesses caused by pathogens without the need for a laboratory or technicians. The was obtained.
company plans to launch their water-testing products later this year. Learn more about these events at www.
For more information, visit http://info.hotims.com/15136-123. techbriefs.com/upfront/nasa50.
Next Month in NTB

T he September issue of NASA Tech Briefs will include a feature on industrial and rugged computing technology, and a
Product Focus on new software.
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Who’s Who at NASA
Laser Sensors
for displacement,
position & dimension Bill Thigpen, Engineering Branch Chief,
NASA’s Advanced Supercomputing Division,
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
A s Engineering Branch
Chief for NASA’s Ad-
vanced Supercomputing
NTB: What are Columbia’s current
performance characteristics?
Division, Bill Thigpen led Thigpen: We just ran a benchmark on

the team that built and the system on 23 out of the 24 nodes, and
deployed the 10,240- we got 66.5 teraflops. That places the sys-
processor Columbia su- tem — if the numbers held — number 13
percomputer in just 120 in the world as far as speed. There’s over
days. Columbia is just one of the com- one-and-a-half petabytes of disc storage.
puting resources Bill Thigpen manages. We’re delivering about 1.9 million hours
to NASA every week from Columbia.
Largest Selection NASA Tech Briefs: Can you tell us about
the challenges you faced with the Colum- NTB: What is NASA doing to ensure
Worldwide! bia supercomputer project? that Columbia stays up-to-date?
- Measuring ranges from 2 to 750 mm
- Accuracy <1 m Bill Thigpen: It was done in 120 days, Thigpen: We’re looking at what the
which far exceeded any other system of next generation of system is going to be.
- Resolution <0.03 m its size as far as deployment time goes. We’re looking at a follow-on to Columbia,
- Real time data up to 20 kHz It normally takes several years to put in with the Columbia technology. We’re also
a system this big. As for challenges, one looking at IBM’s next technology, which is
- Models with integrated controller
was keeping the floor operational while the POWER Series computer. And we’re
- Large stand off we were bringing in that much of a sys- also looking at a more standard cluster
- Measurement against any target tem. We were building this system basi- based on the Xeon processor.
cally from one side of the computer
floor to the other, and we were taking NTB: How do you protect the system
out all of the existing systems that from unwanted intruders?
were there.
Thigpen: We’re pretty much attacked
NTB: What types of projects are typi- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have
cally run on Columbia? multiple layers of security that protect
us. There are secure front ends that are
Thigpen: It’s a high-end computing very pared-down UNIX machines, and
resource for the agency overall, so all that’s all that faces the world. You can’t
four mission directorates are running get into Columbia without going
on this system. If you look at the through those secure front ends. It
Science Mission Directorate, which is requires dual-factor authentication to
our largest user, they’re doing both get into the front end and the passwords
earth science and space science. In the change a minimum of once a minute.
www.micro-epsilon.us earth science arena, they’re looking at
things like climate change, ocean mod- NTB: What are some of the technolog-
eling, and earthquake modeling. Any ical challenges facing the Advanced
data that NASA satellites are gathering, Supercomputing Division?
the processing of a lot of that informa-
tion, is occurring on this system. The Thigpen: Being able to harness the
Exploration Systems Mission Direc - multiple cores that are going to be in
torate is our second largest user, and these chips. What the vendors are doing is
they’re doing a lot of work in the next- getting more and more cores per chip.
generation spacecraft, and how we’re The challenge is really going to be extract-
going to get to the Moon and Mars. ing the full capability of those cores.
MICRO-EPSILON
And the Space Operations Mission A full transcript and downloadable pod-
Raleigh, NC 27617 / USA Directorate does a lot of work on safety cast of this interview are available online at
Phone +1/919 787 9707 for the Space Shuttle. [See NASA www.techbriefs.com. For more information, con-
TechNeeds on page 72 for more informa- tact Bill Thigpen at William.W.Thigpen@
info@micro-epsilon.us
tion.] nasa.gov.
Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/15136-708 www.techbriefs.com NASA Tech Briefs, August 2008
➮
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Three Strategies
for Building Efficient
Test Systems
est engineers are facing new pres- procedures, such as cutting down the tem works with parallel operations, such
T sures to develop high-perform-

ance test systems that maximize
efficiency. Despite rapidly increasing
number of tests and purchasing redun-
dant instruments. In the end, there are
proven strategies for maximizing
as Windows Critical Sections, and care-
ful consideration of how to implement
instrument sharing among many UUTs
device complexity, they have to deliver throughput without having to make such without creating conflicts or deadlocks.
higher-speed and lower-cost test systems, sacrifices. By using commercial off-the- An alternative to developing a custom
as well as contribute to corporate sus- shelf (COTS) tools such as multicore parallel test system from scratch is to use
tainability programs. This pressure is processors, PCI Express, field-program- off-the-shelf test management software,
exemplified by the addition of corporate mable gate arrays (FPGAs), and software, which abstracts the low-level complexity
responsibility and sustainability pro- you can create parallel processing and of parallel test system development
grams presented on almost every corpo- parallel measurement systems capable of using built-in features for executing par-
rate Web site. These corporate sustain- testing a single unit under test (UUT) allel test sequences in multiple threads,
ability programs often have goals of with the shortest possible test time. and managing both operating system
reducing energy consumption, carbon For high-volume applications, you can and instrument resources.
footprints, and emissions. further maximize efficiency by adopting
Here are some examples from corpo- a parallel test strategy that simultaneous- Strategy 2:
rate sustainability programs: ly tests multiple UUTs. Parallel test clear- Increase Instrument
• Lockheed Martin adheres to a “Buy ly reduces aggregate test times, increases Longevity through Reuse
Smart, Use Less” business model. test throughput, and improves instru- By developing reusable systems, you
• Flextronics’ goal is to “protect the envi- ment usage (see Figure 1). The com- can maximize instrument utilization
ronment, conserve energy and natural plexity and cost of developing a parallel while extending the life of your test sys-
resources, and prevent pollution by test system has historically been prohibi- tems. By definition, you can reconfigure
applying appropriate management tive. Developing test management soft- (in software) a reusable test system to
practices and technology.” ware that implements the testing of mul- test multiple product generations and
• Delphi has “established goals to fur- tiple UUTs at once requires a low-level even different types of products. With
ther reduce energy usage at our plants understanding of how the operating sys- the short life span of products today, it
around the world.”
• Samsung “will continue to minimize the
use of resources and energy through
clean production technologies.”
Many manufacturing and engineering
teams are now given sustainability tar-
gets with the goal of using resources
more efficiently. This article provides
three proven strategies for increasing
test system efficiency.
Strategy 1:
Reduce Test Times by
Maximizing Instrument
Utilization
Increasing the throughput of an auto-
mated test system produces efficiency
gains. For years, engineers have em-
ployed numerous strategies to extract
more speed from their systems in both
R&D laboratories and on the manufac-
turing floor. These optimization tech- Figure 1. Test efficiency can be maximized by adopting a parallel test strategy that simultaneously
niques have often included brute-force tests multiple UUTs in parallel.
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parable mixed-signal system (composed
of DMMs, oscilloscopes, signal genera-
tors, RF instruments, and digital I/O)
on each platform reveals that a PXI sys-
tem consumes 60% less power than a
rack-and-stack system (see Figure 2).
The primary factor for the difference
in power consumption is that all modu-
lar instruments in a PXI system share the
same power supply, chassis, and con-
troller. Rack-and-stack instruments, how-
ever, duplicate the power supply, chassis,
and controller in every instrument,
which dramatically increases their power
consumption. Because of its reduction
in power consumption, choosing a PXI
system can reduce energy costs by more
than $2,000 USD over five years for each
test system (assuming typical usage of 16
hours/day for 315 days/year).
Companies with more than one
tester realize larger savings. Cost is not
Figure 2. A PXI system with DMMs, signal generators, digital I/O, oscilloscopes, and RF modular instru- always the only reason for reducing
ments uses 60% less power than a comparable rack-and-stack system. energy consumption. In fact, many
organizations that run on electricity
can be wasteful to build testers for spe- tied to specific hardware and channels from fossil fuels are also focusing on
cific generations. However, one of the in your test system, thus increasing the reducing their carbon (CO2) footprints
biggest roadblocks to developing a ease of code and instrument reuse. and emissions. The reduced energy
reusable/flexible tester is the actual test The last step in creating and maintain- consumption by choosing PXI can actu-
system architecture. A modular test sys- ing a flexible system is implementing a ally have a larger impact by reducing
tem architecture helps you gain the system architecture that transparently (CO2) emissions.
maximum reuse because you can: accommodates multiple bus technologies Every PXI system that displaces a rack-
• Incorporate existing/legacy test rou- and uses an open, multivendor hardware and-stack system reduces the CO2 emis-
tines into the new system with minimal platform to achieve I/O connectivity. sion by 5,925 lb./year, which is nearly as
rework. With the proper computer platform and much as half the amount of CO2 emitted
• Introduce future test routines into the driver, application, and test system man- by an automobile. It is estimated that
system without a complete system agement software, you can combine the more than 50,000 PXI systems were
redesign. strengths of many types of instruments, deployed from 1998 through 2006. The
• Quickly replace individual instruments including legacy equipment and special- reduced emissions from these PXI test
and I/O devices. ized devices. It is important to fully recog- systems have effectively reduced the car-
The key step in developing a reusable nize that no single platform or bus tech- bon footprint at a rate equivalent to
test system is to exam your test software nology meets all needs, though each has removing 17,144 cars off the road. The
framework. This includes evaluating unique strengths. impact of the reduced PXI carbon foot-
your software management and develop- print will only increase as the number of
ment tools and studying your test code Strategy 3: deployed PXI systems grows over the
development approach. Understanding Use More Energy-Efficient next five years, based on the forecasted
the importance of modular test software Instrumentation CAGR for PXI.
architectures and how to develop your A recent energy study revealed that It’s likely that an increasing number of
tests as modules, rather than building the nation’s largest energy consumer, manufacturing and engineering teams
stand-alone applications, significantly the U.S. federal government, could save will be given sustainability targets with the
improves your test software reuse. more than $1 billion in power costs over goal of using resources more efficiently.
Selecting test and measurement hard- the next five years by switching to green- Manufacturing test has an evolving role
ware with robust software interfaces is er technologies. to play in helping manufacturers reduce
another important consideration in While the average electronics manu- their impact on the environment by
defining modular software architec- facturing facility may use more energy in increasing throughput, maximizing
tures. Measurement and control services other parts of the process, test still has to reuse, and minimizing test system energy
software provides modular hardware play its part in minimizing energy use. consumption. Test system performance
interfaces for configuring and program- Evaluating the tools test engineers use gains do not come at the expense of sus-
ming your test system through the use of shows that a large portion of the energy tainability; in fact, they help drive it.
virtual channel names, virtual devices, consumption is due to the instrumenta- This article was written by Kevin
and simulation interfaces. Such modu- tion used in a test system. Today, there Bisking, senior product manager for the NI
lar measurement and control services are two major options for building auto- test platform at National Instruments,
driver software helps you avoid develop- mated test systems: PXI and rack-and- Austin, TX. For more information, visit
ing test programs that are permanently stack instrumentation. Analysis of a com- http://info.hotims.com/15136-122.
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Application Briefs
N ASA Probes Gather Solar

Information
STEREO observatories and Solar Probe
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Laurel, MD
240-228-5000
www.jhuapl.edu
NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) is

comprised of two nearly identical spacecraft that were
launched in 2006. They will gather images of the Sun simulta-
neously from different angles. These images will then be com-
bined to produce three-dimensional pictures of coronal mass
ejections. These eruptions can blow 10 billion tons of the Sun’s
atmosphere into space, and can trigger severe magnetic storms
on Earth that cut off electric power and communications.
The STEREO observatories were designed and built for
NASA by Johns Hopkins APL. Critical devices in the design
include star trackers that use computers and star maps to
determine the orientation and pointing accuracy of onboard
instruments. Key devices are thermally isolated from each wind occur. The compact, solar-powered probe would weigh
other by spacers made of a special glass epoxy composite, about 1,000 pounds and would employ a combination of in-
which maintains sufficient strength and insulation properties place and remote measurements. The Solar Probe would trav-
even when temperatures plunge to absolute zero. el past the Sun at 125 miles per second, protected by a carbon-
NASA has also tapped APL to develop the Solar Probe mis- composite heat shield that must withstand up to 2,600°F. APL
sion, which will study the streams of charged particles the Sun will design and build the spacecraft, scheduled to launch in
hurls into space from a vantage point within the Sun’s corona, 2015.
where the processes that heat the corona and produce solar For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/15136-116
S pacecraft Leak Detection System

Uses Ultrasonic Sensors
Spacecraft leak detection system
Invocon
Conroe, TX
281-292-9903
www.invocon.com
NASA has selected a spacecraft leak detection system from

Invocon that would sense and locate air leaks in pressurized space
stations or lunar habitat modules caused by micrometeoroid and
space debris impact events. Low-cost, ultrasonic sensor arrays
developed by Iowa State University are used in the system. The
spacecraft structure would be monitored for leak-generated, sur- The sensor arrays are to be integrated with Invocon’s bat-
face-borne ultrasound by means of a flexible and modular elec- tery-powered, miniaturized, stick-on ultrasonic sensory nodes
tronics package with fully integrated data sensors, data acquisition that are all synchronized within a wireless network. The signal
electronics, and radio frequency communication capabilities. conditioning circuit design is capable of operation in the
Quickly and automatically locating a leak will improve the micro-watt range, while constantly maintaining the capability
safety of the crew, and also increase the likelihood of being to process and acquire ultrasonic signals. Such performance
able to repair the leak, thereby avoiding the potential loss of a can provide operating lifetimes of more than 10 years on a sin-
portion of the spacecraft or habitat. Through cooperation with gle AA battery. Micro-sensor units developed by Invocon have
nearby sensors, the leak detection system will determine the previously been flown on the space shuttle and International
approximate location of a leak using triangulation techniques, Space Station.
and then provide that information to the crew. For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/15136-117
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Technology Focus: Data Acquisition
Hand-Held Ultrasonic Instrument for Reading Matrix Symbols

All necessary functions would be performed within a compact package.
Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama
A hand-held instrument that would
include an ultrasonic camera has been
proposed as an efficient means of read-
ing matrix symbols. The proposed
instrument could be operated without
mechanical raster scanning. All elec-
tronic functions from excitation of ultra-
sonic pulses through final digital pro-
cessing for decoding matrix symbols
would be performed by dedicated cir-
cuitry within the single, compact instru-
ment housing.
The instrument (see figure) would
be placed on a selected area on an
object of interest believed or suspected
to contain a matrix symbol (hereafter An Ultrasonic Camera and associated electronic circuitry would generate and decode a video image
denoted, simply, the target). Intimate of a matrix symbol hidden below the surface of the target.
contact for the purpose of coupling of
low-energy ultrasound would be of the chip into a useful video format to that used in a commercial bar-
ensured by use of either a flexible mem- and would coordinate timing between code reader. Upon observing a
brane camera face or a replaceable gel the transducer pulses and the acquisi- matrix symbol in the video display,
pad. Ultrasound pulses would be trans- tion and processing of image data. The the operator would press a trigger
mitted from a transducer, through the system is fully portable and battery pow- switch to activate the decoder. The
membrane or gel pad, into the target. A ered. The instrument includes the fol- output of the decoder could be
portion of each ultrasonic pulse, as lowing other boards: made available to a data-collection
modified by any matrix symbol present • A pulser board would control the cur- system for recording of the informa-
in the target, would be reflected rent pulses that drive the acoustic tion in the matrix symbol.
through the membrane or gel pad to an transducer. This work was done by Harry F. Schramm
ultrasound-imaging integrated-circuit • A board comprising a liquid-crystal of Marshall Space Flight Center; Robert S.
chip, which would convert the resulting display unit and its driver circuitry Lasser and John P. Kula of Imperium, Inc.;
spatial variation of ultrasound pressure would enable display of the video and John W. Gurney and Ephraim D. Lior
to voltages that could be used to con- image in the future. It could include formerly of Imperium, Inc. For more informa-
struct a video image of the matrix sym- a decoder board that would translate tion, contact Sammy Nabors, MSFC
bol (if any). the video image of a matrix symbol Commercialization Assistance Lead, at
A set of circuit boards above the ultra- into a recognizable set of binary sammy.a.nabors@nasa.gov. MFS-31782-1
sound-imaging chip converts the output data. This board would be identical
Visual Data Analysis for Satellites

Stennis Space Center, Mississippi
The Visual Data Analysis Package is a quality control, statistical analysis, and analysis includes the calculation of the
collection of programs and scripts that data visualization. relative error, the absolute error, and
facilitate visual analysis of data available The Hierarchical Data Format the root mean square error. Other
from NASA and NOAA satellites, as well (HDF) satellite data extraction routines capabilities include curve fitting
as dropsonde, buoy, and conventional from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory through the data points to fill in miss-
in-situ observations. The package fea- were customized for specific spatial cov- ing data points between satellite passes
tures utilities for data extraction, data erage and file input/output. Statistical or where clouds obscure satellite data.
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Data Acquisition
For data visualization, the software pro- Inquiries concerning rights for its commer-
vides customizable Generic Mapping cial use should be addressed to:
Tool (GMT) scripts to generate differ- Mississippi State University
ence maps, scatter plots, line plots, vec- P.O. Box 6156
Mississippi State, MS 39762-5368
Any Sensor. tor plots, histograms, time-series, and
color fill images. Phone No: (228) 688-1157
This program was written by Yee Lau, E-mail: fitz@gri.msstate.edu
Any Project. Sachin Bhate, and Patrick Fitzpatrick of the Refer to SSC-00266-1, volume and number
GeoResources Institute at Mississippi State of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the
NI Data Loggers University for Stennis Space Center. page number.
Two-Camera Acquisition and Tracking of

a Flying Target
An unanticipated moving target can be automatically spotted
and tracked.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
A method and apparatus have been camera in the approximate direction
developed to solve the problem of of the target. Next, the narrow-field-of
automated acquisition and tracking, view camera locks onto the target
NI C Series from a location on the ground, of a image, and thereafter the gimbals are
Data-Logging Family luminous moving target in the sky. The actuated as needed to maintain lock
method involves the use of two elec- and thereby track the target with pre-
tronic cameras: (1) a stationary cam- cision greater than that attainable by
I PC-connected or era having a wide field of view, posi- use of the stationary camera.
stand-alone deployment tioned and oriented to image the Figure 1 shows a prototype of the
entire sky; and (2) a camera that has a apparatus. The stationary, wide-field-of-
I Expandable I/O from much narrower field of view (a few view camera includes a fish-eye lens
four to 250+ channels degrees wide) and is mounted on a that projects a full view of the sky (the
two-axis gimbal. The wide-field-of-view full 360° of azimuth and the full 90° of
I Rugged devices with stationary camera is used to initially elevation) onto a 512×512-pixel image
long-lasting durability identify the target against the back- detector of the active-pixel-sensor type.
ground sky. So that the approximate The gimballed narrow-field-of-view
I Multiple mounting and position of the target can be deter- camera contains a charge-coupled-
sensor connectivity options mined, pixel locations on the image- device (CCD) image detector. The
detector plane in the stationary cam- apparatus also includes circuitry that
era are calibrated with respect to digitizes the image-detector outputs
azimuth and elevation. The approxi- and a computer that processes the
mate target position is used to initially image data and generates gimbal-con-
aim the gimballed narrow-field-of-view trol commands.
>> See NI data loggers
in action at
ni.com/dataloggers
800 327 9894
©2007 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved.

National Instruments, NI, and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments.
Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of
their respective companies. 2007-9346-301-101 Figure 1. This Prototype Apparatus was built and tested, yielding the images shown in Figure 2.
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Data Acquisition
The stationary, wide-field-of-view cam- location of the target is determined, to

era repeatedly takes pictures of the sky. within a fraction of a pixel, as a bright-
In processing of the image data for each ness-weighted average pixel location. By
ISS
successive frame period, the immediately use of a straightforward transformation
preceding frame is subtracted from the that utilizes the image-detector-plane cal-
current frame, so that all that remains in ibration, the target location is converted
the image is what has changed between to azimuth and elevation coordinates,
the two successive frames. Hence, if then by use of another calibrated trans-
there is a moving luminous target, it formation, the azimuth and elevation
manifests itself in the processed image as coordinates are converted to gimbal
a bright spot on a dark background (see commands for initial aiming of the nar-
Figure 2). The moving target is detected row-field-of-view camera. ALL-SKY IMAGE BEFORE FRAME SUBTRACTION
computationally as a spot of pixels Once the narrow-field-of view camera The ISS is concealed by glare from the horizon
brighter than a set threshold level. The has been initially aimed and has acquired
ISS
ALL-SKY IMAGE AFTER FRAME SUBTRACTION

The ISS is clearly visible. The bright patch at the
left is from trees moving in wind near
light sources
ISS
IMAGE IN GIMBALLED NARROW-FIELD-OF-

VIEW CAMERA
Figure 2. Images of the International Space

Station (ISS) were acquired by the prototype
apparatus and used to track the ISS as it moved
across the sky.
an image of the target, the apparatus

switches into a tracking mode. In this
mode, the gimbal commands are formu-
lated to move the image of the target
toward the center of the CCD image
plane.
This work was done by Abhijit Biswas,
Christopher Assad, Joseph M Kovalik,
Bedabrata Pain, Chris J. Wrigley, and Peter
Twiss of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory. For more information, down-
load the Technical Support Package (free
white paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp
under the Physical Sciences category. NPO-
45237
➮
➭
➮
➭
Data Acquisition
Customizable Digital Receivers for Radar

These receivers are unusually compact and versatile.
Compact, highly customizable digital mounted directly on the antenna ele- interface between (1) the rest of the
receivers are being developed for the sys- ments. receiver and (2) a front-panel data port
tem described in “Radar Inter ferometer The figure depicts the overall system (FPDP) bus, which is an industry-stan-
for Topographic Mapping of Glaciers of which the digital receivers are parts. dard parallel data bus that has a high-
and Ice Sheets” (NPO-43962), NASA Each digital receiver includes an analog- data-rate capability and multichannel
Tech Briefs, Vol. 31, No. 7 (August 2007), to-digital converter (ADC), a demulti- configuration suitable for DBF.
page 72. In the original intended appli- plexer (DMUX), and a field-program- Still other parts of the FPGA in each
cation, there is a requirement for 16 mable gate array (FPGA). The ADC receiver perform signal-processing func-
such receivers, each dedicated to, and effects 10-bit band-pass sampling of tions. The design exploits the capability
mounted directly on, one antenna ele- input signals having frequencies up to of FPGAs to perform high-speed pro-
ment in a 16-element array. The 3.5 GHz. (In the original intended appli- cessing and their amenability to cus-
receivers are required to operate in uni- cation, the input signals would be inter- tomization. There is ample space avail-
son, sampling radar returns received by mediate-frequency signals obtained able within the FPGA to customize it to
the antenna elements in a digital beam- through down-conversion of signals implement such application-specific,
forming (DBF) mode. The design of from a radio frequency of several tens of real-time processes as digital filtering
these receivers could also be adapted to gigahertz.) The input samples are and data compression. To afford addi-
commercial radar systems. At the time demultiplexed at a user-selectable rate tional operational flexibility and to
of reporting the information for this of 1:2 or 1:4, then buffered in part of the enable use of a receiver in other appli-
article, there were no commercially FPGA that functions as a first-in/first-out cations, the design also includes a provi-
available digital receivers capable of sat- (FIFO) memory. Another part of the sion for an additional “drop-in” circuit
isfying all of the operational require- FPGA serves as a controller for the ADC, board containing analog amplification
ments and compact enough to be DMUX, and FIFO memory and as an and filtering circuitry. Such boards,
Input 16 Receiver 16
Input 2 Receiver 2
Receiver 1
Control &
Input 1 Processing
ADC DMUX
Parts of
FPGA
Aggregator
(Serial FPDP
Interface)
Computer Timing Signal

Control
Part of Serial Data Bus
Configuration Data FPGA
Digital Receivers in an array sample and preprocess input signals from antenna elements. The receiver outputs are coupled in turn onto the parallel data bus.
➮
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© Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2008
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which are relatively simple and inexpen- through which configuration data can be quencies than could otherwise be uti-
sive, can be easily exchanged by the user communicated. lized. In so doing, band-pass sampling
to modify center-frequency, bandwidth, The data on the bus are aggregated enables elimination of an additional
and signal-level parameters. and then sent to a data-acquisition down-conversion stage that would other-
The digital receivers can be configured (DAQ) subsystem by means of a serial wise be needed, thereby reducing the
to operate in a stand-alone mode, or in a FPDP interface that, like each receiver, design size of the receiver. This design
multichannel mode as needed for DBF. In contains an FPGA that serves partly as a approach also eases filtering constraints
the multichannel/DBF mode, the receivers FIFO memory and partly as a control and, in so doing, reduces the required
are made to take turns in transmitting sam- unit. The DAQ subsystem stores the data sizes of filters.
pled data onto the bus. The bus port on onto a hard-disk array for postprocess- The customizability of the receiver
each receiver adheres to the FPDP-II stan- ing. In its role as a control unit, this makes it applicable to a broad range of
dard, which supports an aggregate data FPGA sends timing and configuration system architectures. The capability for
rate of 400 MB/s. While the primary role of information to each of the 16 receivers. operation of receivers in either a stand-
the FPDP bus is to transmit sampled data Although band-pass sampling is a alone or a DBF mode enables the use of
from receivers to a data-storage unit, the widely applied technique, heretofore, it the receivers in an unprecedentedly
bus can also be used to transmit configura- has been little used in radar systems. The wide variety of radar systems.
tion data to the receivers. The bus also use of band-bass sampling in the present This work was done by Delwyn Moller,
enables the receivers to communicate with receiver design is what makes it possible Brandon Heavey, and Gregory Sadowy of
one another — a capability that could be to achieve compactness: Band-pass sam- Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
useful in some applications. Each receiver pling makes it possible to feed, as input For more information, contact iaoffice@
is also equipped with an RS-232 interface, to the ADC, signals having higher fre- jpl.nasa.gov. NPO-45539
A Data Type for Efficient Representation of Other Data Types

Some obstacles to programming of parallel computers are removed.
A self-organizing, monomorphic data obstacles. In so doing, the sequence data the option of causing its basic opera-
type denoted a sequence has been con- type provides unified means by which the tions to be coded in line for maximal
ceived to address certain concerns (sum- programmer can represent a data struc- efficiency.
marized below) that arise in program- ture for natural and automatic decompo- The underlying representation of a
ming parallel computers. [“Sequence” as sition to a parallel computing architecture. sequence is a hybrid of representations
used here should not be confused with Sequences exhibit the behavioral and composed of vectors, linked lists, con-
“sequence” as the word is commonly structural characteristics of vectors, but nected blocks, and hash tables. The inter-
understood or with “sequence” as used the underlying representations are auto- nal structure of a sequence can automati-
elsewhere to denote another, polymor- matically synthesized from combinations cally change from time to time on the
phic data type that is also relevant to com- of programmers’ advice and execution basis of how it is being used. Those por-
puter programming.] A sequence in the use metrics. Sequences can vary bidirec- tions of a sequence where elements have
present sense can be regarded abstractly tionally between sparseness and density, not been added or removed can be as
as a vector, set, bag, queue, or other con- making them excellent choices for many efficient as vectors. As elements are
struct. A sequence is defined in terms of kinds of algorithms. The novelty and inserted and removed in a given portion,
the behavior of the operators that can be benefit of this behavior lies in the fact then different methods are utilized to
applied to it without any foreknowledge that it can relieve programmers of the provide both an access and memory strat-
of the underpinnings of its representa- details of implementations. egy that is optimized for that portion and
tion or particular implementation. The creation of a sequence enables the use to which it is put.
Heretofore, in programming a parallel decoupling of a conceptual representa- This work was done by Mark James of
computer, it has been necessary for the tion from an implementation. In Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
programmer to state explicitly, at the out- essence, a sequence is a fundamental In accordance with Public Law 96-517, the
set, what parts of the program and the extension of a vector. In the most gener- contractor has elected to retain title to this
underlying data structures must be repre- al case, the length and internal structure invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its
sented in parallel form. Not only is this of a sequence can be changed during commercial use should be addressed to:
requirement not optimal from the per- run time, enabling the efficient addition Innovative Technology Assets Management
spective of implementation; it entails an and removal of elements around given JPL
additional requirement that the program- positions. Because sequences are not Mail Stop 202-233
mer have intimate understanding of the subject to predefined limits in length, 4800 Oak Grove Drive
underlying parallel structure. Often, it is they can be used equally to store small Pasadena, CA 91109-8099
not possible to have such understanding and large collections of elements. (818) 354-2240
because hardware and software are Sequences have efficient representa- E-mail: iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov
designed simultaneously. The present tions in both time and space for given Refer to NPO-41090, volume and number
sequence data type overcomes both the patterns of use. When the use pattern of of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the
implementation and parallel-structure a sequence is simple, then the user has page number.
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Semiconductors & ICs
Lower-Dark-Current, Higher-Blue-Response CMOS Imagers

Semiconductor junctions are relocated away from Si/SiO2 interfaces.
Several improved designs for
n– Implant n– Implant
complementary metal oxide/semi- p+ Implant n+ Implant p+ Implant n+ Implant
Reset Gate Reset Gate
conductor (CMOS) integrated- p– Implant
circuit image detectors have been Field Oxide

Field
Oxide Field Oxide
Field
Oxide
Field
Oxide
developed, primarily to reduce
Double n Well n Well
dark currents (leakage currents)
and secondarily to increase p-Doped Epitaxial Silicon p-Doped Epitaxial Silicon
responses to blue light and
increase signal-handling capaci- Bias Line
ties, relative to those of prior n– Implant n– Implant
–
+
p Implant +
n Implant p Implant n+ Implant
CMOS imagers. The main con- p– Implant
Reset Gate
p+ Implant
Gate Reset Gate
clusion that can be drawn from a Field Field

Field Oxide Field Oxide
Oxide Oxide
study of the causes of dark cur-
rents in prior CMOS imagers is n Well n Well
that dark currents could be

p-Doped Epitaxial Silicon p-Doped Epitaxial Silicon
reduced by relocating p/n junc-
tions away from Si/SiO2 inter-
faces. In addition to reflecting TWO PIXEL DESIGNS — FIRST APPROACH TWO PIXEL DESIGNS — SECOND APPROACH
this conclusion, the improved These Cross Sections of a Pixel in a CMOS imager represent four designs that provide for reduction of dark cur-
designs include several other fea- rents in different ways.
tures to counteract dark-current
mechanisms and enhance performance. such implants are undesirable because doped epitaxial silicon. The near-sur-
The left half of the figure illustrates they contain high electric fields, which face junction provides increased
two of the improved designs, in which p- give rise to significant tunneling cur- response to blue light because blue pho-
doped implants are added, variously, rents, which, in turn, are components of tons are absorbed close to the surface.
underneath and/or at the edges of the dark currents. In these designs, p- In addition, the double junction increas-
field oxide regions. These implants hold implants are added at the surfaces to tai- es the pixel capacitance, thereby impart-
the Si/SiO2 interfaces in thermal equi- lor the doping from p+ accumulation ing larger signal-handling capacity to a
librium and prevent generation of dark layers to n+ source layers, thereby reduc- pixel. This increase in capacitance is par-
current at the interfaces. In covering the ing tunneling currents. ticularly beneficial in an imager having
field oxide, the p implants separate the Two of the improved designs illustrated small pixels, wherein the limited size of
p/n junctions from the Si/SiO2 inter- in the right half of the figure follow an photodiodes causes pixel capacitance to
faces, so that the interfacial component alternative approach to tailoring appro- be extremely small.
of the dark current (which is the major priate transitions between surface p+ This work was done by Bedabrata Pain,
component) is greatly reduced. accumulation layers and n+ source layers. Thomas Cunningham, and Bruce Hancock
Beyond a certain electric strength, the In this approach, field oxide regions or of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion
leakage current depends very strongly on gates are positioned to separate the p+ Laboratory.
the strength of the electric field. In order and n+ regions. A gate separating the p In accordance with Public Law 96-517,
to reduce electric fields in the reverse- and n regions can be DC-biased to pre- the contractor has elected to retain title to this
biased junctions, the p wells are separat- vent conduction of current underneath invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its
ed from the n wells. A double n well in the gate, thereby providing sufficient iso- commercial use should be addressed to:
each pixel is preferred, both for lation between the p and the n regions. Innovative Technology Assets Management
increased photocarrier-collection effi- Alternatively, instead of being DC-biased, JPL
ciency and for tailoring the doping so the p/n-separating gate in each pixel can Mail Stop 202-233
that the electric field in the transition be electrically tied to the reset gate of that 4800 Oak Grove Drive
region between p+-to-n-well region is low. pixel to obtain a more-compact layout. Pasadena, CA 91109-8099
For electrical connections to the pho- According to each of these designs, a (818) 354-2240
todiodes, which also act as the sources of double p/n junction is formed in each E-mail: iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov
reset field-effect transistors, n+ implants pixel: one junction near the surface Refer to NPO-41224, volume and number
are necessary. Unfortunately, the p+/n+ between the p+ and the n well, the other of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the
junctions heretofore associated with in the bulk between the n well and the p- page number.
➮
➭
➮
02256 ServSel_NASA.indd 1
➭ 7/3/08 7:51:33 AM
Electronics/Computers
Broadband Microstrip-to-Coplanar Strip Double-Y Balun

This balun is compact, broadband, and can be fabricated easily.
A new version of the double-Y balun, input impedance of 100 Ω. Various sions, the double-Y balun transitioning
transitioning from an unbalanced versions of the double-Y balun have from a coplanar waveguide (CPW) to
microstrip to a balanced coplanar strip been investigated in previous literature CPS was found to exhibit the widest
(CPS) line, has been designed to feed a for use with balanced mixers and bandwidth of operation while having
complementary spiral antenna with an pulsed antennas. Of the previous ver- little metal content (attractive for use
Microstrip Taper CPS Open Via

CPS Taper
1.27 cm 1.27 mm
1.17 mm
Balun Junction 100-Ω Load
4.65 cm
1.27 mm
1.83 mm
CPS Short (Top View)

MAGNIFIED DETAIL
Microstrip
Open
CPW Microstrip
1.17 mm
Balun Junction
(Bottom View)
MAGNIFIED DETAIL
Figure 1. The New Double-Y Balun, shown here in top and bottom views, is designed to feed a 100-Ω complementary spiral antenna (balun is manufac-
tured on 0.635-mm thick substrate). The panels on the right are expanded views showing greater detail.
4.0 0
-1.0
3.0
-2.0
S21 (dB)
Momentum
VSWR
Momentum Measured
Measured -3.0
2.0
-4.0
1.0 -5.0
0 4 8 12 0 4 8 12
Frequency, GHz Frequency, GH
Figure 2 Preliminary VSWR and Insertion Loss Data: (a) Plot of measured vs. computed VSWR is shown for the double-Y balun in Figure. 1 terminated with
a 100-Ω load resistor and (b) a plot of measured vs. computed insertion loss is shown for the balun in back-to-back configuration.
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Agi
Agilent
ggilent
eent
ntt Techn
TTechnologies,
echn
chnnologi
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olo ieess Inc
IInc.
nc 22008
0008
0008
08
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in ground-penetrating radar applica- nances, thereby improving passband can be reduced further by reducing
tions). However, the double-Y balun performance. reflections from the balun junction and
transitioning from a CPW to CPS Figure 1 illustrates the new version of load resistor. Also, the balun is seen to
requires coplanar waveguide bridges at the double-Y balun designed to feed a exhibit an insertion loss of less than 1.5
the junction; the inductive behavior of complementary spiral antenna. Panels dB up to 12 GHz. Further work involves
the bridges, in addition to CPW para- on the right illustrate an expanded view characterizing the balun’s performance
sitic resonances, degrades the pass- of the balun junction. Preliminary volt- when feeding a complementary spiral
band performance of the balun. age standing-wave ratio (VSWR) and antenna.
The new double-Y balun transitions insertion loss data are illustrated in This work was done by Jaikrishna
from a microstrip line with truncated Figure 2. Measured data were com- Venkatesan of Caltech for NASA’s Jet
ground plane to a CPS line. The pared with numerical results computed Propulsion Laboratory. For more information,
balun does not employ CPW lines; using Momentum. It is seen that the download the Technical Support Package
hence, CPW bridges are not required balun exhibits a VSWR of less than 1.5 (free white paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp
at the junction. In addition, the balun from 400 MHz to 8 GHz and a VSWR of under the Electronics/Computers category.
does not exhibit CPW parasitic reso- less than 1.8 up to 13 GHz. The VSWR NPO-42763
A Topographical Lidar System for Terrain-Relative Navigation

Demand for memory is reduced by digitizing over a limited altitude range.
An imaging lidar system is being terrain, navigating aircraft with respect Such systems are commercially available
developed for use in navigation, relative to terrain and military applications. The and often denoted simply as topograph-
to the local terrain. This technology will system has been field-tested aboard a ical or topographic lidar systems. As in
potentially be used for future spacecraft helicopter in the Mojave Desert. other imaging lidar systems, a gim-
landing on the Moon. Systems like this The use of imaging lidar systems to balled, actuated mirror is used to raster-
one could also be used on Earth for generate digital data sets equivalent to scan a narrow laser beam across a field
diverse purposes, including mapping topographical maps is well established. of view, the laser beam is emitted in
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short laser pulses, the pulses are reflect- were only available with very limited the acquisition of data is limited to an
ed from the terrain, and the distance to memory. Also, it was desirable to limit altitude range 100 m wide in the follow-
the terrain in a given direction is deter- the amount of data to be transferred ing way: Initially a pulse is emitted and
mined from the total time of flight from between the digitizer and the mass stor- digitized over an altitude range of 5 km.
the emission of the outgoing pulse to age between individual frames. One of This process is repeated four more times,
the receipt of the reflected pulse. Then the novelty design features of this system and the median time of the first return
the combination of direction (azimuth was to design the system around the lim- pulse of all five measurements is comput-
and elevation angles associated with the ited amount of memory of the digitizer. ed as the distance from which to expect
mirror orientation) and the range (dis- The system is required to operate over an future laser pulse to be reflected. A dis-
tance) for each such direction constitute altitude (distance) range from a few tance of 50 m is subtracted from the
raw data that can be used to generate a meters to ≈1 km, but for each scan across expected distance and the resulting dis-
topographical map of the terrain. the full field of view, the digitizer memo- tance is fed as a programming input to a
When this system was designed, digitiz- ry is only able to hold data for an altitude programmable-delay pulse generator,
ers with sufficient sampling rate (2 GHz) range no more than 100 m. Therefore, which is triggered by the outgoing laser
pulse and which, in turn, turns on the
digitizer after the programmed delay.
Thus, the digitizer is started at 50 m
before the expected receipt of the return
pulse. The digitizer then operates over
an altitude interval of 100 m; it is stopped
at 50 m after the expected return of the
receipt of the return pulse.
This work was done by Carl Christian
Liebe, Gary Spiers, Randy Bartman,
Raymond Lam, James Alexander, James
Montgomery, Hannah Goldberg, Andrew
Johnson, Patrick Meras, and Peter Palacios of
Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
For more information, download the
Technical Support Package (free white
paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the
Electronics/Computers category. NPO-
44586
Electronic Switch
Arrays for
Managing
Microbattery Arrays
MANUAL PROGRAMMABLE Array circuitry is dynamically
MODELS MODELS configured to optimize
STARTING AT STARTING AT performance and disconnect
00 00 defective elements.
$1,995 $2,595
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, California
Integrated circuits have been invent-
ed for managing the charging and dis-
charging of such advanced miniature
energy-storage devices as planar arrays
of microscopic energy-storage elements
[typically, microscopic electrochemical
cells (microbatteries) or microcapaci-
tors]. The architecture of these circuits
Visit our website to request a product demo. enables implementation of the following
Toll Free: 1-877-322-7693 energy-management options:
• Dynamic configuration of the ele-
www.aspowertechnologies.com ments of an array into a series or paral-
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Discharging
Charging
Switch
Charging
Switch
Satellite
Switch
Power Design
Simplified
Discharging Discharging
Switch Switch
Load
Power for
Energy-Storage Discharging Energy-Storage
Charging
Element 1 Switch Element 2
Charging
Switch
Discharging
Switch
Charging
Switch
Discharging
Switch Mx Series Platform
Two Energy-Storage Elements can be connected, individually or together in series or parallel, to the
power source or the load by closing or opening the appropriate subset of switching transistors. This
example has been greatly oversimplified for the sake of illustrating the basic principle; a typical prac-
tical circuit would contain many more energy-storage elements and switches.
lel combination of banks (subarrays), Also included in the integrated cir-

each array comprising a series or paral- cuit, but omitted from the figure for
lel combination of elements; the sake of simplicity, is circuitry for
• Direct addressing of individual banks monitoring and controlling charging
for charging and/or discharging; and and discharging. The control and mon-
• Disconnection of defective elements itoring circuitry, the switching transis-
and corresponding reconfiguration of tors, and interconnecting metal lines
the rest of the array to utilize the are laid out on the integrated-circuit
remaining functional elements to chip in a pattern that registers with the
obtain the desired voltage and current array of energy-storage elements. There
performance. is a design option to either (1) fabricate The MA & MB series of triple
One of the reasons for fabricating the energy-storage elements in the cor- output DC-DC converter design
microbattery and microcapacitor arrays responding locations on, and as an inte- platforms offers low noise power
is that the array form affords partial gral part of, this integrated circuit; or performance in an open board
immunity to defects in individual ener- (2) following a flip-chip approach, fab- assembly construction for sen-
gy-storage elements. Defective energy- ricate the array of energy-storage ele- sitive RF equipment onboard
storage elements act as loads on the ments on a separate integrated-circuit
spacecraft.
functional ones, thereby reducing the chip and then align and bond the two
capacity of an overall array. By enabling chips together.
FEATURES
the disconnection of defective elements This work was done by Mohammad
and reconfiguration of the rest of the Mojarradi, Mahmoud Alahmad, Vinesh • Bus Voltage Range: 20 to 100VDC
array, the present invention offers practi- Sukumar, Fadi Zghoul, Kevin Buck, Herbert
• Two Power Levels:
cal means to realize this partial immuni- Hess, Harry Li, and David Cox of Caltech for
ty. In addition, the invention provides NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For more MA at 5W, MB at 15W
for interrogating individual cells and information, download the Technical • Triple Output: Each can be
banks in the array and charging them at Support Package (free white paper) at configured from 3.3V to 15V
the current-vs.-time or voltage-vs.-time www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the Elec-
characteristics needed for maximizing tronics/Computers category. • Low Output Noise <1 mVRMS
the life of the array. In accordance with Public Law 96-517, • CS Rejection >95db
An integrated circuit according to the the contractor has elected to retain title to this
invention consists partly of a planar invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its For more information call 1.800.919.7898
array of field-effect transistors that func- commercial use should be addressed to: or visit us at www.irf.com/hirel
tion as switches for routing electric Innovative Technology Assets Management
power among the energy-storage ele- JPL
ments, the power source, and the load Mail Stop 202-233
(see figure). To connect the energy-stor- 4800 Oak Grove Drive
age elements to the power source for Pasadena, CA 91109-8099
charging, a specific subset of switches is (818) 354-2240
closed; to connect the energy-storage E-mail: iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov
elements to the load for discharging, a Refer to NPO-43318, volume and number of
different specific set of switches is this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the page THE POWER MANAGEMENT LEADER
closed. number.
NASA Tech Briefs, August 2008 www.techbriefs.com Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/15136-724
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Programmable Low-Voltage Circuit Breaker and Tester

This system could also detect some faults before turning on power.
John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida
An instrumentation system that would descent, and landing. The system could The circuit breaker in this system
comprise a remotely controllable and also be adapted to similar use aboard air- could be set open or closed and could be
programmable low-voltage circuit break- craft. In comparison with remotely con- monitored, all remotely. Trip current
er plus several electric-circuit-testing trollable circuit breakers heretofore could be set at a specified value or could
subsystems has been conceived, original- commercially available, this system be made to follow a trip curve (a speci-
ly for use aboard a spacecraft during all would be smaller, less massive, and capa- fied trip current as a function of time).
phases of operation from pre-launch ble of performing more functions, as In a typical application, there might be a
testing through launch, ascent, orbit, needed for aerospace applications. requirement to set a lower trip current or
lower trip-curve values to protect circuits
during initial testing, and to set a default
Continuous higher trip current during subsequent
pre-launch and launch operations.
Time & Frequency Measurements In the open state of the circuit break-
er, one of the circuit-testing subsystems
with Zero-Dead Time could obtain electrical-resistance read-
ings on the load side as indications of
whether faults are present, prior to
switching the circuit breaker closed.
Should a fault be detected, another cir-
cuit-testing subsystem could perform
time-domain reflectometry, which
would be helpful in locating the fault.
On the power-line side, still another
circuit-testing subsystem could take a
voltage reading, as an indication of
whether the proper voltage is present,
prior to switching the circuit breaker
closed.
The system would be contained in a
housing, with input, output, and
data/control connectors on the rear sur-
NEW CNT-91 Timer/Counter/Analyzer face. All monitoring, control, and pro-
Ultimate Speed, Resolution & Analysis gramming functions would ordinarily be
performed from a remote console. On
the front surface, there would be a push-
Perform Ultra High Resolution Save Test Time button switch for optionally locally setting
Measurements • Continuous data streaming during, the circuit breaker in the open or closed
• 50 ps single-shot time interval not after, measurements state, plus a lamp that would provide a
resolution local visual indication of whether the cir-
• Up to 20 GHz range, burst
• 12 digits/sec frequency resolution measurements down to 20 ns cuit breaker was in the open (initially
set), closed, or open (tripped) state.
View Advanced Graphic Analysis • 250,000 meas/sec to internal 3,5M The aforementioned monitoring, test-
in Real-Time total result memory
ing, state-setting, and trip-current-set-
• Graphic display of jitter, histograms, • Up to 15,000 meas/sec over GPIB ting functions would be effected by cir-
trend and modulation and USB
cuitry on an integrated-circuit card
• Modulation domain analysis to 20 inside the housing. Also on the card
GHz with TimeView SW would be (1) input and output circuitry
for remote monitoring and control and
(2) a tag random-access memory as an
electronic means of identifying the sys-
Pendulum Instruments tem by serial number, location, a refer-
- Experts in Time & Frequency Calibration, Measurement and Analysis ence designation, and operational char-
Phone: 510-428-9488 (USA/Canada) +46 8 598 510 55 (Worldwide) acteristics.
www.pendulum-instruments.com This work was done by Terry Greenfield of
ASRC Aerospace Corp. for Kennedy Space
Center. For further information, contact the
Kennedy Innovative Partnerships Program
Office at (321) 861-7158. KSC-12742
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Platform Technology for Dispelling Light Sources

Electromechanical Position Sensor
Philips
Licensing Technology Network Philips is offering an innovative technology to dispel

humans (and animals) from an area where they are unwant-
This technology provides an efficient and cost-effective way ed. The new and patented dispelling light source (DLS) con-
to measure absolute position in one or two dimensions using a cept is based on disturbance of humans and/or animals using
new Point Coupled Linear Transformer (PCLT). The PCLT photosensitive stimuli. When switching a DLS system to the
detects movement and position on flat or curved surfaces. The specifically programmed flickering mode, it directly induces
nature of its design provides the sensor with excellent linearity, negative psychological and/or physiological effects such as
its DC output voltage allowing it to be used as a direct drop-in aversion, discomfort, dazzling, disorientation, fear, or
replacement for other position sensors. malaise. As a direct result, humans and/or animals will be dis-
To date, inductive sensors (LVDT/RVDT/LVIT) have dom- pelled from the site. Proper selection of the flicker frequency
inated the market, but they have certain limitations that can avoids triggering of photosensitive epilepsy.
be overcome by this new technology. Namely, PCLTs can be DLS-suitable lighting systems comprise high-pressure gas
used to measure a position on flat or curvilinear surfaces, and discharge lamps, where the high-pressure sodium lamp
can also be extended to 2D measurements, whereas LVDTs are exhibits a particular provocative effect. A strong feature of
limited to 1D position sensing. PCLT also has a 90% stroke-to- DLS systems is its dual-mode operation: the system operates
length range, which is 30% better than LVDTs. This could in the normal application-dependent illumination mode
result in a 30 to 60% weight reduction of the sensor. until the system driver is externally triggered by a proximity
Get the complete report on this technology at: detector. Once humans and/or animals have been dispelled,
www.techbriefs.com/tow/200808a.html the system switches back to normal lamp operation.
Email: nasatech@yet2.com Get the complete report on this technology at:
Phone: 781-972-0600 www.techbriefs.com/tow/200808b.html
Email: nasatech@yet2.com
Phone: 781-972-0600
TechNeeds — Requests for Technologies

TechNeeds are anonymous requests for technologies that you and your organization may be able to fulfill.
Responding to a TechNeed is the first step to gaining an introduction with a prospective “buyer”
for your technology solution.
Gripping Hand or Chuck Technology for Natural Technology for Food Preservation
Automated Applications Technologies are sought that will provide a natural method
A company is seeking unique technologies for automated for extending shelf life, the prevention of food deterioration
hand, chuck, and grip product assembly applications (not (oxidation and/or spoilage), and growth of pathogenic
CNC machining). Multiple sizes of gripping device are micro-organisms along the full chain of fresh or processed
acceptable for different sized parts. The chuck or hand tech- food. The solution could be effective at any stage, from feed-
nology should be general purpose in nature, and show versa- stock to point of processing, through to consumer use. It
tility in its ability to grip or manipulate parts of various forms could be a new natural preservative (plant extract, food-grade
and shapes in order to be applicable to a wide range of assem- cultures), natural process/additive for enhancing the activity
bly processes. of existing known natural preservatives, or antimicrobial films
Respond to this TechNeed at: or coatings.
www.techbriefs.com/tn/200808c.html Respond to this TechNeed at:
Email: nasatech@yet2.com www.techbriefs.com/tn/200808d.html
Phone: 781-972-0600 Email: nasatech@yet2.com
Phone: 781-972-0600
NASA Tech Briefs, August 2008 www.techbriefs.com 37
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Manufacturing & Prototyping
Fabricating Large-Area Sheets of Single-Layer Graphene by CVD

Such sheets are components for high-speed digital and RF electronics for defense and
commercial communications.
This innovation consists didate precursor molecule
of a set of methodologies is hexachlorobenzene, an
for preparing large area (>1 aromatic molecule con-
cm2) domains of single- taining six carbon atoms in
atomic-layer graphite, also a ring, each of which is
called graphene, in single bound to one additional
(two-dimensional) crystal chlorine atom. In this mol-
form. To fabricate a single ecule, the carbon-chlorine
graphene layer using chem- bonds are weak enough
ical vapor deposition that they will break under
(CVD), the process begins reasonable CVD condi-
with an atomically flat sur- tions (a few hundred
face of an appropriate sub- degrees C); the chlorine
strate and an appropriate atoms will form Cl2 mole-
precursor molecule con- cules that will escape into
Growth of a Graphene Sheet by CVD using an aromatic molecular precursor gas,
taining carbon atoms shown here as a six-membered ring of carbon atoms, each of which is attached to the gas phase, while the
attached to substituent one additional –R substituent. Carbon-containing precursor molecules impinge six-membered carbon ring
atoms or groups. These upon a substrate and decompose, resulting in gaseous R2 products and surface- will be released upon the
bound rings of carbon atoms. These six-membered rings can maintain their struc-
molecules will be brought ture as they diffuse toward, and bind to, the growing edge of the hexagonal car- substrate surface. If condi-
into contact with the sub- bon graphene lattice as shown. tions are not too extreme,
strate surface by being this six-membered ring will
flowed over, or sprayed onto, the substrate, gy single-layer structure available, which is be able to diffuse across the substrate
under CVD conditions of low pressure and the graphene lattice that is sought. surface while maintaining its structural
elevated temperature. Upon contact with A precursor may contain only one car- integrity, eventually encountering other
the surface, the precursor molecules will bon atom, such as methane or deriva- rings of carbon atoms from other pre-
decompose. The substituent groups tized methane (e.g., carbon tetrachlo- cursor molecules. These multiple car-
detach from the carbon atoms and form ride). However, it is more likely that the bon rings will bond together, their con-
gas-phase species, leaving the unfunction- best precursor molecule will be an aro- stituent carbon atoms binding together
alized carbon atoms attached to the sub- matic compound that has at least 6 car- to form the lowest energy structure avail-
strate surface. These carbon atoms will dif- bon atoms already arranged in the aro- able — the graphene lattice.
fuse upon this surface and encounter and matic structure of hexagonal rings, Another method for creating the
bond to other carbon atoms. If conditions because this will be the geometry of the graphene lattice includes metal-catalyzed
are chosen carefully, the surface carbon carbon atoms in the final graphene CVD, in which the decomposition of the
atoms will arrange to form the lowest ener- material. An example of a possible can- precursor molecules is initiated by the
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Manufacturing & Prototyping
catalytic action of a catalytic metal upon exactly one monolayer of precursor mole- invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its
the substrate surface. Another type of cules (which may be of more than one commercial use should be addressed to:
metal-catalyzed CVD has the entire sub- type). This is heated up so that the precur- Innovative Technology Assets Management
strate composed of catalytic metal, or sor molecules decompose and form one JPL
other material, either as a bulk crystal or monolayer of the target material. Mail Stop 202-233
as a think layer of catalyst deposited This work was done by Michael 4800 Oak Grove Drive
upon another surface. In this case, the Bronikowski and Harish Manohara of Pasadena, CA 91109-8099
precursor molecules decompose directly Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. E-mail: iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov
upon contact with the substrate, releas- For more information, download the Refer to NPO-45298, volume and number
ing their atoms and forming the Technical Support Package (free white of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the
graphene sheet. paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the page number.
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) can also Manufacturing & Prototyping category.
be used. In this method, a substrate sur- In accordance with Public Law 96-517,
face at low temperature is covered with the contractor has elected to retain title to this
Heat Transfer
Analysis for
Optimizing Solar Cell
Casting Equipment
Finite element analysis was used
to develop a miniature furnace
to cast the solar cell wafers.
Soft silicone gel absorbs
Solar Power Industries, Belle Vernon,
vibrations not eliminated by Pennsylvania, and ALGOR, Inc.,
other materials. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Solar Power Industries’ (SPI) current
Engineering Expertise annual production capacity for processing
Years of experience & customer polycrystalline silicon feedstock into com-
pleted solar cells has grown to 40
specifications has led to an megawatts, with plans to increase capacity
extensive & varied product line. to 250 megawatts over the next several
years. SPI’s solar cell manufacturing process
consists of three main steps:
Excellent Durability • Ingot and Wafer Production — High-quality
Unique gel material performs in silicon feedstock (containing specific
quantities of dopants such as boron in
any weather, -40°F to +392°F, order to alter electrical properties) is
and is ozone, UV & chemical melted and solidified inside a directional
resistant. solidification furnace to cast polycrys-
talline silicon ingots. The ingots are cut
into rectangular blocks with a square
Shock Absorption & cross-section, and then the blocks are
Vibration Damping sawed into thin multicrystalline wafers.
• Cell Production — The wafers are etched to
remove surface damage caused by sawing.
Call with your latest application The wafers are then processed in a series
or visit our Web site. of steps to produce photovoltaic cells.
• Module Assembly — Individual cells are
connected by soldering to flat wires.
Request your free catalog Strings of cells are then joined to parallel
connector wires and laminated to pro-
duce a solar module.
Advanced Antivibration Components Modules can be installed in a solar ener-
2101 Jericho Turnpike gy system to convert captured sunlight into
New Hyde Park, NY 11040 usable electricity. SPI installed a rooftop
QrG array of 120 solar panels at a building on
www.vibrationmounts.com the Carnegie Mellon University campus,
which feeds directly into the main power
supply, providing approximately 10 per-
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A 3D model of the minicaster was creat- Natural convection due to buoyancy
ed in Autodesk Inventor software, and the plays an important role for transport phe-
cross-sectional geometry was modeled in nomena inside the silicon melt. The strong
ALGOR finite-element analysis software. velocity field inside the silicon melt cannot
Custom-defined, temperature-dependent, be neglected. The SPI team used multi-
orthotropic material properties were speci- physics analysis to couple the calculation of
fied for the silicon feedstock, quartz cru- the silicon melt flow field and temperature
cible, graphite heaters, and insulation. field, which accounted for the effect of nat-
Thermal loads were defined for internal ural convection. Steady coupled fluid flow
heat generation, surface radiation at the and thermal analysis were performed to
outside surfaces, and body-to-body radia- obtain the convective fluid flow and tem-
tion between exposed internal surfaces. perature results for the melting phase.
Fluid velocities were specified for surfaces For the solidification phase, a lower inter-
that surrounded the silicon. nal heat generation value was used to simu-
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SPI received funding from the
Pennsylvania Energy Development Virtually DUST-FREE Operation
Authority (PEDA) for a research program
aimed at expanding the supply of silicon NON-MARKING
feedstock for producing ingots by the
DURABLE WEAR SURFACE FOR
directional solidification technique. Since LONGER LIFE
casting of commercial-size ingots is expen-
sive and time-consuming, there was a need HIGH FLEX LIFE & RESISTANCE
to develop a miniature version of a direc- TO ELONGATION
tional solidification furnace (called a
“minicaster”) to efficiently cast small QUIET RUNNING–lower noise
ingots for research. The smaller size of the levels than urethane belts
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Surrounding the crucible is a bank of
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charge. A movable insulation cage serves
as the primary means by which the REQUEST
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NASA Tech Briefs, August 2008 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/15136-730 41
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Manufacturing
& Prototyping
#
$ ! % & '( ! !
) *+ &! * ' , -

! " #

$%

% &

The first silicon ingot produced by the minicast-
er (top) exhibited regions at the top where solid-
ification proceeded erratically. After the hot
zone was modified based on analysis results,

higher-quality ingots were produced (bottom).

!
"""
! late lower temperatures while cooling.
Transient heat transfer analysis results
allowed SPI to better understand the mini-
caster’s solidification process. Upon examin-
ing the first silicon ingot produced by the
minicaster, SPI noticed that most of the
Meet the New Standard in ingot’s surface was flat and smooth, but
Complex Optical
there were some regions at the top of the
ingot where the solidification proceeded
erratically. This was thought to be associated
Manufacturing
with an undesired solidification at the top of
the melt, which initiated while solidification
was occurring from the bottom upward.
Such solidification was predicted by the
thermal finite-element model of the growth.
In order to maximize ingot quality, mul-
tiple transient heat transfer analyses of the
solidification phase were conducted to
determine the best placement and output
power for the minicaster’s heaters. By
adjusting the heater position and increas-
ing the heater power level by 25 percent,
surface solidification was prevented dur-
ing the growth process. Another effective
way to modify the thermal environment
was by adjusting the insulation lift dis-
tance. The resulting solidification inter-
face was flat and slightly convex to the sil-
icon melt, which is beneficial for high-
quality silicon crystal growth.
This work was done by Dr. Chenlei Wang,
Senior Engineer for Casting Technology, at
Solar Power Industries, Belle Vernon, PA,
using software from ALGOR, Inc.,
Pittsburgh, PA. For more information, visit
w w w. l i g h t m a c h i n e r y. c o m http://info.hotims.com/15136-121.
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Software
oversubscribing subset that maximizes a edge errors, the results indicate that G-
Support for Diagnosis of quality metric. In an early version of the Sample can identify the amount of col-
Custom Computer program, the requested goals are assumed lected sample mass to within 10 grams
Hardware to have fixed starting times and durations. (with 95-percent confidence) by using a
The Coldfire SDN Diagnostics soft- Goals can conflict by exceeding a limit on force sensor with a noise and quantiza-
ware is a flexible means of exercising, either the number of separate goals or the tion floor of 50 micrometers. These
testing, and debugging custom comput- number of overlapping goals making results hold even in the presence of real-
er hardware. The software is a set of rou- demands on the same resource. istic parametric uncertainty in actual
tines that, collectively, serve as a com- The quality metric used in this version spacecraft inertia, center-of-mass offset,
mon software interface through which is chosen to ensure that a goal will never and first flexibility modes.
one can gain access to various parts of be replaced by another having lower pri- Thrust profile knowledge is shown to
the hardware under test and/or cause ority. At any time, goals can be added or be a dominant sensitivity for G-Sample,
the hardware to perform various func- removed, or their priorities can be entering in a nearly one-to-one relation-
tions. The routines can be used to con- changed, and the “best” goal will be ship with the final mass estimation error.
struct tests to exercise, and verify the selected. Once a goal has been selected, This means thrust profiles should be
operation of, various processors and the program implements a robust, flexi- well characterized with onboard
hardware interfaces. More specifically, ble approach to generation of low-level accelerometers prior to sample collec-
the software can be used to gain access commands: Rather than generate rigid tion. An overall sample-mass estimation
to memory, to execute timer delays, to sequences with fixed starting times, the error budget has been developed to
configure interrupts, and configure program specifies flexible sequences approximate the effect of model uncer-
processor cache, floating-point, and that can be altered to accommodate run tainty, sensor noise, data rate, and thrust
direct-memory-access units. time variations. profile error on the expected estimate of
The software is designed to be used This program was written by Gregg collected sample mass.
on diverse NASA projects, and can be Rabideau, Steve Chien, and Ning Liu of This program was written by John Carson
customized for use with different proces- Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion
sors and interfaces. The routines are For more information, download the Laboratory. For more information, download
supported, regardless of the architec- Technical Support Package (free white the Technical Support Package (free white
ture of a processor that one seeks to paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the
diagnose. The present version of the Information Sciences category. Mechanics/Machinery category.
software is configured for Coldfire This software is available for commercial This software is available for commercial
processors on the Subsystem Data Node licensing. Please contact Karina Edmonds of licensing. Please contact Karina Edmonds of
processor boards of the Solar Dynamics the California Institute of Technology at the California Institute of Technology at
Observatory. There is also support for (626) 395-2322. Refer to NPO-44541. (626) 395-2322. Refer to NPO-44403.
the software with respect to Mongoose V,
RAD750, and PPC405 processors or
their equivalents.
This program was written by Dwaine S. Dynamic Method For Optimal Planning and
Molock of Goddard Space Flight Center. For Identifying Collected Problem-Solving
further information, contact the Goddard Sample Mass CTAEMS MDP Optimal Planner is a
Innovative Partnerships Office at (301) 286- G-Sample is designed for sample col- problem-solving software designed to
5810. GSC-15478-1 lection missions to identify the presence command a single spacecraft/rover, or a
and quantity of sample material gath- team of spacecraft/rovers, to perform
ered by spacecraft equipped with end the best action possible at all times
effectors. The software method uses a according to an abstract model of the
Providing Goal-Based maximum-likelihood estimator to identi- spacecraft/rover and its environment. It
Autonomy for Commanding fy the collected sample’s mass based on also may be useful in solving logistical
a Spacecraft onboard force-sensor measurements, problems encountered in commercial
A computer program for use aboard a sci- thruster firings, and a dynamics model applications such as shipping and manu-
entific-exploration spacecraft autonomous- of the spacecraft. This makes sample facturing.
ly selects among goals specified in high- mass identification a computation The planner reasons around uncer-
level requests and generates corresponding rather than a process requiring addition- tainty according to specified probabili-
sequences of low-level commands, under- al hardware. ties of outcomes using a plan hierarchy
standable by spacecraft systems. (As used Simulation examples of G-Sample are to avoid exploring certain kinds of sub-
here, “goals” signifies specific scientific provided for spacecraft model configu- optimal actions. Also, planned actions
observations.) From a dynamic, onboard rations with a sample collection device are calculated as the state-action space is
set of goals that could oversubscribe space- mounted on the end of an extended expanded, rather than afterward, to
craft resources, the program selects a non- boom. In the absence of thrust knowl- reduce by an order of magnitude the
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processing time and memory used. The software solves plan-
ning problems with actions that can execute concurrently, that
integrated
have uncertain duration and quality, and that have functional
dependencies on others that affect quality. These problems are
modeled in a hierarchical planning language called %%#&".
C_TAEMS, a derivative of the TAEMS language for specifying
domains for the DARPA Coordinators program.
In realistic environments, actions often have uncertain out-
015*$4"/%$)"3(&%
comes and can have complex relationships with other tasks.
The planner approaches problems by considering all possible 1"35*$-&53"+&$503:
actions that may be taken from any state reachable from a
given, initial state, and from within the constraints of a given
task hierarchy that specifies what tasks may be performed by
"/"-:4*4
which team member.
This program was written by Bradley Clement, Steven Schaffer, and
Gregg Rabideau of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For more
40'58"3&
information, download the Technical Support Package (free white paper)
at www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the Information Sciences category.
This software is available for commercial licensing. Please contact INTEGRATED field solvers have been
Karina Edmonds of the California Institute of Technology at (626)
395-2322. Refer to NPO-44019. proven in a diverse range of applications
for over 20 years. Our Boundary
Element Method (BEM), Finite Element
Method (FEM), and HYBRID solvers
Attitude-Control Algorithm for Minimizing
Maneuver Execution Errors are available on the same package to
A G-RAC attitude-control algorithm is used to minimize give you a greater choice.
maneuver execution error in a spacecraft with a flexible
appendage when said spacecraft must induce translational Now, you can independently verify the
momentum by firing (in open loop) large thrusters along a solution within one program, and avoid
desired direction for a given period of time. The controller is the time and effort of verifying through a
dynamic with two integrators and requires measurement of second program.
only the angular position and velocity of the spacecraft. The
global stability of the closed-loop system is guaranteed with-
out having access to the states describing the dynamics of the Fast. Accurate. Easy-to-use.
appendage and with severe saturation in the available torque. • Link to CAD packages for
Spacecraft apply open-loop thruster firings to induce a true representation of complex
desired translational momentum with an extended appendage. geometric shapes
This control algorithm will assist this maneuver by stabilizing the • Powerful parametric solvers
attitude dynamics around a desired orientation, and conse-
quently minimize the maneuver execution errors. Analyze and model:
This work was done by Behçet Açikmeşe of Caltech for NASA’s Jet • Beams
Propulsion Laboratory.
The software used in this innovation is available for commercial • Ions
licensing. Please contact Karina Edmonds of the California Institute of • Charged particles
Technology at (626) 395-2322. Refer to NPO-44376. • Beam optics
• Electron guns
Grants Document-Generation System

The Grants Document-Generation System (GDGS) software 53:06340'58"3&'03%":4
allows the generation of official grants documents for distribu-
CALL FOR A FREE EVALUATION AND START
tion to the appropriate parties. The documents are created IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY TODAY.
after the selection and entry of specific data elements and
A Live Demo is also available.
clauses. GDGS is written in Cold Fusion that resides on an
SQL2000 database and is housed on-site at Goddard Space
Flight Center. It includes access security written around GSFC’s
(Goddard Space Flight Center’s) LIST system, and allows for
the entry of Procurement Request information necessary for
the generation of the resulting Grant Award. Call 204.632.5636
This work was done by Terri Hairell, Lev Kreymer, Greg Martin, email info@integratedsoft.com or visit
and Patrick Sheridan of the INDUS Corporation for Goddard Space www.integratedsoft.com
Flight Center. For further information, contact the Goddard Innovative
Partnerships Office at (301) 286-5810. GSC-15187-1
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Materials
Precipitation-Strengthened, High-Temperature, High-Force

Shape Memory Alloys
Shape memory alloys capable of performing up to 400 °C have been developed for use in solid-
state actuator systems.
John H. Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are an tents ranging from about 15 to 25 at.% martensite-to-austensite, solid-state phase
enabling component in the develop- have been developed for applications in transformation, which is the source of the
ment of compact, lightweight, durable, which there are requirements for SMA shape memory behavior. However, the
high-force actuation systems particular- actuators to exert high forces at operat- present high-temperature, high-force
ly for use where hydraulics or electrical ing temperatures higher than those of SMAs can be used at temperatures up to
motors are not practical. However, com- conventional binary NiTi SMAs. These 400 °C not only because they exhibit a
mercial shape memory alloys based on alloys can be heat treated in the range range of high transformation tempera-
NiTi are only suitable for applications of 500 °C to produce a series of fine pre- tures, but because these materials also
near room temperature, due to their cipitate phases that increase the exhibit high strength (resistance to dislo-
relatively low transformation tempera- strength of alloy while maintaining a cation mediated deformation processes)
tures, while many potential applications high transformation temperature, even in both the austenite and martensite
require higher temperature capability. in Ti-lean compositions. phases, have a relatively high recovery
Consequently, a family of (Ni,Pt)1–xTix The absolute minimum requirement temperature, and also exhibit excellent
shape memory alloys with Ti concentra- for determining the operating tempera- dimensional stability (little or no irrecov-
tions x ≤ 50 atomic percent and Pt con- ture of an SMA is the temperature of the erable strain component during the
transformation process). Consequently,
these alloys are attractive for use in per-
forming actuator and control functions
particularly in the aggressive environ-
ments often encountered in aerospace,
automotive, and down-hole energy explo-
ration applications.
The composition of an alloy of this
type is given generally by the empirical
formula Nix–y–zPtyMzTi100–x, where M can
be Au, Pd, or Cu; x, y, and z are atomic
percentages; 50 ≤ x ≤ 55; 10 ≤ y ≤ 30; 0 ≤ z
≤ 10. These alloys are precipitation-hard-
enable, but unlike in prior Ti-rich NiTi
Engineered Solders: alloys, the slightly Ti-lean composition
Q Precise chemistries and prevents the formation of the Ti2Ni
physical properties phase, which is a coarse globular phase
Q Lab-tested and field-proven Wire that cannot be thermally tailored in as
much as it appears during solidification.
Q Reliable performance and excellent technical service Washers
Instead, one can rely on precipitation of
Squares fine (Ni,Pt)3Ti2 structures and other
Products and Applications: intermetallic phases for enhanced per-
Frames
Q Pure indium for low temperature sealing formance. These precipitates are often
Foil
Q Indium alloys for step soldering and lath-like in structure and, in many cases,
thermal interfacing Flux
submicron in size. The precipitate vol-
Q AuSn alloys for fluxless die-attach and Arrays ume fraction can also be tailored through
hermetic packaging heat treatment and alloy composition.
Split Rings
These precipitates result in additional
Ribbon
www.esolders.com esolders@indium.com strengthening of the austenite (high-tem-
ASIA: Singapore, Cheongju: +65 6268 8678 Spheres perature) matrix phase and increase the
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EUROPE: Milton Keynes, Torino: +44 (0) 1908 580400 Paste resistance of the martensite phase against
USA: Utica, Clinton, Chicago: +1 315 853 4900 Custom slip, without exerting a significant effect
Shapes
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Indium Corporation
Cor poration
on the detwinning stress. Thus, the over-
➮
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Materials
Consider your
all effects are greater specific work output • These alloys can be processed into
with better dimensional stability, and such bulk forms as bar, rod, sheet,
superior mechanical properties, especial- plate, and wire through conventional
possibilities... ly at high temperatures.
The desirable properties of these
thermomechanical processes. Because
these alloys have high recrystallization
alloys include the following: temperatures (700 to 800 °C), they are
• Their transformation temperatures amenable to heat treatment and aging
variously remain stable or increase after thermomechanical processing,
with aging time. without adversely affecting grain sizes.
• They exhibit specific-work-output lev- • The high recrystallization tempera-
els >9 J/cm3 and good work perform- tures also make these alloys suitable
ance, comparable to those of conven- for use in applications in which they
tional binary NiTi alloys. could be subjected to significant heat-
• Unlike NiTi and other NiTi-based ter- ing above their rated temperatures.
nary SMAs, these alloys do not exhibit This work was done by Ronald D. Noebe,
transformation temperatures lower Susan L. Draper, and Michael V. Nathal of
than those of corresponding stoichio- Glenn Research Center and Edwin A.
metric alloys; indeed, these alloys Crombie of Johnson Matthey, Noble Metal
exhibit transformation temperatures Products N.A. For more information, down-
higher than those of similar alloys that load the Technical Support Package (free
have Ti-rich compositions. white paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp
• Unlike in the prior NiTi-based ternary under the Materials category.
SMA alloys, which exhibit decreases in Inquiries concerning rights for the commer-
transformation temperatures with cial use of this invention should be addressed
increased aging time or thermal to NASA Glenn Research Center, Innovative
cycling, these alloys exhibit stabiliza- Partnerships Office, Attn: Steve Fedor, Mail
tion of, or increases in, transformation Stop 4–8, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland,
temperatures with aging. Ohio 44135. Refer to LEW-17993-1.
...Pursue them
confidently with Heat-Storage Modules Containing
Eagle Stainless!
For decades Eagle Stainless has been
LiNO3·3H2O and Graphite Foam
the supplier of choice for precision- Heat capacity per unit volume has been increased.
fabricated components of stainless
steel, high-nickel alloy, and titanium. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
With a reputation for quality and its
commitment to customer satisfaction,
Eagle Stainless has achieved AS 9000 A heat-storage module based on a phase-change materials in some prior heat-
and ISO 9001: 2000 status and is commercial open-cell graphite foam storage modules but, heretofore, it has not
among the fastest growing companies (PocoFoam or equivalent) imbued with been used with LiNO3·3H2O because
in the industry. lithium nitrate trihydrate (LiNO3·3H2O) graphite foam is hydrophobic and, there-
Today Eagle is filling industry’s needs has been developed as a prototype of fore not readily wet by LiNO3·3H2O. The
for stainless and titanium in three other such modules for use as short-term novelty of the present development lies in
ways: (1) product shipped from exten- heat sources or heat sinks in the temper- the choice of materials to make it possible
sive inventory, (2) precision, cut-to-
length stock, and (3) custom fabri- ature range of approximately 28 to 30 °C. to use graphite foam as the filler with
cated components. Whatever your In this module, the LiNO3·3H2O serves LiNO3·3H2O in order to exploit the
needs, come to Eagle for service and as a phase-change heat-storage material greater (relative to aluminum) specific
quality that meets your highest expec- and the graphite foam as thermally con- thermal conductivity of graphite to reduce
tations!
ductive filler for transferring heat to or the mass of filler needed to obtain a given
from the phase-change material. In com- level of thermal performance.
parison with typical prior heat-storage The prototype heat-storage module
modules in which paraffins are the consists of an LiNO3·3H2O-imbued open-
phase-change materials and aluminum cell graphite foam core of 76-percent
fins are the thermally conductive fillers, porosity in an aluminum housing that has
Eagle Stainless Tube & Fabrication, Inc. this module has more than twice the a ribbed top that provides a rigid mount-
10 Discovery Way • Franklin, MA 02038 heat-storage capacity per unit volume. ing surface for electronics. During fabri-
• Phone (800) 528-8650 The use of LiNO3·3H2O as a phase- cation, grooves to receive the ribs were cut
• www.eagletube.com
change heat-storage material is not new in into the open-cell graphite foam core (see
Ask for your free copy itself, but heretofore, it has been used with figure). To overcome the hydrophobicity
of our catalog and aluminum fins. Open-cell graphite foam of the graphite foam to enable the core to
designer’s guide. has been used as the thermally conductive absorb the LiNO3·3H2O, an organosili-
filler material in conjunction with paraffin con surfactant was added to the molten
➮
➭
Top of Housing Bottom of Housing Open-Cell Graphite Foam
The Components Shown Separately here were assembled to make a heat-storage module. Prior to sealing the module, the open-cell graphite foam was
filled with molten LiNO3·3H2O containing small proportions of a surfactant and a freezing catalyst.
LiNO3·3H2O in the proportion of 0.3 the susceptibility of LiNO3·3H2O to This work was done by Michael Pauken
mass percent. freezing supercooling by as much as 35 and Nickolas Emis of Caltech and John Bootle
Also added to the LiNO3·3H2O was 1 C°. With this catalyst, the LiNO3·3H2O of XC Associates for NASA’s Jet Propulsion
mass percent of zinc nitrate, which serves freezes at 28 °C when cooled from a Laboratory. For more information, contact
as a freezing catalyst to reduce, to an higher temperature and melts at 30 °C iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov.
interval of 2 C°, what would otherwise be when warmed from a lower temperature. NPO-44169
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Mechanics/Machinery
Improved Relief Valve Would Be Less Susceptible to Failure

Opening force and, hence, opening piston speed would be reduced.
The balanced-piston relief valve with side ton. Therefore, the upper piston face The reaction cavity (the annular side
vented reaction cavity has been proposed as would be slightly smaller than the lower volume between the shoulder and the
an improved alternative to a conventional piston face, the difference between the sleeve) would be vented to either the
high-pressure, high-flow relief valve. As areas of these faces being equal to the atmosphere or other source of reference
explained below, the proposed valve would annular cross-sectional area of the sleeve pressure below the valve set point. As a
be less susceptible to failure. or, equivalently, of the shoulder. result, the upward (opening) fluid pres-
The left side of the figure
shows a typical conventional Vent
high-pressure, high-flow relief

valve, which contains a piston
that is exposed to the upstream
pressure across the full valve-seat
Vent
diameter and is held against the Spring Reaction
Cavity
valve seat and the upstream pres- Piston
Piston
sure by a large spring. In the
event of an increase in upstream
pressure to a level above the
valve set point (the pressure
above which the valve opens),
the opening force on the piston
can be so large that the piston
becomes accelerated to a speed Valve Seat Valve Seat
Assembly Assembly
Pressurized Pressurized
high enough that the ensuing Fluid Fluid
hard impact of the piston within
the valve housing results in fail-
ure of the valve.
For a given flow cross section, CONVENTIONAL RELIEF VALVE PROPOSED RELIEF VALVE
CLOSED CLOSED
the proposal would significantly Vent
reduce the force, thereby reduc-
ing susceptibility to failure. A
basic version of the proposed
balanced-piston relief valve with
side vented reaction cavity is Spring
Vent
Reaction
Cavity
depicted on the right side of the
figure. The piston would contain Piston Piston
a central hollow that would allow
the pressurized fluid to flow into
the spring cavity above the pis-
ton, so that the pressure in the
fluid would act against both the
upper and lower piston faces.
The outer diameter of the pis- Valve Seat
Assembly
ton at the upper end would be Pressurized
Fluid
Pressurized
Fluid
somewhat less than the outer
diameter of the piston at the
lower end, the two diameters
meeting at a shoulder on the CONVENTIONAL RELIEF VALVE PROPOSED RELIEF VALVE
OPEN OPEN
side of the piston. A sleeve fill-
ing the annular space between
In the Proposed Relief Valve, the net fluid-pressure opening force on the piston would be much less than in the con-
the two diameters would sur- ventional relief valve because the upward force of the fluid pressure on the bottom piston surface would be most-
round the upper end of the pis- ly counteracted by the downward force of the fluid pressure on the top piston surface.
➮
➭
sure force on the piston would exceed the ably low value through design choice of fraction (perhaps as much as 100 percent)
downward (closing) fluid pressure force the upper and lower piston diameters. of the valve set point than that of a con-
on the piston, the net upward fluid pres- (Of course, for a given valve set point, it ventional relief valve.
sure force being equal to the annular area would be necessary to choose a spring of This work was done by Bruce R. Farner of
of the shoulder and the gauge pressure correspondingly reduced stiffness.) The Stennis Space Center.
(absolute fluid pressure less atmospheric fluid in the spring cavity would present Inquiries concerning rights for the commer-
or other reference pressure). Because the inertial impedance that would further cial use of this invention should be addressed
annular shoulder area could be made less reduce the opening acceleration of the to the Intellectual Property Manager, Stennis
than the area of the lower piston face, the piston. As an additional benefit, it may be Space Center, (228) 688-1929. Refer to SSC-
opening force could be tailored to a suit- possible to reseat the valve at a greater 00232-1.
Using Composite Materials in a Cryogenic Pump

Shaft speed is increased and conductive leakage of heat is reduced.
Several modifications have been made the thermal energy added to the fluids by shaft is made longer than would otherwise
to the design and operation of an extend- the pumps is removed by expensive down- be needed. The efficiency of the pump
ed-shaft cryogenic pump to increase the stream refrigeration equipment. It would could be increased most easily by increas-
efficiency of pumping. In general, the effi- be beneficial to reduce thermal losses to ing the speed of rotation of the shaft, but
ciency of pumping a cryogenic fluid is lim- the point where the downstream refrigera- the speed must be kept below the lowest of
ited by thermal losses (the thermal energy tion equipment would not be necessary. the rotordynamic critical speeds. (In
that the pump adds to the fluid). The A typical cryogenic pump includes a essence, the rotordynamic critical speeds
sources of the thermal losses are pump drive shaft and two main concentric static are resonance frequencies at which the
inefficiency and leakage (conduction) of components (an outer pressure contain- interaction of rotational dynamics and
heat through the pump structure. Most ment tube and an intermediate static sup- elasticity of the shaft and the rest of the
cryogenic pumping systems are required port tube) made from stainless steel. In rotor can cause the rotor to vibrate uncon-
to operate at maximum efficiency because order to reduce the leakage of heat, the trollably, possibly damaging the pump.)
This note might change your life!*
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Mechanics/Machinery
The modifications include replacement to operate the pump at a higher speed to of the carbon-fiber composite exceeds
of the stainless-steel drive shaft and the increase pumping efficiency. that of the glass-epoxy composite, it was
concentric static stainless-steel compo- During the modification effort, an necessary to choose the thickness of the
nents with components made of a analysis revealed that substitution of the overwrap as a compromise between ade-
glass/epoxy composite. The leakage of shorter glass/epoxy shaft for the longer quate stiffening and a need to minimize
heat is thus reduced because the thermal stainless-steel shaft was not, by itself, suf- leakage of heat along the shaft. It was
conductivity of the composite is an order ficient to satisfy the rotordynamic found to be possible to choose a com-
of magnitude below that of stainless steel. requirements at the desired increased promise thickness [0.020 in. (≈0.5 mm)]
Taking advantage of the margin afforded speed. Hence, it became necessary to to satisfy the heat-leakage requirement
by the decrease in thermal conductivity, increase the stiffness of the composite while stiffening the shaft by a factor >10
the drive shaft could be shortened to shaft. This stiffening was accomplished and thereby satisfying the rotordynamic
increase its effective stiffness, thereby by means of a carbon-fiber-composite requirements.
increasing the rotordynamic critical overwrap along most of the length of the Concomitantly with the modifications
speeds, thereby further making it possible shaft. Because the thermal conductivity described thus far, it was necessary to
provide for joining the composite-mate-
rial components with metallic compo-
nents required by different aspects of
the pump design. The metal/composite
joints are required to withstand differen-
Peak Performance tial thermal contraction and expansion

between ambient and cryogenic temper-
atures and to withstand torque and pip-
ing loads while maintaining a vacuum
seal throughout the ambient-to-cryo-
genic temperature range. The joints are
also required to have reasonable dimen-
sional tolerances, to be easy to assemble
in a repeatable process, and otherwise
generally to be manufacturable at a level
of effort and cost equivalent to that of
the prior stainless-steel design.
An adhesive material formulated spe-
cially to bond the composite and metal
components was chosen as a means to sat-
isfy these requirements. The particular
adhesive material has a history of excellent
performance in cryogenic applications.
The joints were designed to put all the
loading in shear and reduce stress concen-
When You Can’t Tolerate Measurement Errors trations. The joint design was optimized
(DFK%PRGXOHSURWHFWV¿OWHUVDPSOL¿HVDQGLVRODWHVDQLQSXWVLJQDODQG with respect to bond thickness, prepara-
WKHQSURYLGHVDQ,QVWUXPHQW&ODVV®DQDORJRXWSXW'DWDIRUWK¶V%OLQHRI tion of surfaces to be bonded, and the vis-
cosity of the adhesive itself. A finite-ele-
LVRODWHGDQDORJVLJQDOFRQGLWLRQHUVLQFOXGHVIDPLO\JURXSVZLWKDWRWDO
ment analysis predicted that the joints
RIPRGHOVWKDWLQWHUIDFHWRDZLGHYDULHW\RIYROWDJHFXUUHQWWHPSHUDWXUH would satisfy the load-bearing require-
SRVLWLRQIUHTXHQF\DQGVWUDLQPHDVXULQJGHYLFHV+RXVHGLQDPLQLDWXUHSRWWHG ments. Some mechanical tests verified that
PRGXOHWKH%RIIHUVIXOO\IXQFWLRQDO,QVWUXPHQW&ODVV®SHUIRUPDQFHZLWK the joints could withstand the most severe
VXSHULRUVSHFL¿FDWLRQVVXFKDVDFFXUDF\OLQHDULW\WKUHHSROHV loads imposed. (The loads were chosen, in
RI¿OWHULQJ9UPVLVRODWLRQORZRXWSXWQRLVHDQGPXFKPRUH part, to simulate the temperatures to be
encountered in operation.) Other
mechanical tests (tensile tests) demonstrat-
ed a factor of safety of 6 with respect to
anticipated loads. Results of helium testing
Instrument Class® I/O lent credence to the expectation that joints
will not leak during operation.
This work was done by William D. Batton,
For catalog information, visit: James E. Dillard, and Matthew E. Rottmund
dataforth.com/catalog/pdf/8b.pdf of Barber-Nichols, Inc.; and Michael L.
Tupper, Kaushik Mallick, and William H.
Francis of Composite Technology Development,
3331 E Hemisphere Loop, Tucson AZ 85706 • techinfo@dataforth.com Inc. for Kennedy Space Center. For further
Fax: 520-917-2254 Tel: 520-741-1404, 800-444-7644 information, contact the Kennedy Innovative
Partnerships Office at (321) 861-7158.
KSC-12625/6/7
➮
➭
Safety Modification of Cam-and-Groove Hose Coupling
Coupling halves cannot be separated while the hose is internally pressurized.
A modification has been made in the ative to the receiving coupling half while halves can be safely disconnected from
mating halves of a cam-and-groove hose the fluid is pressurized, thereby also pre- each other.
coupling to prevent rapid separation of venting sudden separation of the cou- This work was done by Paul Schwindt and
the halves in the event that the cam pling halves. At the same time, the mod- Alan Littlefield of Kennedy Space Center. For
levers are released while the fluid in the ifications allow the coupling halves to more information, download the Technical
hose is pressurized. This modification disengage slightly to allow venting of the Support Package (free white paper) at
can be duplicated on almost any com- pressurized fluid. Once pressure in the www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the Mechanics/
mercially available cam-and-groove hose- hose is sufficiently low, the coupling Machinery category. KSC-12713
coupling halves and does not interfere
with most vendors’ locks that prevent
accidental actuation of the cam levers.
The need for this modification arises DOES YOUR MOTION
CONTROL SOLUTION
because commercial off-the-shelf cam- Mercury II ™
and-groove hose-coupling halves do not
incorporate safety features to prevent
separation in the pressurized state.
MEASURE UP? Analog
Especially when the pressurized fluid is

compressible (e.g., steam or compressed Digital
air), the separated halves can be pro-
pelled with considerable energy, causing
personal injury and/or property dam- Programmable
age. Therefore, one purpose served by
the modification is to provide for vent-
Rotary
ing to release compressive energy in a
contained and safe manner while pre-
venting personal injury and/or property Linear
damage. Another purpose served by the TAKE THE MERCURY ™
modification, during the process of con-
necting the coupling halves, is to ensure
ENCODER CHALLENGE Vacuum
that the coupling halves are properly AND FIND OUT...

aligned before the cam levers can be
Custom
locked into position.
For the purpose of describing the
modification, the coupling halves are
denoted the receiving and mating
halves, respectively. The modification
includes the formation of two installa- When designing for higher performance and The Original Mercury Encoder Family
tion/removal slots and two safety pock- lower cost, encoder choice is critical. That’s why • 29 Models: Programmable, digital, analog, multi-axis,
ets in the receiving coupling half. Each OEMs specify Mercury encoder technology. and vacuum styles
safety pocket is located at an angle of 45° The original Mercury™ series is the small
• Resolution: 5μm to 5nm linear, up to 67.1M CPR rotary
from an installation/removal slot and sensor champ at 8.4mm tall. It’s the fastest, too • Smallest sensor: 8.4mm tall
provides both a “catch” to prevent acci- with 7.2m/s travel at 5nm resolution. And, it’s o
Mercury encoder’s compact sensor, • Broadest sensor alignment tolerance: ±2 theta Z
dental release and a landing for full the smartest, with full programmability and center, enables smaller, faster, less
installation. The mating coupling half costly motion system designs. • Highest speed: Capable of 7.2m/s at 5nm resolution
30-second instrument-free alignment.
has been modified to receive two shoul-
Now we’ve done it again with Mercury™ II. It’s
der bolts made of A286 stainless steel. The New Mercury II ™ Encoder Family
the only encoder to work with 6mm metal tape,
In use, if the mating coupling half is • Highest resolution: 5μm to 1.2nm linear, up to 268M CPR rotary
plus glass linear & rotary scales. It’s the only
not rotated 1/8 turn relative to the encoder with stick-on index and limit markers. • Same sensor for metal tape, linear & rotary glass scales
receiving coupling half, then the cam And, it delivers the highest resolution, speed and • Save on inventory: 6mm-wide metal tape available in reels
levers cannot be rotated into position accuracy of any 20μm pitch encoder. Mercury II’s sensor works with and precut lengths
and locked to provide the required seal 6mm-wide metal tape, plus
Take the challenge. See how Mercury linear and rotary glass scales. • Stick-on index and limit markers for greater versatility
between the two coupling halves. The
head of each shoulder bolt slides in one technology will make your designs more • Over twice as fast as other 20μm pitch encoders
competitive.Visit www.microesys.com/challenge.
of the installation/removal slots and • Superior robustness to contamination & EMI
provides a stop if release is initiated acci-
dentally while the fluid in the hose is
www.microesys.com/challenge.html
pressurized. The safety pocket prevents MicroE Systems • 8 Erie Dr. Natick, MA 01760 • T: 508 903 5000
rotation of the mating coupling half rel-
➮
➭
Bio-Medical
Using Electronic Noses To Detect Tumors During Neurosurgery

Sensors would help surgeons determine whether tumors have been removed completely.
It has been proposed to develop special- cerous. At present, visual inspection by a neurosurgeons, for an intraoperative tech-
purpose electronic noses and algorithms surgeon is the only available intraoperative nique for determining whether all of a
for processing the digitized outputs of the technique for detecting cancerous tissue. brain tumor has been removed. The elec-
electronic noses for determining whether Implementation of the proposal would tronic-nose technique could complement
tissue exposed during neurosurgery is can- help to satisfy a desire, expressed by some multimodal imaging techniques, which
have also been proposed as means of
detecting cancerous tissue. There are also
other potential applications of the elec-
0.90
tronic-nose technique in general diagnosis
Brain-Tumor Cell Structure of abnormal tissue.
In preliminary experiments performed
Melanoma Cell Structure
0.70 to assess the viability of the proposal, the
problem of distinguishing between differ-
Normalized Reading
ent types of cultured cells was substituted

0.50 for the problem of distinguishing between
normal and abnormal specimens of the
same type of tissue. The figure presents
0.30 data from one experiment, illustrating dif-
ferences between patterns that could be
used to distinguish between two types of
0.10 cultured cancer cells. Further develop-
ment can be expected to include studies
directed toward answering questions con-
–0.10 cerning not only the possibility of distin-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 guishing among various types of normal
Sensor Number
and abnormal tissue but also distinguish-
0.20 ing between tissues of interest and other
odorous substances that may be present in
medical settings.
0.15 This work was done by Margie L. Homer
and Margaret A. Ryan of Caltech, Liana M.
Lara of Santa Barbara Research, and Babak
0.10 Kateb and Mike Chen of City of Hope
Normalized Reading
Medical Center for NASA’s Jet Propulsion

Laboratory. For more information, down-
0.05 load the Technical Support Package (free
white paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp
under the Bio-Medical category.
0 In accordance with Public Law 96-517,
the contractor has elected to retain title to this
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its
Sensor Number commercial use should be addressed to:
–0.05
Innovative Technology Assets Management
JPL
–0.10
Mail Stop 202-233
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Processed Readings of the Sensors in a 15-sensor electronic nose were recorded during an exposure Pasadena, CA 91109-8099
to a melanoma cell culture and a brain-tumor cell culture. In processing the readings for each culture, E-mail: iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov
growth-medium contributions were subtracted and all the readings were normalized to the largest Refer to NPO-45433, volume and number
reading. The lower plot is a vertically expanded version of the upper plot. In the regions enclosed by
the ellipses, the differences between the patterns are considered to be typical of differences that of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the
would be sufficient to enable distinction between the two cell cultures. page number.
➮
➭
Producing Newborn Synchronous Mammalian Cells
This invention could be used to study aging and cancer.
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
A method and bioreactor for the continu- This work was done by Steve R. Gonda of tion. Inquiries concerning rights for its commer-
ous production of synchronous (same age) Johnson Space Centerand CharlesE. Helmstetter and cial use should be addressed to:
population of mammalian cells have been MaureenThornton of Florida Institute of Technology. Florida Institute of Technology:
invented. The invention involves the attach- For more information, download the Technical 150 W University Blvd.
ment and growth of cells on an adhesive-coat- Support Package (free white paper) at www. Melbourne, FL 32901
ed porous membrane immersed in a per- techbriefs.com/tsp under the Bio-Medical category. Refer to MSC-23476-1, volume and num-
fused liquid culture medium in a microgravi- In accordance with Public Law 96-517, the ber of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the
ty analog bioreactor. When cells attach to the contractor has elected to retain title to this inven- page number.
surface divide, newborn cells are released
into the flowing culture medium. The
released cells, consisting of a uniform pop-
ulation of synchronous cells are then collect-
,ITTLE3ENSORS"IG)DEAS™
ed from the effluent culture medium. This
invention could be of interest to researchers 3DM-GX2® Attitude Heading Reference Sensor
investigating the effects of the geneotoxic
Inertia-Link® Inertial Measurement Unit
effects of the space environment (micrograv-
ity, radiation, chemicals, gases) and to phar- "OTHUNITSHAVESIXDELTA SIGMA
maceutical and biotechnology companies !$SSAMPLINGALLSENSORS
involved in research on aging and cancer, SIMULTANEOUSLYPROVIDING
and in new drug development and testing. superior performance.
The bioreactor includes a horizontal-axis Features and Benefits:
rotating vessel. A screen inside the vessel sup- s -AGNETIC&IELD#ALIBRATION
ports the porous membrane on which the s &ULL4EMPERATURE
#OMPENSATION
cells are grown. A central fluid coupler con-
s 6'AND)-5-ODES
tains an inlet and an outlet port with rotat- s 3MALL
ing seals for the circulation of the culture s ,IGHT 7EIGHT
medium. During operation for the growth ,OW0OWER,OW#OST GOLD
of cells, a peristaltic pump delivers the cul-
ture medium from an external reservoir to Agile-Link Wireless Data Acquisition System
™
the input port. On its way from the inlet to

the outlet port, the culture medium flows High-speed data acquisition for condition
through the membrane, entraining newly based monitoring of machines, health
released baby cells in the flow. Once the cul- monitoring of structures and industrial
test and measurement applications.
ture medium has flowed out of the simulat-
ed-low-gravity environment of the rotating Features and Benefits:
s )%%%$333NODES
vessel, the baby cells are collected by allow- s ,ICENSE FREEWORLDWIDE
ing them to settle out of the liquid under s 3TREAMINGRATESUPTO+(Z
the influence of normal Earth gravitation. s $ATALOGGINGRATESUPTO(Z
Prior to operation for the growth of cells, s 3TORESMEASUREMENTS
the membrane is coated with a cell adhesive s %XCITESANDCONDITIONSDIFFERENTIAL
and 3 single ended inputs NEW
on the side designated to be downstream s MRANGESTANDARDMOPTIONAL Streamin !
g
during operation of the bioreactor. This is s )NTERNALRECHARGEABLEBATTERY up to 4 Krates
Hz
done by filtering a solution of adhesive GOLD
through it in the reverse of the operational
flow direction. The membrane is then DVRT Microminiature Gauging Sensors
®
washed with a similarly reversed flow of water

!MONGSTTHEWORLDSSMALLESTLINEAR
or a phosphate buffered saline solution. DISPLACEMENTSENSORSIDEALLYSUITED
Next, growing cells are applied to the down- FORTIGHTLYSPACEDSENSINGARRAYS
stream side of the membrane by means of a Features and Benefits:
similarly reverse flow of a medium containing s (IGHRESOLUTIONANDACCURACY
a cell culture. These reverse-flow operations s /PERATINGTEMPERATURETO²#
for preparation of the membrane can take Spherical s &REQUENCYRESPONSEUPTO+(Z
place either before or after the membrane Sapphire Tip s 2OBUSTANDWATERPROOF
s 3UITABLEFORSUBMERSION
is mounted in the vessel: If membrane is Compression Spring
in corrosive media
mounted in the vessel first, then the adhesive World’s Smallest LVDT s 3UITABLEFOREXTREME
solution, wash solution, and culture medium DUTY CYCLEAPPLICATIONS GOLD
Patent Pending
are simply pumped through the vessel in
the reverse of the operational flow direction. Call 800.449.3878 or visit us online at www.microstrain.com
➮
➭
Physical Sciences
Smaller, Lower-Power Fast-Neutron Scintillation Detectors

There are numerous potential applications in scientific and safety-oriented monitoring
of fast neutrons.
Scintillation-based fast-neutron detec- trons having kinetic energies greater than monitors a block of a scintillator material
tors that are smaller and less power-hun- about 10 keV), the neutrons are first (typically, a crystal or a plastic containing
gry than mainstream scintillation-based decelerated, by use of moderator materi- a hydrogen rich scintillation dye). A scin-
fast-neutron detectors are undergoing als (typically, paraffin or polyethylene) to tillation pulse occurs when a fast neutron
development. There are numerous appli- near thermal kinetic energies, in order to knocks a proton in the scintillation mate-
cations for such detectors in monitoring exploit the fact that the cross sections for rial and some of the kinetic energy of the
fast-neutron fluxes from nuclear reactors, interactions of neutrons with other nuclei decelerating proton excites lumines-
nuclear materials, and natural sources, are largest at low kinetic energies. To be cence. Although the use of a block of
both on Earth and in outer space. A par- useful for this purpose, moderators must scintillator material is a step toward
ticularly important terrestrial application be several inches (of the order of 10 cm) miniaturization, a photomultiplier tube is
for small, low-power, portable fast-neu- thick. In addition, one must use gas-filled still a bulky, high-power device.
tron detectors lies in the requirement to detector tubes containing electrodes to The present development of minia-
scan for nuclear materials in cargo and which high bias voltages are applied. ture, low-power scintillation-based fast-
baggage arriving at international trans- Hence, conventional fast-neutron detec- neutron detectors exploits recent advances
portation facilities. tors are inherently bulky and heavy. in the fabrication of avalanche photodi-
In the conventional method of detect- Several decades ago, scintillation-based odes (APDs). Basically, such a detector
ing fast neutrons (by which is meant neu- detectors were introduced as smaller includes a plastic scintillator, typically
alternatives to conventional fast-neutron between 300 and 400 µm thick with very
detectors. A scintillation detector of this thin silver mirror coating on all its faces
type includes a photomultiplier tube that except the one bonded to an APD (see
Silver Mirror
Plastic
Scintillator
APD
Incident Neutron
Strikes Proton in
Scintillator
Scintillation
Light
Silver Mirror
Moving Proton Excites Scintillation

Light Before Coming to Rest Silver Mirror
An Avalanche Photodiode and a Plastic Scintillator are combined to form a compact, sensitive fast-
neutron sensor.
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➭
figure). All photons generated from mation on the kinetic energies of inci- In accordance with Public Law 96-517, the
scintillation are thus internally reflected dent neutrons. It has been estimated that contractor has elected to retain title to this
and eventually directed to the APD. This a complete, fully developed fast-neutron invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its
design affords not only compactness but detector of this type, would be character- commercial use should be addressed to:
also tight optical coupling for utilization ized by linear dimensions of the order of Innovative Technology Assets Management
of a relatively large proportion of the 10 cm or less, a mass of no more than JPL
scintillation light. The combination of about 0.5 kg, and a power demand of no Mail Stop 202-233
this tight coupling and the avalanche- more than a few watts. 4800 Oak Grove Drive
multiplication gain (typically between This work was done by Jagdish Patel and Brent Pasadena, CA 91109-8099
750 and 1,000) of the APD is expected to Blaes of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion (818) 354-2240
have enough sensitivity to enable moni- Laboratory. For more information, download E-mail: iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov
toring of a fast-neutron flux as small as the Technical Support Package (free white Refer to NPO-41345, volume and number
1,000 cm–2s–1. Moreover, pulse-height paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the
analysis can be expected to provide infor- Physical Sciences category. page number.
Particle-Charge Spectrometer
A flow of gas carries charged particles through a charge-sensing cylindrical electrode.
An instrument for rapidly measuring outdoor settings — for example, volcanic nected to a Faraday-cage cylindrical elec-
the electric charges and sizes (from ≈1 to regions, clean rooms, powder-processing trode. The charged particles of interest
≈100 µm) of airborne particles is under- machinery, and spray-coating facilities. are suspended in air or other suitable
going development. Conceived for moni- The instrument incorporates a com- gas that is made to flow along the axis of
toring atmospheric dust particles on mercially available, low-noise, ultrasensi- the cylindrical electrode without touch-
Mars, instruments like this one could also tive charge-sensing preamplifier circuit. ing the electrode. The flow can be chan-
be used on Earth to monitor natural and The input terminal of this circuit — the neled and generated by any of several
artificial aerosols in diverse indoor and gate of a field-effect transistor — is con- alternative means; in the prototype of
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➮
➭
Physical Sciences
Sense Electrode To Air Pump

Charged
Particle
Glass Capillary
Shaping
Amplifier
Amplifier 1 stage
st
Sheilded Housing
The Prototype Particle-Charge Spectrometer includes a capillary tube that enters a shielded housing
containing a Faraday-cage cylindrical electrode and charge-sensing electronic circuitry. The oscillo-
scope trace depicts the charge-sensing output signal in response to a particle of charge ≈1,560 e.
this instrument, the gas is drawn along a ment can sample particles at a rate as
glass capillary tube (see upper part of high as several thousand per second.
figure) coaxial with the electrode. This work was done by Stephen Fuerstenau
The size of a particle affects its rate of and Gregory R. Wilson of Caltech for NASA’s
acceleration in the flow and thus affects the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
timing and shape of the corresponding sig- In accordance with Public Law 96-517,
nal peak generated by the charge-sensing the contractor has elected to retain title to this
amplifier. The charge affects the magni- invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its
tude (and thus also the shape) of the signal commercial use should be addressed to:
peak. Thus, the signal peak (see figure) Innovative Technology Assets Management
conveys information on both the size and JPL
electric charge of a sensed particle. Mail Stop 202-233
In experiments thus far, the instru- 4800 Oak Grove Drive
ment has been found to be capable of Pasadena, CA 91109-8099
measuring individual aerosol particle E-mail: iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov
charges of magnitude >350 e (where e is Refer to NPO-21183, volume and number
the fundamental unit of electric charge) of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the
with a precision of ±150 e. The instru- page number.
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Rotationally Vibrating Electric-Field Mill
The disadvantages of rotary couplings in conventional field
mills could be avoided.
A proposed instrument for measuring a on which data-acquisition and power-
static electric field would be based partly supply electronic circuits would be
on a conventional rotating-split-cylinder or mounted. In addition to the electrodes,
rotating-split-sphere electric-field mill. the electrode assembly would contain
However, the design of the proposed electronic circuits for switching the elec-
instrument would overcome the difficulty, trical connections to the electrodes,
encountered in conventional rotational measuring the electric currents that flow
field mills, of transferring measurement between connected electrodes as the
signals and power via either electrical or assembly rotates in the ambient electric
fiber-optic rotary couplings that must be field, digitizing the current measure-
aligned and installed in conjunction with ments, and transmitting the digitized
rotary bearings. Instead of being made to measurement signals to the data-acquisi-
rotate in one direction at a steady speed as tion circuitry via one of the optical fibers.
in a conventional rotational field mill, a Power would be transmitted from a light-
split-cylinder or split-sphere electrode emitting diode on the stationary base, via
assembly in the proposed instrument another optical fiber, to photovoltaic cir-
would be set into rotational vibration like cuitry in the electrode assembly.
that of a metronome. The rotational vibra- Because the flexural bearing, its actua-
tion, synchronized with appropriate rapid tor, and the electrode assembly taken
electronic switching of electrical connec- together would constitute a resonant
tions between electric-current-measuring mechanical system like a metronome, little
circuitry and the split-cylinder or split- power would be needed to maintain the
sphere electrodes, would result in an elec- large angular excursions needed to pro-
trical measurement effect equivalent to duce sufficiently large measurement sig-
that of a conventional rotational field mill. nals. The precise nature of the actuator has
The figure depicts a version of the pro- not yet been determined; it seems likely
posed instrument, the electrode assembly that a magnetic drive could easily be imple-
of which would include a hollow metal mented. The actuator could be equipped
hemisphere split into four electrodes. with a rotary position encoder, which could
Instead of a conventional rotary bearing, provide feedback for adjusting the excita-
the instrument would include a flexural tion of the actuator to correct for small
bearing that would be part of a metronome- deviations of the rotational vibration from
like actuator. The measurement-signal and constant frequency and amplitude.
power connections between the electrode This work was done by Harold Kirkham of
assembly and external instrumentation Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
would be made via optical fibers that For more information, download the Technical
would flex with the flexural bearing. Support Package (free white paper) at
The flexural bearing and actuator www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the Physical
would be anchored to a stationary base, Sciences category. NPO-30572
Flexural Bearing and Actuator
Two Optical Fibers Electrically-Insulating Support
Hemisphere Segmented
Stationary Base Into Four Electrodes
Data-Acquisition and
Power-Supply Circuits Two Optical Fibers
A Split-Hemisphere Electrode Assembly would rotationally oscillate. In the presence of an electric

field perpendicular to the axis of rotation, oscillating currents would flow between electrodes.
Digitized measurements of these currents would be transmitted via an optical fiber to the stationary
data-acquisition circuitry.
➮
➭
Physical Sciences
R&D Bladder Estimating Hardness From the USDC

Prototypes
Tool-Bit Temperature Rise
Temperature rise during drilling is correlated with hardness
Pneumatic
Bellows Press Bladder Pipe Plug of the drilled material.
Specialists NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
In Bladder
Tanks And A method of real-time quantification of or known power levels through materials
Accumulator Inflatables Condensate the hardness of a rock or similar material of known hardness. The figure presents an
Collector
involves measurement of the temperature, example of empirical temperature-versus-
Bio-Fuel Compensator as a function of time, of the tool bit of an time data for a particular 3.6-mm USDC
Bladder Diaphragm
ultrasonic/sonic drill corer (USDC) that is bit, driven at an average power somewhat
being used to drill into the material. The below 40 W, drilling through materials of
Aero Tec Laboratories Inc. method is based on the idea that, other various hardness levels.
Ramsey, New Jersey 07446-1251 USA
Toll Free 800–526–5330 Fax 201–825–1962 things being about equal, the rate of rise The temperature readings from with-
e-Mail: atl@atlinc.com of temperature and the maximum tem- in a USDC tool bit can also be used for
www.atlinc.com perature reached during drilling increase purposes other than estimating the
with the hardness of the drilled material. hardness of the drilled material. For
In this method, the temperature is example, they can be especially useful as
measured by means of a thermocouple feedback to control the driving power to
embedded in the USDC tool bit near the prevent thermal damage to the drilled
drilling tip. [The concept of incorporating material, the drill bit, or both. In the
sensors into USDC tool bits was described case of drilling through ice, the temper-
in “Ultrasonic/Sonic Drill/Corers With ature readings could be used as a guide
Microscopes and Borescopes Integrated Sensors” (NPO-20856), NASA to maintaining sufficient drive power to
Tech Briefs, Vol. 25, No. 1 (January 2001), prevent jamming of the drill by prevent-
page 38.] The hardness of the drilled ing refreezing of melted ice in contact
NEW material can then be determined through with the drill.
Twist & Flex correlation of the temperature-rise-versus- This work was done by Yoseph Bar-Cohen
Illuminated
Fiberoptic time data with time-dependent tempera- and Stewart Sherrit of Caltech for NASA’s Jet
Borescope ture rises determined in finite-element Propulsion Laboratory. For more information,
simulations of, and/or experiments on, contact iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov.
drilling at various known rates of advance NPO-40132
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This highly entertaining & educa-
tional DVD chronicles the life and 50
times of George Westinghouse, Limestone
considered America’s greatest Olivine Basalt
40
industrialist and the only man Brick
who would go up against Packed Sand
Thomas Edison — and win. 30 Vesicular Basalt
JPL Basalt
His victory over Edison during the Battle of the
Basalt Scoria
Currents set the stage for the entire future of 20 Volcanic Lithic Conglomerate
electric power. The Westinghouse air brake is one Bishop’s Tufts
of the most important inventions in history.
Automobile shock absorbers, railroad signaling, 10
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
and the modern weekend all owe their existence Time, s
to the man Andrew Carnegie called “A genius
who can’t be downed.”
View the trailer and order the DVD at:
www.techbriefs.com/store Temperature-Versus-Time data were obtained by use of a thermocouple embedded near a USDC tool
bit drilling through materials of various hardness levels.
➮
➭
Upcoming...
Webinars
Fluid Transport in MEMS Devices
Live Presentation: Wednesday, August 27, 2008, 2:00 PM EST
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have become an integral part of everything from consumer products to advanced medical sensors. This webinar
will introduce you to how to conduct simulation of MEMS devices. These applications are multiphysics by their very nature and include coupled physics
phenomena at the microscale. This presentation sponsored by COMSOL covers a quick overview of today’s MEMS technology and focuses on fluid trans-
port in microfluidic channels. Examples include a bioMEMS sensor and a nanoparticle explosives detetector. A live demo of MEMS multiphysics software
from COMSOL exemplifies how to design a microchannel H-cell. An informal Q&A session wraps up the webinar addressing your specific MEMS simulation
projects.
Moderator: Linda Bell, Editorial Director, NASA Tech Briefs

Speaker: Carl Meinhart, Director Microfluidics Laboratory, UC Santa Barbara, CA; John Dunec, Branch Manager, COMSOL, Inc., Palo Alto, CA
Dr. Carl D. Meinhart is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also
Director of the UCSB Microfluidics Laboratory, which conducts research in two primary areas: the investigation of fluid mechanics at the
microscale, and its application to optimize MEMS-based biosensors.
John Dunec received his PhD from Stanford University in 1983. John has over 20 years experience in product analysis and develop-
ment, first with IBM, then with an early multiphysics startup, then running a product development consulting firm. As a consultant, he
was one of COMSOL’s first US customers and is now Branch Manager of the Palo Alto office. He has been teaching COMSOL courses
throughout the US since 2003.
To register, please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar06
Perfluoropolyether Lubricants as Problem Solvers

Live Presentation: Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 2:00 PM EST
Lubricants are often an afterthought in the design of severe-duty components for industrial, automotive, aerospace or other applications. Engineers often
rely on traditional lubricants during the initial design stage. When these systems fail in performance testing, design engineers realize that a
premium-performing lubricant, such as DuPont™ Krytox® (PFPE, Perfluoropolyether), is required to meet system performance and lifetime requirements.
In this webinar, sponsored by DuPont™ Krytox® we will review the strengths of PFPE-based lubricants, explore specific performance attributes of Krytox®
custom-formulated products, dispel myths on PFPE performance weaknesses, discuss appropriate analytical techniques when used with
PFPE lubricants.
Moderator: Joe Pramberger, Publisher, NASA Tech Briefs; President, Tech Briefs Media Group
Speaker: Carl Walther, Senior Technical Service Engineer, DuPont™ Krytox®
H. Carl Walther received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Oklahoma State Univ. in 1984. After graduation,
Carl worked for Conoco Inc. in their lubricants and fuels division in a technical sales support role providing product development support.
For the last 6 years at Conoco, Carl was the lead Lubrication Engineer for their Mining Services division based in Denver, Colorado. In
1998, Carl joined DuPont Performance Lubricants as Senior Technical Service Engineer. His responsibilities varied from production sup-
port and quality control to tech support. Carl is currently focused primarily in the automotive and aerospace market segments.
To register, please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar07
These one-hour webinars include:

• Live Q&A session • Interactive Polling Questions
• Access to archived event on demand
➮
➭
Gears start turning
before we even make a motor. Information
Sciences
Automated Production of Movies
on a Cluster of Computers
Processing is faster, easier, more flexible,
and more collaborative than before.
Whether it’s brush, brushless or stepper motors from the Pittman ® and A method of accelerating and facilitating production of
MAE ® brands — our first goal is answering every motion technology video and film motion-picture products, and software and
need. We’ll work out what works best for your applications and generic designs of computer hardware to implement the
operations, from motor sizes to gearing and electronics to JIT & VMI
method, are undergoing development. The method provides
programs. Because we know motion applications require more than
just quality motors. So we deliver more by integrating advanced for automation of most of the tedious and repetitive tasks
technology with rapid customization and full logistical support. involved in editing and otherwise processing raw digitized
imagery into final motion-picture products. The method was
It all starts here.
conceived to satisfy requirements, in industrial and scientific
testing, for rapid processing of multiple streams of simultane-
ously captured raw video imagery into documentation in the
form of edited video imagery and video derived data products
©2007 for technical review and analysis. In the production of such
video technical documentation, unlike in production of
www.ametekmotors.com 877.748.8626 motion-picture products for entertainment, (1) it is often nec-
essary to produce multiple video derived data products, (2)
there are usually no second chances to repeat acquisition of
raw imagery, (3) it is often desired to produce final products
WAVE SPRINGS
within minutes rather than hours, days, or months, and (4)
consistency and quality, rather than aesthetics, are the primary
ALL SPRINGS ARE NOT EQUAL® criteria for judging the products.
9 Assembly Size 9 Spring Height In the conventional method of processing video imagery, the
workflow is mostly serial in the sense that for the most part,
MINIMIZE each stage of processing must be completed before beginning
the next stage, and the final product is a single video stream.
9 Assembly Cost 9 Spring Cavity
In the present method, the workflow has both serial and paral-
lel aspects: processing can begin before all the raw imagery has
been acquired, each video stream can be subjected to different
stages of processing simultaneously on different computers
EQUAL FORCE
that may be grouped into one or more cluster(s), and the final
AND DEFLECTION product may consist of multiple video streams (see figure).
Results of processing on different computers are shared, so
that workers can collaborate effectively.
RE The software provides a platform-independent design format,
OPE DUCED
R
HEIGATING
WAVE
SPRING
enabling production on a cluster of diverse shared and/or ded-
HT icated processors. The software generates a graphical user inter-
FREE SAMPLES COIL
SPRING
face (GUI) for designing automatic production of dynamic
To test in your application video and film products. The GUI includes a visual program-
Reduce spring heights by 4,000 stock sizes in carbon
ming language that uses interactive computer-graphical versions
up to 50% compared to and stainless steel; available of constructs (e.g., story boards) familiar to professionals in the
coil springs from 1/4" to 16"
motion-picture industry. The software provides for the use of
Same force and deflection No-Tooling-Costs™ on programming techniques that do not rely on the availability of
as coil springs specials; available from
.200" to 90" & FAST
raw video imagery or of certain dependent and independent
ALS
AL C
variables at the time of design. These programming techniques
I
I
ECONOM
C
SPE
ARD
apply to editing, compositing, and rendering processes. The

A ND
software enables production of a variety of products from a sin-

ST
E
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gle design, partly through reuse of design elements and pro-
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www.smalley.com info@smalley.com Free native CAD models of all stock parts grammable features. The software enables automatic alterations
of the product(s) during production to meet certain design
➮
➭
CONVENTIONAL PROCESSING
Video Streams Beginning of Recording

Raw Imagery
Recorded
End of Recording Magnetic Angle Sensors and Encoders

Raw Imagery POSIROT ®
Reviewed
Magnetic Inclination Sensors
POSITILT ®
®
Raw Imagery POSIROT :
Digitized xRange from
0° to 360°
x Protection class
up to IP69K
Digitized Imagery xShaft and
Moved to hollow shaft
Nonlinear-Editing ®
Computer POSITILT :
xRange ±15° up
Processing Design to ±180°
Digitized Imagery Processed and
xProtection class
Data Products Designed, With up to IP69K
Waits Proportional to the
Number of Tasks and Inversely
Proportional to Processing Power
Magnetostrictive Position Sensors
Build
POSICHRON®
Production of Video
xRange from
Data Products
4 in. to 226 in.
xResolution
LQ¿QLWH
xLinearity up
to 0.01%
PROCESSING BY THE PRESENT METHOD xProtection class
up to IP69K
xOutputs: Start-
Stop; 0 - 10V;
Video Streams Processing Design Build 4 - 20mA; SSI;
Beginning CANopen
of xAbsolute, wear-
Raw Imagery Recording free
Digitized and
Recorded Magnetic Scale Position Sensors
POSIMAG®
Digitized Imagery xRange from
Processed 0 - 98 ft
During and After xResolution up
Acquisition to 1µm
Ends of xProtection class
Various up to IP69K
Stages of x Non-contact
Video Data Product(s) Recording
Designed Before, xAdhesive
During, and After mounting, screw
Recording mounting
xMetal housing
xReference pulse,
end pos. signals
Video Data Products
Produced (Built)
During Recording and Cable Extension Transducers
Throughout Processing
WS®
xRange from
4 in. to 197 ft
Workflow in Processing of Video Imagery is substantially serial in the conventional method but has xLinearity up
both parallel and serial character in the present method. to 0.01%
xProtection class
up to IP68
goals. These automatic production changes Technological Services Company xOutputs: 0 - 10V;
can be based on the characteristics of the P.O. Box 1218 4 - 20mA; encoder
A, B, Z; SSI; PRO-
raw video imagery and of other variables 100 Street A, Suite B FIBUS; CANopen
as they become available. Picayune, MS 39466 xCompact, robust
This work was done by Jasper Nail, Duong Telephone No. (601) 799-2403 xFor instrumenta-
tion, automation,
Le, William L. Nail, and William “Bud” E-mail: budnail@videocomop.com. OEM
Nail of Technological Services Co. for Stennis Refer to SSC-00238, volume and number
Space Center. Inquiries concerning rights for of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the www.asmsensors.com
its commercial use should be addressed to: page number.
Tel. 1-888-ASM-USA-1
➮
➭
Books & Reports
FIDO-Class Development Rover

A report describes a rover-type robotic wheeled vehicle
recently built for use as a testbed for development of software
for future rover-type vehicles. This vehicle is a derivative of the
Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO) rover, which is
a prototype Mars-exploration rover that also serves as a terres-
trial testbed.
The present vehicle was designed to be nearly functionally
identical to the FIDO rover but to be built at much lower cost
and to incorporate several improvements to increase utility for
development work. Accordingly, considerable effort was made
to use commercial off-the-shelf parts and other parts that could
be fabricated easily and at low cost. Important features of this
vehicle include six-wheel drive and six-wheel steering; onboard
computer and power, control, and data-communication elec-
tronics having flexibility needed for development of software;
significantly increased maximum speed (60 cm/s versus 6 cm/s
for the FIDO rover); a rocker-bogey suspension with external
differential link, functionally equivalent to that of the FIDO
rover; and a hand-held remote controller that can be used to
control vehicle motion manually without using the computer
(or while waiting for the onboard computer to boot up).
This work was done by Herman Herman and Reid Simmons of Carnegie
Mellon University and Richard D. Petras of Caltech for NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory. For more information, download the Technical
Support Package (free white paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the
Mechanics/Machinery category. NPO-45645
Tone-Based Command of Deep Space Probes

Using Ground Antennas
A document discusses a technique for enabling the recep-
tion of spacecraft commands at received signal levels as much
as three orders of magnitude below those of current deep
space systems. Tone-based commanding deals with the recep-
tion of commands that are sent in the form of precise frequen-
cy offsets using an open-loop receiver. The key elements of this
technique are an ultrastable oscillator and open-loop receiver
onboard the spacecraft, both of which are part of the existing
New Horizons (Pluto flyby) communications system design.
This enables possible flight experimentation for tone-based
commanding during the long cruise of the spacecraft to Pluto.
In this technique, it is also necessary to accurately remove
Doppler shift from the uplink signal presented to the space-
craft. A signal processor in the spacecraft performs a discrete
Fourier transform on the received signal to determine the fre-
quency of the received signal. Due to the long-term drift in the
oscillators and orbit prediction model, the system is likely to be
implemented differentially, where changes in the uplink fre-
quency convey the command information.
This work was done by Robert S. Bokulic and J. Robert Jensen of
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for Goddard
Space Flight Center. For more information, download the Technical
Support Package (free white paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp
under the Electronics/Computers category. GSC-14966-1
➮
➭
Product Focus: National Manufacturing Week Exhibitor Preview
See these and other products at National Manufacturing Week, September 23-25, Rosemont, IL (www.manufacturingweek.com)
Booth 439 Booth 750

The PT4300 stainless steel pressure Festo, Hauppauge, NY, has introduced the EGSA ball-
sensor from TURCK, Minneapolis, MN, screw-driven cantilever linear actuator available as a
is designed for hazardous area applica- complete system with a motor and controller, or as an
tions, and is constructed without o-rings individual component adapted to third-party motors.
or welds, allowing pressure ranges up to Motor mounting kits for axial or reverse parallel
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Free catalogs and literature for NASA Tech Briefs’ readers. To order, enter the corresponding number
on the Online Reader Service Page at www.techbriefs.com/rs, or visit the appropriate URL.
PHOTOMULTIPLIERS SILICONE RUBBER HIGH POWER,

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PRECISION ENCLOSURES THE EFFICIENT COOLING

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National Nano Engineering
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NASA Innovative w w w . t e c h b r i e f s . c o m
Partnerships Program
Published by .........................................Tech Briefs Media Group
Publisher.....................................................Joseph T. Pramberger
NASA’s R&D efforts produce a robust supply of promising technologies with applications in many indus- Editorial Director ........................................................Linda L. Bell
tries. A key mechanism in identifying commercial applications for this technology is NASA’s national Editor, PTB and Embedded Technology...............Bruce A. Bennett
network of laboratories and business support entities. The network includes ten NASA field centers, the Technical/Managing Editor.........................................Ted Selinsky
National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC), and a full tie-in with the Federal Laboratory Consortium Technical Writer ...........................................................Shirl Hayes
(FLC) for Technology Transfer. To explore technology transfer, development, and collaboration opportu- Senior Editor.............................................................Spencer Chin
nities with NASA, visit www.ipp.nasa.gov. Assistant Editor........................................................Kendra Smith
Production Manager......................................................John Mass
NASA’s Technology Sources Production Manager ................................................John Iwanciw
If you need further information about new technologies presented in NASA Tech Briefs, Art Director ...............................................................Lois Erlacher
request the Technical Support Package (TSP) indicated at the end of the brief. If a TSP is not Designer ...........................................................Bernadette Torres
available, the Innovative Partnerships Office at the NASA field center that sponsored the Circulation Manager .............................................Marie Claussell
research can provide you with additional information and, if applicable, refer you to the Circulation Assistant ............................................Damiana Garcia
innovator(s). These centers are the source of all NASA-developed technology. Marketing Manager.............................................Sabrina Roberts
Reader Service Coordinator.....................................Priscilla Perez
Ames Research Center Kennedy Space Center
Selected technological strengths: Information Selected technological strengths: Fluids and NASA Tech Briefs are provided by the National Aeronautics
Technology; Biotechnology; Nanotechnology; Fluid Systems; Materials Evaluation; Process and Space Administration, Innovative Partnerships Program,
Aerospace Operations Systems; Rotorcraft; Engineering; Command, Control, and Monitor Washington, DC:
Thermal Protection Systems. Systems; Range Systems; Environmental Administrator ........................................................Michael Griffin
Lisa L. Lockyer Engineering and Management. Director, Innovative Partnerships Program ...........Doug Comstock
(650) 604-1754 David R. Makufka Publications Director ...............................................Janelle Turner
lisa.l.lockyer@nasa.gov (321) 867-6227 Technical Director .............................................................Carl Ray
david.r.makufka@nasa.gov
Dryden Flight Research Center TECH BRIEFS MEDIA GROUP
Selected technological strengths: 1466 Broadway, Suite 910, New York, NY 10036
Langley Research Center
Aerodynamics; Aeronautics Flight Testing; (212) 490-3999 FAX (212) 986-7864
Selected technological strengths: Aerodynamics;
Aeropropulsion; Flight Systems; Thermal Flight Systems; Materials; Structures; Sensors; Chief Executive Officer ..............................Domenic A. Mucchetti
Testing; Integrated Systems Test and Measurements; Information Sciences. Executive Vice-President.......................................Luke Schnirring
Validation. Martin Waszak Technology Director .............................................Oliver Rockwell
Gregory Poteat (757) 864-4015 Systems Administrator ............................................Albert Sunseri
(661) 276-3872 martin.r.waszak@nasa.gov Web Developer......................................................Karina Adames
gregory.a.poteat@nasa.gov Online Content Manager/Web Developer..............Peter Bonavita
Marshall Space Flight Center Web Development Intern......................................Adam Santiago
Glenn Research Center Selected technological strengths: Materials; Credit/Collection ......................................................Felecia Lahey
Selected technological strengths: Manufacturing; Nondestructive Evaluation;
Aeropropulsion; Communications; Energy Accounting/Human Resources Manager.......................Sylvia Ruiz
Biotechnology; Space Propulsion; Controls and
Technology; High-Temperature Materials Dynamics; Structures; Microgravity Processing.
Office Manager ...................................................Alfredo Vasquez
Research. Receptionist............................................Elizabeth Brache-Torres
Jim Dowdy
Kathleen Needham (256) 544-7604
(216) 433-2802 james.f.dowdy@nasa.gov
NASA TECH BRIEFS ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES
kathleen.k.needham@nasa.gov CT, MA, NH, ME, VT, RI, Eastern Canada ......................Ed Marecki
...........................................................................at (401) 351-0274
Stennis Space Center
Goddard Space Flight Center Selected technological strengths: Propulsion
NJ, PA, DE ..................................................................John Murray
Selected technological strengths: Earth and ...........................................................................at (973) 545-2132
Systems; Test/Monitoring; Remote Sensing;
Planetary Science Missions; LIDAR; Cryogenic Nonintrusive Instrumentation.
NY ........................................................................Stan Greenfield
Systems; Tracking; Telemetry; Remote Sensing; ...........................................................................at (203) 938-2418
Command. Ramona Travis Western PA & NY, Central Canada...........................Bernie Ventre
Nona Cheeks (228) 688-3832 ...........................................................................at (781) 740-0337
(301) 286-5810 ramona.e.travis@nasa.gov VA, MD, DC, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, TN,
MS, LA, AR, OK, TX...................................................Ray Tompkins
nona.k.cheeks@nasa.gov ...........................................................................at (281) 313-1004
National Technology Transfer Center
OH, MI, IN ..............................................................Ryan Beckman
Jet Propulsion Laboratory Darwin Molnar ...........................................................................at (973) 409-4687
Selected technological strengths: Near/Deep- Wheeling, WV MN, ND, SD, WI, IL, KY, MO,
Space Mission Engineering; Microspacecraft; (800) 678-6882 KS, IA, NE ......................................................................Bob Casey
Space Communications; Information Systems; ...........................................................................at (847) 223-5225
Remote Sensing; Robotics. Northwest, N. Calif., Western Canada............................Bill Hague
Andrew Gray NASA HEADQUARTERS ...........................................................................at (310) 457-6783
Craig Pitcher
(818) 354-3821 ...........................................................................at (408) 778-0300
gray@jpl.nasa.gov Innovative Partnerships Program Office
Doug Comstock, Director CO, UT, MT, WY, ID....................................................Cynthia Louis
...........................................................................at (970) 223-3911
Johnson Space Center (202) 358-2560
doug.comstock@nasa.gov S. Calif., AZ, NM, NV........................................................Tom Boris
Selected technological strengths: Artificial ...........................................................................at (949) 715-7779
Intelligence and Human Computer Interface; Event Sales.........................................................Dave Carstenson
Life Sciences; Human Space Flight Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) & ...........................................................................at (727) 397-5677
Operations; Avionics; Sensors; Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Postcard/Literature Advertising ..............................Patrick Harvey
Communications. Programs ...........................................................................at (973) 409-4686
Michele Brekke Carl Ray, Program Executive Jonathan Medici
(281) 483-4614 (202) 358-4652 at (973) 409-4762
michele.a.brekke@nasa.gov carl.g.ray@nasa.gov Reprints ....................................................................Edward Kane
.................................................................at (866) 879-9144, x131
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Advertisers Index
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Advanced Antivibration Components ..............729 ............................40 MicroE Systems ..............................................737 ..........................53
Aero Tec Laboratories Inc. ................................746 ............................60 Micro-Epsilon Messtechnik GmbH....................708 ............................10
Aerotech Inc. ......................................................705, 830 ................6, 68 MicroStrain, Inc. ............................................741 ..........................55
Agilent Technologies..........................................717, 720 ..............25, 31 Miller-Stephenson Chemical Co. ......................731, 842 ..............42, 68
AllMotion ............................................................745 ............................59 Mill-Max Mfg. Corp. ..........................................843 ............................68
American Aerospace Controls ..........................831 ............................67 Minalex Corporation..........................................844 ............................67
American Metric Corp. ......................................784 ............................5a Nabtesco Precision USA, Inc. ............................786 ............................7a
American Precision Prototyping........................832 ............................68 Nanomotion........................................................790 ............................6a
Ametek ................................................................757 ............................62 National Instruments ......................................701, 713, 781 ..............
............................................................................COV II, 20, 2a
Ansys, Inc.............................................................758 ............................43
Newark ................................................................707 ..............................9
ASM Sensors, Inc. ..............................................750 ............................63
Nexen Group ......................................................743 ............................57
Associated Power Technologies, ........................723 ............................34
Noren Products ..................................................845 ............................67
Autodesk, Inc. ................................................727, 755 ....38, COV IV
Objet Geometries ..............................................846 ............................69
BEI Precision System & Space ..........................787 ............................8a
Omega Engineering ..........................................................................1
CGI Inc. ..........................................................791 ........................11a
Omicron USA..................................................739 ..........................51
Comsol, Inc.....................................................704, 833, 754 ..............
....................................................................................5, 68, COV III Omley Industries ................................................847 ............................68
Cyclo Products ....................................................834 ............................68 Optek ..................................................................848 ............................67
Dataforth Corporation ......................................738 ............................52 Pendulum Instruments, Inc. ..............................725 ............................36
Deposition Sciences, Inc. ..................................716 ............................47 PhotoMachining Inc...........................................849 ............................69
Deschner Corporation ......................................788 ............................8a POLYRACK North America Corp. ..................850 ..........................67
Dewetron Inc...................................................711 ..........................17 Protomold ..........................................................728 ............................39
Digi-Key Corporation ........................................703, 719 ................3, 29 Qosina ................................................................851 ............................67
DuPont............................................................714 ..........................21 RF Monolithics, Inc. ..........................................715 ............................22
Dynapar ..........................................................783 ..........................6a Rohde & Schwarz................................................718 ............................27
Eagle Stainless Tube ..........................................736 ............................48 Rotek, Inc. ..........................................................782 ............................3a
Electron Tubes ....................................................835 ............................67 Saelig Company ..................................................852 ............................69
Evans....................................................................836 ............................68 Silverthin Bearing Group ..................................798 ..........................12a
Festo ....................................................................785 ..........................10a Smalley Steel Ring Company ............................749 ............................62
Harmonic Drive LLC..........................................780 ............................1a SolidWorks Corporation ....................................709 ......................11, 13
Hioki USA ..........................................................710 ............................15 Stanford Research Systems Inc. ........................702 ..............................2
iKEY ....................................................................735, 837 ..............49, 68 Stealth Computer Corp. ....................................853 ............................67
Imperx Incorporated..........................................732, 838-839........23, 68 Stevens Products Inc ..........................................854 ............................69
Indium Corporation of America ......................734 ............................46 Stock Drive Products ..........................................730 ............................41
Integrated Engineering Software Inc. ..............733 ............................45 Stockwell Elastomerics ......................................855 ............................67
Intelligent Motion Systems ................................793 ..........................13a Sunstone Circuits ............................................722 ..........................33
International Rectifier........................................724 ............................35 The MathWorks Inc. ..........................................706 ..............................7
IOtech Inc. ..........................................................................................37A Titan Tool Supply Inc.........................................747 ............................60
Keithley Instruments Inc. ..................................712 ............................19 VersaLogic Corporation ....................................721 ............................32
Krohn-Hite Corporation ....................................840 ............................68 yet2.com ..........................................................................................37
Leoni-Elocab ......................................................795 ............................4a Ride-along enclosed in versions 5, 6, 7, and 8
Light Machinery ................................................748 ............................42 NASA Tech Briefs, ISSN 0145-319X, USPS 750-070, copyright © 2008 in U.S. is published
M.S. Kennedy Corporation ................................792 ..........................12a monthly by Tech Briefs Media Group, 1466 Broadway, Ste. 910, New York, NY 10036. The
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MacKichan Software........................................753 ..........................66 are supplied by NASA. Editorial, sales, production, and circulation offices at 1466
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Mad City Labs, Inc. ............................................742, 794............ 56, 14a the U.S. and Puerto Rico, $75.00 for 1 year; $135 for 2 years. Single copies $5.00.
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NASA Tech Briefs (NTB) has been a very successful method by which NASA conveys technologies available for commercial use
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at: www.techbriefs.com/nasatechneeds.) The objective is to provide awareness of NASA’s future needs and requirements, which
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Each article describes specific selected technologies of importance. In every case, a NASA point of contact will be provided so that
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High-End Computing Resources to Pioneer the Future in Space

Exploration, Scientific Discovery, and Aeronautics Research
A s an agency, NASA invests a signifi-
cant amount of resources in the
development and advancement of high-
end computing (HEC) resources and
associated technologies to support all of
its missions. The demand for HEC
resources has increased dramatically in
the last several years and continues to
grow in response to progressively chal-
lenging modeling and simulation
requirements.
NASA’s need for more HEC resources
extends beyond computing cycles. With a
wide range of projects to support all four
agency missions — from aeronautics and
exploration, to science and space opera-
tions — NASA’s HEC resources must be
flexible and robust enough to handle dif- A birds-eye view of the 10,240-processor SGI Altix Columbia supercomputer. (NASA Ames/Tom Trower)
ferent types of compute jobs, and able to
accommodate a dynamic environment for a wide range of simulation tasks. them to provide the most effective com-
with constantly changing needs, depend- Modeling of complex liquid sprays, puting platforms and environments.
ing on mission priority and status. chemical kinetics, and formation of Among its most recent acquisitions is a
For instance, one of the Exploration chemical species is critical to the design 245-TF SGI ICE cluster named Pleiades,
Systems Mission Directorate’s primary of combustors for fuel-efficient, clean- which will provide more than 2.5 times
focuses is development and testing of burning engines ranging from those the current high-end computing capabil-
the Orion crew exploration vehicle, used on commercial transport aircraft to ity for NASA scientists and engineers.
which will take human explorers back to those being studied for hypersonic air- This architecture takes advantage of the
the Moon by 2020, replacing the retir- breathing vehicles for access to space. advances made in the marketplace by uti-
ing Space Shuttle fleet. This type of Distributed computing architectures are lizing the Intel Xeon quad-core processor
design and engineering work is very also required for the multidisciplinary in a highly reliable interconnected system
compute-intensive, requiring multiple design and optimization of future air- spanning 40 compute cabinets.
job runs to be turned around quickly. craft and their propulsion systems. Technical discussions must continue
Shuttle-related calculations under The NASA Advanced Supercomput-ing taking place regarding leading-edge
NASA’s Space Operations Mission (NAS) facility at Ames Research Center concepts such as petascale systems, and
Directorate are similar in nature, with a currently houses a 14,336-core SGI Altix NASA must be willing to openly explore
very real time-critical element. In con- system named Columbia, which supports emerging computing architectures to
trast, applications within NASA’s more than 1,100 users from all four ensure the right HEC resources are in
Science Mission Directorate typically NASA mission directorates delivering 89 place to carry out future mission chal-
involve long-running calculations with Teraflop/s (TF). One of NAS’ primary lenges. Near-real-time aerospace design
many processors; for example, model- charters is selecting and deploying com- and humans living and working in space
ing the formation and life of a hurri- puting architectures such as Columbia are just around the corner.
cane over several days, or decadal glob- that will meet the needs of all missions. For more information, or to tell us about
al weather patterns. NAS continually explores emerging, your ideas, contact William Thigpen, NASA
The Aeronautics Research Mission innovative architectures and systems and Ames, at 650-604-1061, or contact the NAS
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August 2008
Selecting the Optimal

Motion Applications ........................4a
Inspection ....................................8a
Part Defects ...............................10a
Inspection ..................................12a
New Products ............................13a
Cover image courtesy of IDS Imaging

otion
efs. c om/m
bri
ww.tech
w
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S
olving a machine vision application, technologies can be roughly broken from the camera, making smooth areas
whether it involves quality inspec- down into these three categories: back- of the target appear dark in the image.
tion, part verification or any num- lighting, bright-field lighting (area, on- Meanwhile, rough surfaces wind up
ber of additional tasks, requires taking axis, linear array or camera-mount ring reflecting some of the dark-field light
several factors into consideration. The lights) and dark-field lighting (low- into the camera, making rough areas
most important part of this process is angle ring or area lights). appear bright in the image. Dark-field
analyzing the target object and its lighting is a good technique for inspect-
inspection environment, and then speci- ing raised (or lowered) features and tex-
fying the tolerance between “good” parts tures. Area lights positioned 45 to 90
and “bad” parts. From this information, degrees off the camera axis can distin-
one can choose the optimal lighting, guish between rough and smooth sur-
vision sensor and lens for the applica- faces to detect notches in ceramic rings
tion at hand. or dents in metal tubing.
Selecting Lighting Determining Capabilities

Selecting the proper lighting is the One of the most important aspects to
most critical part of creating a working consider when selecting a vision sensor
vision solution. Robust lighting simpli- is its imager. The imager is a solid-state
fies the configuring and running of a device positioned behind the vision sen-
vision system. Optimal lighting creates sor’s lens, with a surface containing
adequate contrast between the fea- thousands of photosites that capture
ture(s) of interest and the background and record the light intensity. It is very
(everything else in the camera’s field-of- useful to keep this in mind: an imager
view). To be effective, lighting must be When the optimal vision lighting, sensor and chip is really a collection of thousands of
lens are employed, applications such as reading
consistent and light pollution (noise an etched bar code on an IC chip become simple little light meters. Imager resolution is
from changing ambient light levels) to solve. determined by the number of photosites
must be eliminated. Light selection is an physically on the imager chip, which
art that involves analyzing the optical Backlighting, a scheme which places determines the number of pixels in the
properties of the part to be inspected. the light source behind the object so it image. The more pixels you have, the
The four main optical properties are shines directly into the camera, creates more detailed the image, allowing you
shape, surface texture, color and silhouettes of opaque objects and is use- to see and inspect finer components in a
translucency. The goal is to define, in ful to analyze shapes or inspect for larger field of view, or to have greater
terms of these optical properties, how holes. Backlighting is also used when accuracy in measurements. Photosites
the feature(s) of interest differ from looking for defects in translucent that collect a lot of light are shown as
their background, and then choose a objects, or for detecting the degree of bright pixels in the image. Those photo-
lighting technique that takes advantage translucency. sites which did not see much light are
of these differences. In bright-field lighting, the light shown as dark pixels. You can also select
For example, when trying to read a source is pointing along a more or less a color imager which measures both the
dot peened barcode on an otherwise perpendicular line to the target, making intensity and the wavelength of light.
smooth piece of metal, the optical prop- smooth objects (like a mirror) appear Grayscale imaging, because of its effi-
erty that separates the dot peened marks bright in the camera’s image. Ring lights ciency and simplicity, is more commonly
from the flat background is surface tex- are the most common bright-field light, applied in industrial machine vision
ture. Some lighting techniques (e.g., and they conveniently mount directly than color.
low-angle ring light and on-axis light) onto the camera and surround its lens A vision sensor’s toolset comprises
are particularly good at generating con- with a band of light. Ring lights are specific software algorithms used to ana-
trast in these situations and should be often used to detect label presence or lyze an image in order to determine
tried first. inspect date or lot codes. whether a target object passes or fails an
Common off-the-shelf machine Dark-field lighting positions the inspection. The toolset can include vari-
vision lights are available in various source at a low angle so that the light ous location, vision and analysis tools.
sizes, LED colors, and housings. The bounces off smooth objects and away Location tools are used to overcome
IIa www.techbriefs.com/motion Motion Control Technology, August 2008
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RSF-3 Ultra-miniature Actuator
A new ultra-miniature servo actuator is now available
from Harmonic Drive! Measuring just 12mm square x
47 mm in length, the RSF-3 brushless actuator deliv-
ers maximum torque up to 1.8 in-lb and maximum
speeds up to 333 rpm, depending on gear ratio.
Zero-backlash harmonic drive gearing provides po-
sitional accuracy better than 10 arc minutes and a
200 line, 2 channel incremental encoder (w/ index)
gives a minimum resolution of 24,000 ppr at the out-
put shaft. Ideally suited for precision servo applica-
tions where available space is at a premium.
RSF Mini Brushless Servo Actuators

This new series of high torque brushless servo
actuators is designed for exceptional price
performance. The actuators range from 30mm
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higher than comparable brushed actuators (up
to 240 in-lb) at 20% faster speeds. A new 30:1
ratio is now available for maximum speeds up
to 200 rpm. Positioning accuracy better than
90 arc-sec is achieved and an integral encoder
can provide a resolution up to 400,000 ppr at
the actuator output. These actuators are de-
signed to be compatible with brushless servo
drivers from most manufactures and are well
suited for high volume OEM applications.
Hollow Shaft Actuators

The FHA Series of actuators features a
through-bore up to 45mm in diameter and
provides high torque and exceptional po-
sitioning accuracy. This performance is Hollow Shaft Brushless DC Actuators feature a through-bore up to 14 mm in diameter
achieved in a compact design using a pat- and provide high torque and exceptional positioning accuracy. This performance is achieved in
ented “S” tooth harmonic drive gear coupled a compact design using a high performance harmonic drive coupled to a brushless DC motor
to a DC brushless pancake motor with in- and a high resolution encoder. Maximum torque up to 250 in-lb and positional accuracy better
than 1.5 arc-minute can be achieved. The FHA Mini Series is available in 3 frame sizes, ranging
tegral electronic commutation and a high from 50 to 75 mm square, and 48 to 66 mm in length.
resolution encoder. Max torque up to 7300
in-lb and positional accuracy better than 1
arc-minute can be achieved. The FHA Se-
ries is available in four frame sizes, ranging
from 128 to 230mm in diameter, and 78 to
127mm length.
Harmonic Drive LLC
800-921-3332 TOTAL MOTION CONTROL
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Selecting Optimal Vision Equipment
Simplify
Motion
Control
NI LabVIEW software is
ideally suited for integrating
precise motion control in
industrial machines.
With LabVIEW you can:
I Control motion using NI Vision sensors use various location, vision and analysis tools to detect features of interest.
programmable automation
controllers (PACs) and variations in part presentation, translat- The lens is an optical device, made up of
achieve control loop rates ing and rotating inspection points to multiple glass elements, that collects
up to 200 kHz (5 μs) account for part movement. Vision tool and focuses reflected light onto the cam-
algorithms include those able to match era’s imager. Lenses are differentiated
I Integrate motion control patterns, measure light intensity, inspect by their type, format and focal length. A
with measurements, I/O, blobs (groups of like-intensity pixels) or common type of lens used in machine
and machine vision find edge locations. Analysis tools judge, vision is the C-mount; another (less com-
measure, or perform mathematical mon) is the CS-mount. The type of lens
I Connect to thousands functions on the vision tool results. required is determined by the camera
of drives and motors Many modern machine vision sensors used. The lens format describes the
or cameras have simple GUIs (graphical maximum size of imager chip for which
I Customize controllers
user-interfaces), so professional pro- the lens is suitable; this variable is also
with NI SoftMotion for gramming competence is not required determined by the specifics of the cam-
advanced applications on the part of the end-user. Specialty era in question. The lens focal length
quickly and easily high-performance computer-based vi- relates the size of the area to be inspect-
sion systems still exist, however, and ed, or field-of-view (FOV) to the distance
often require sophisticated computer between the camera and the part to be
programming. inspected, or working distance. For a
>> Download your motion Results from a vision inspection can be given lens, the FOV size is a linear func-
control resource kit today a simple, discrete go/no-go output, and tion of working distance. The simplest
at ni.com/motion vision sensors and cameras are often way to determine the focal length lens
equipped with multiple discrete outputs. needed for a specific FOV size (or a spe-
800 891 2755 Most vision sensors can send these output cific working distance) is to use a lens
signals over industrial Ethernet protocols chart. Charts are specific to the type of
like EtherNet/IP and Modbus/TCP. In lens and format of the imager chip, such
addition, many vision sensors can send as 1/3 or 1/5 inch.
words and other data over TCP/IP via This article was written by Brent Evanger,
10/100 Ethernet or serially over RS232. Senior Applications Engineer for Vision
Sensors, Banner Engineering, Minneapolis,
Lens Selection MN. For more information, please contact
Choosing a camera lens is another Banner at 888.373.6767, e-mail them at sen-
sors@bannerengineering.com., or visit http://
©2008 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved. LabVIEW,
National Instruments, NI, ni.com, and NI SoftMotion are trademarks part of specifying a vision sensor, but
info.hotims.com/15136-327.
of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are
trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 2008-9209-101-D one that is straightforward and simple.
Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/15136-781 www.techbriefs.com/motion Motion Control Technology, August 2008
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M
achine vision systems are playing should appear again and again. A lot of
an increasingly important role in times the goal part needs certain features
many industrial applications, such as holes or other surface features.”
whether it is counting parts on an assem- Nevertheless, machine vision is mak-
bly line or examining surfaces for defects. ing impressive strides in areas such as
Improvements in computing power, software. “Previously, vision algorithms
optics, connectivity, and software are could only analyze two-dimensional pla-
allowing vision systems to be deployed in nar surfaces. They are now looking at 3-
a wider range of applications. D surfaces,” said DALSA’s Dawson.
Although machine vision systems Vision software is also becoming
have been around for several decades, more flexible, with the ability to be
their potential is not fully realized, deployed for different systems, accord-
according to Amir Novini, president ing to John Agapakis, Machine Vision
and founder of Applied Vision Corp. Business Manager Siemens Energy and
(Akron, OH). “Machine vision remains Automation (Alpharetta, GA). “We
one of the best-kept secrets - a lot of offer the Simatic Visionscape image
people still don’t know about them. processing software, which allows pro-
“We’re going to see machine vision in gramming for either PC-based or Smart
everyday products and systems. They Camera-based vision environments. You
will become adaptable, more sophisti- can use the same software to program
cated. We’re working on coupling artifi- different vision systems.”
cial intelligence to machine vision to be Visionscape allows simultaneous view-
more forgiving and adaptive.” ing of several camera pictures. It can
Counting parts on an assembly line is also be used for linescan applications
a common machine vision application. such as checking labels on cylindrical
But as lighting systems improve, objects like bottles.
machine vision systems are now used to Software advances have been accom-
search for cracks and scratches in mate- panied by more powerful hardware.
rials in low intensity structures, accord- “The most noticeable difference is the
ing to Ben Dawson, director of strategic speed of the computing hardware,
development at DALSA Industrial which is several orders of magnitude
Products (Billerica, MA). faster than years ago,” said Novini.
High-speed food and beverage pro-
cessing operations are also increasing
their use of machine vision, noted
Novini. In such applications, the vision
system is often required to keep up with
count rates of 600 to several thousand
objects per minute.
Implementing a vision system remains
a somewhat daunting task, often requir-
ing the expertise of a systems integrator.
A fair amount of set-up and program-
ming is required to train the systems to
perform specific tasks. “It is hard to put
together a flexible system to do more
than one thing that it is assigned to, said
Karl Gunnarsson, vision manager of SICK
Inc. (Minneapolis, MN). “There still has Vision systems using cameras such as SICK’s IVC-
to be known parts — the same parts 3D inspect intricate surfaces such as brake pads.
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Machine Vision
One System... One Source “The progress made to provide high-
performance, low-cost components has
allowed broadening the scope of
The Flex DC Multi-Axis Controller from machine vision in more applications,”
Nanomotion — your motion solution provider added Stephane Francois, executive vice
president of Leutron Vision Inc. a Swiss-
based supplier of machine vision cam-
eras and hardware.
Some processing power now resides
not on a separate vision processing
board but inside the vision camera itself.
No longer mere image capture devices,
vision cameras are scaling up the tech-
nology curve by adding intelligence and
processing capability. The enhanced
I Compatible with all standard and cameras are sometimes referred to as
custom Nanomotion stages
“smart cameras”.
I Powerful single or multi-axis
motion controller
“Algorithms that used to require lots
I Easy to use with software of processing power now can be done
user interface (included) on the smart camera itself,” said
I Supports RS232, Ethernet, and Agapakis. One of Siemens’ smart cam-
CAN open interface eras, the SIMATIC HawkEye 1600T,
combines image capture, image process-
ing and analysis, and communications
A Johnson Electric Company into a compact housing. These cameras
are suited for applications where several
World Headquarters USA Headquarters inspection tasks must be performed in a
Mordot HaCarmel Industrial Park • Yokneam 20692 Israel 1 Comac Loop • Ronkonkoma, NY 11779
Tel: 972-4-9590862 Toll Free: 800-821-6266 single test cycle.
The smart cameras can ease cabling.
VISIT: www.nanomotion.com “With a smart camera, the cable connec-
tion becomes lighter and simpler,” said
Agapakis. “Previously, you needed a
heavy cable with lots of small conductors
to get the signal off the robot arm to
the processor.”
Joe Christenson, president and CEO
of PPT Vision Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN),
added, “The interconnectivity and net-
working features in most of today’s
smart cameras make it easier to imple-
ment a multi-camera solution in
motion control applications. In addi-
tion to the traditional RS232/485 and
discrete I/O data transfer, most smart
camera technology today is designed to
support a wide range of communica-
tion protocols, such as TCP/IP,
Modbus, Device Net, and OPC. This
makes sharing information among dif-
ferent cameras and between the cam-
eras and the host computer fast and
effective — a must-have for lots of
motion control applications such as
robot guidance and multi-axis pick-and-
place arm control.”
Better vision sensors are partially
responsible for vision camera improve-
ments. “The tools have gotten a lot bet-
ter. Sensors costing less than $1,500 can
do what high-end sensors did a few years
ago,” said SICK’s Gunnarsson. “You can
(now) do pattern match in any field of
view with cameras costing as low as
$1,000.”
6a Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/15136-783 Motion Control Technology, August 2008
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CCD sensors have been the predomi- machine vision companies are adapting Hardware and software improvements
nant technology in machine vision cam- the GigE Vision Standard, based on the have improved the price-performance
eras because of their resolution. But Gigabit Ethernet protocol. It uses stan- ratio of machine vision, making it more
companies are taking a closer look at dard Gigabit Ethernet hardware and affordable to motion control and other
lower- cost CMOS sensors, according to low-cost CAT5e or CAT6 cables. systems integrators.
Applied Vision’s Novini, thanks to “FLIR supports the GigE Vision stan- “The price of machine vision systems
improvements in power consumption dard and networked infrared vision sys- have come down significantly where as it
and dynamic range. tems,” added Jason Styron, business is no longer a large cost burden to add
Machine vision lighting systems are development manager of automation vision to an industrial automated solu-
also benefitting from improvements in for vision camera supplier FLIR Systems tion,” said PPT’s Joe Christenson.
light-emitting diode (LED) technology (North Billerica, MA). “These features Considering the cost of robots and other
that are enabling the vision system to ensure investment protection for organ- motion control equipment, vision com-
detect objects or patterns in remote or izations committed to advancing manu- ponents sometimes only comprise 10
hidden areas. LEDs are now stable over facturing productivity.” percent of the total solution cost.”
time, have a long life, can be turned on
and off rapidly, and controlled accurately.
“LEDs have become the standard for
lighting,” said Siemens’ Agapakis.
“Brighter LEDS can illuminate a larger
area from a long distance.”
Further integration of vision system
components and subsystems will likely BACKLASH PROBLEM?
be dictated by the laws of physics,
Agapakis added. “There’s a push to
make vision hardware smaller, develop-
ing cameras with lenses and the proces-
sor built in. The processor makers have
been able to drive down power con-
sumption. The main issue is dissipating
the heat generated.”
Getting the signals from the machine
vision system to a robot or other con-
troller often means connecting bulky
cables. “One of the most critical aspects
of success of integrating machine vision
with motion control lies in cables,” said
Leutron’s Francois. “A lot of informa-
tion has to go through these wires and
must do so without being stressed
mechanically in an environment full of
electromagnetic interference.”
A plethora of standards exist, includ-
ing Firewire, Camera Link, and Gigabit
Ethernet. Firewire, originally designed
for desktop video applications, cannot
keep up with the rigors of machine
vision apps where linking of multiple LET US GET OUR TEETH INTO IT.
cameras is required, according to By utilizing patented Cycloidal technology,
DALSA’s Dawson. Although Camera the Nabtesco High Performance Gearbox
Link remains a viable standard, many combines near zero backlash (less than
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e-stop) and integrated support bearings
in one complete positioning package.
• Near Zero Backlash (less than 1 arc-min
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Hollow shaft through hole (Up to 5” diameter)
High thrust and torsional rigidity
High ratios (up to 258:1) without increasing gearbox size
Tough solutions for tough design problems
Near-Zero Backlash High Torque Capacity Large Thrust & Moment Support Cost Competitive
Siemens teams its SIMATIC Visionscape image
processing software with its HawkEye 1600T
Smart Camera
Call 866-74-TOUGH or log on to nabtescomotion.com for more info.
Motion Control Technology, August 2008 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/15136-786 7a
➮
➭
BEI PRECISION SYSTEMS & SPACE COMPANY, INC.
Optical Encoders & Servo Systems
with over 45 years space heritage
on NASA and DOD most demanding programs.
High Accuracy to 0.35 arc-sec n High Resolution to 26-bits
R
ecent advances in motion control and machine vision
technologies present tremendous opportunities for
Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) systems. Thanks to
recent developments in these fundamental building block
technologies, today’s AOI systems can carry out inspections
with a higher resolution and accuracy, and with much faster
throughput than before.
High-speed AOI systems are now being used across a wide
range of industries including semiconductor and electronics,
1100 Murphy Drive, Maumelle AR 72113 a company of automotive, aerospace, medical device manufacturing, micro-
Tel: 501-851-4000 n Fax: 501-851-5452 Schneider
Electric
electromechanical systems (MEMS), and precision mechanical
www.beiprecision.com
components and assemblies. But these opportunities have
come with significant challenges as well. To determine the most
appropriate solution that provides the best results for a given
application, it is important to find the proper tradeoff balance.
In the case of motion systems, significant recent improve-
ments include higher speeds, steeper acceleration and deceler-
ation profiles, finer positional control, and faster convergence
properties. Under the right circumstances, all of these factors
can be used to achieve faster and more accurate point-to-point
displacements and thus increase overall throughput.
In the case of machine vision technology, some of the most
significant recent developments include higher resolution
cameras and improvements in LED illumination. The availabil-
ity of higher resolution cameras has allowed AOI systems to
increase either their resolution or their field of view.
When these higher resolution cameras are used to carry out
inspections over the same field of view, the system’s resolving
power is effectively increased, and features can be inspected in
finer detail. And when they are applied to obtain the same
overall resolution, the system’s field of view can be increased
proportionally. This can be achieved by using lower magnifica-
tion optics, which have the desirable property of an increased
depth-of-field. This is an example of technological advances
that reinforce each other, as an increased depth-of-field both
reduces the need to carry out system re-focusing and also
increases the speed of auto-focus operations.
LED illumination modules have also progressed tremen-
dously in recent years. They are now available in increased
intensity and in varying wavelengths. LEDs are now the pre-
ferred light source in most AOI applications as they are very
stable over time, have a long life, can be turned on and off very
quickly and controlled accurately.
There are many more instances where improvements in one
area increase the requirements in another. For example, faster
➮
➭
Automated optical inspection systems are benefitting from improvements
in motion subsystems, cameras, optics, illumination, and other components.
motion systems with steeper profiles produce significantly

more system vibrations, which lead to “motion blur” in cap-
tured images, reducing the accuracy and robustness of image
analysis operations. The “brute force” approach to overcome
this is to increase the system settling time, but this effectively
negates the faster motion system’s benefits.
A better approach, beyond mechanical system dampening,
is to increase the camera’s shutter speed. But this in turn
requires a much higher light intensity to produce a still-usable
image over a shorter exposure time. In spite of the recent
improvements in LED illumination technology, it is still possi-
ble to reach conditions where the system is light-starved.
There are limits to how fast a shutter speed can be used, just
as there are limits to the capabilities of all of the individual
components that make up an AOI system, in spite of all of the
dazzling advances.
To keep up with the increased throughput of the faster
motion systems and to deal with the much larger stream of data
coming from the higher resolution cameras, significant
increases in processing power are required. Fortunately, com-
puters and workstations have themselves been progressing
steadily. But many recent performance improvements in com-
puters and operating systems have come on the fronts of multi-
processor, multi-core and hyper-threading enhancements. All
these approaches do indeed yield more processing power, but
only if the software is tailored accordingly. Standard serialized
algorithms running on these parallel environments only get a
fraction of the benefit.
To fully profit from recent performance improvements in
computers and operating systems, classic algorithms need to
be parallelized, optimized parallel algorithms need to be devel-
oped, and code and operations need to be made concurrent.
Without this, an AOI system will not be able to reap the full
benefit of all of the recent advances in motion control and
machine vision technologies.
This article was written by Patrick Beauchemin, an engineer
at VISIONx Inc., Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada. For more
information, please contact Patrick at patrickb@visionx.com, or
visit http://info.hotims.com/15136-328.
➮
➭
Applications
Servo
Cognex Machine Vision System Helps
Performance
Stepper Price
Meister Reduce Part Defects
T he Meister Group, a Belgian industri-
al group supplying the automobile
market, successfully deployed Cognex’s
sector where the smallest assembly line
incident can lead to exhaustive investiga-
tions and complicated and costly proce-
machine vision system to help its robotic dures for the subcontractor, the quest to
assembly cell sort out defective parts. achieve zero faults is the only acceptable
The result has been a significant decline way forward.
in part defect rates and a six-month pay- One key assembly task is to sort out
back on investment. and separate defective or missing parts.
Meister has factories in Belgium, Previously, operators manually checked
France and the Czech Republic, special- for defective parts, a process yielding a
izing in mass producing cut steel parts. part defect rate of 1 in a thousand – still
The company’s French factory, located considered too high. Besides reducing
at Scionzier in Haute-Savoie, manufac- part defect rates, the company needed
tures electric valve parts for automobile to reduce the impact of manpower costs
equipment manufacturers specializing on part cost.
in ABS braking systems. Nearly 24 multi- Automating these vision tool checks
spindle lathes produce 120,000 parts was natural for Meister’s technicians,
each day, representing an annual pro- who already utilized industrial vision sys-
duction of 35 to 40 million parts. tems for a dimension checking applica-
The challenge for these modern pro- tion. Alpsitec, an approved system inte-
duction units, which use specialized pre- grator of Cognex, enabled Meister to
cision lathes, is to manufacture relatively find out about the performance and
complex parts in a few seconds, and to capacities of the Cognex’s In-Sight
guarantee part conformity on delivery, vision systems.
without ignoring the essential and con- Alpsitec was asked to verify that
tinual search for productivity gains. In a Cognex’s In-Sight cameras could “see”
Closed Loop Stepper Controller CMMS-ST and

Stepper Motors EMMS-ST
True servo performance based on stepper
technology, without the traditional issues of reso-
nance, heating, and loss of step, inherent in conven-
tional stepper systems.
CMMS-ST and EMMS-ST offer an
easy-to-use and cost effective motion
control solution for single and multi-axis handling
applications.
Stepper Controller, CMMS-ST
• Single-axis position controller with
integrated power stage
• Configurable as “open loop” or
“closed loop”
• SD/MMC card — storing/loading
parameters
• Maximum 63 position sets and
sequencing up to 8 position profiles
Stepper Motor, EMMS-ST
• Holding torque from 0.5 Nm to 9.3 Nm
• Optional integrated encoder/holding brake
Supporting advanced automation...

as no one else can.
Belgian parts supplier Meister Group uses a Cognex machine vision system to sort out defective or
For more information or to place an order, visit: missing parts.
www.festo.com/us/cmms/ntb
➮
➭
the faults they had to detect, in a pro- progress on this project and to benefit “The solution used appears to be particu-
duction environment. After this first fea- from efficient and reassuring support.” larly stable, and the operators do not
sibility test, a prototype was assessed over Alpsitec has also trained a technician have any need to intervene.”
a month. The simplicity of the use of the who has been able to rapidly take charge The biggest reward is that there has
In-Sight systems was a decisive factor in of setting the vision systems’ parameters. been a real return on investment in less
choosing the system. Meister can now input data by itself to than six months. The significant quality
Comprising two independent test learn new types of faults, and to modify improvement has strengthened cus-
benches, the inspection system was the parameters in relation to the 15 dif- tomer relations. Meister is now looking
installed at the end of the production ferent types of parts to be inspected. to apply industrial vision elsewhere on
line, in order to carry out a final check “We were concerned that these test sys- its production lines.
of all parts produced before shipment tems would slow down production rates. This article was written by Anabel Foucart,
packing. In operation, the robot puts We have noted with satisfaction that the of Cognex Corp., Rueil Malmaison, France.
the part into mesh packaging, before implementation of these industrial vision For more information, please contact Anabel
picking it up and placing it on the test solutions do not have a negative effect on at anabel.foucart@cognex.com, or visit
surface. The robot then takes hold of production”, added Jean-Marc Sermet. http://info.hotims.com/15136-325.
the Cognex In-Sight 1000 vision system
linked to a lighting system and passes it
along the mesh, over the part.
It’s important to remember that the
vision system must inspect each part in
order to detect any of four fault types
resulting in removal: presence of metal
shavings, missing components, loose
components, and damage from knocks
or vibration. The system sends informa-
tion on the checks carried out to the
robot’s control center. The robot then
puts the vision system down and deposits
the defective parts into separate chutes
for each type of fault, which then carries
them to a hopper. The system then con-
tinues operation.
One of the test benches is fitted with
two In-Sight 1000 systems and operates
at a rate of 6,000 parts per hour. The
other system comprises a single sensor
and works at a rate of 4,000 parts per
hour. Both systems worked as dual
sorters during the first few months of
the operation.
The important part of updating the
application consisted of identifying the
various faults which the checking sys-
tems had to recognize and to “teach”
them to the vision sensors. This proce-
dure is essential to optimize the efficien-
cy of the checking system.
The rate of faulty parts delivered to
customers has rapidly dropped to 40 per
million. The power of the processor algo-
rithms of the In-Sight system and the
finer analysis of the faults to be removed
should allow this rate to be brought down
even more to below 20 ppm.
Jean-Marc Sermet, technical director
of Meister France, has supervised this
project from beginning to end. He is
very pleased with Cognex products and
Alpsitec’s service. The combination has
provided him with the necessary skills
and experience in setting up vision solu-
tions in industry. “Above all, we are engi-
neers specializing in precision metal cut-
ting,” stated Sermet. “Alpsitec’s contri-
bution has allowed us to make rapid
➮
➭
Applications
PRECISION BEARINGS
THIN SECTION

Inspection
U ntil now, machine-based surface inspection methods have
checked visual quality by means of direct or transmitted
light in conjunction with a camera system. When it comes to the
automated inspection of reflective and smooth surfaces, howev-
er, these methods involve problems. The resulting reflections
need to be either eliminated or included in the measuring
process. Consequently, complex lighting conditions using polar-
ized light or fringed projection in a darkroom are required, or
the objects need to be positioned with high precision and com-
pletely shock-free. Whichever solution is employed, neither per-
s-ADEINTHE53! mits an automated 100% in-process inspection.
s)NDUSTRYSTANDARDSIZES The German company ELCO-PRO GmbH & Co. KG in
s!PPLICATIONENGINEERINGSERVICES Dortmund decided to take up this problem in cooperation
s3TANDARDBEARINGSFROMTOBORE with the University of Karlsruhe. Their image processing solu-
tion, called VisionFlex, allows the non-contact quality control
s3EEOURWEBSITEFORFULLON LINECATALOG
of reflective or high-gloss parts by 100% in-process inspection.
www.silverthin.com
This means that inspection can be performed at the speed of
the production run and is largely unaffected by position
SILVERTHIN
Toll Free ™ changes, shock, or extraneous light.
866-294-5841 The VisionFlex system from ELCO-PRO is based on the
Tel: 909-948-7716 Fax: 909-948-7746 BEARING GROU P HALCON image processing software and on a USB 2.0 indus-
trial camera of the uEye® family from IDS Imaging Develop-
ment Systems. IDS offers over 40 different models with CMOS
or CCD sensors. ELCO-PRO’s application uses a UI-1440-M
(1280 x 1024 pixels, CMOS monochrome) which, like all cam-
eras of the uEye® family, provides a very compact design, fast
frame refresh rates and excellent software integration.
The camera series, whose smallest model is only 34 × 32 ×
27.4 mm in size, offers advanced performance. At a resolution
of up to 5 megapixels, the “minis” achieve a frame refresh rate
of up to 75 frames per seconds in full-frame mode. Far higher
frame refresh rates are possible in the Area-of Interest mode
(AOI). Cutting-edge features such as windowing, binning, sub-
sampling and image mirroring in the x and y directions com-
plement the scope of functions. Thanks to the USB 2.0 inter-
face, the camera does not need any additional hardware and
can be connected immediately to any laptop or PC.
VisionFlex reliably detects dents, bumps, inclusions, scratches,
pimples and pits in specimens from 5 to 5000 mm. Polishing
defects and striae can also be identified and displayed on the
screen. In addition, the system tells a defect from a speck of dust
or other contamination. It has replaced the human eye in high
speed inspection.
VisionFlex performs image evaluation using the proven
HALCON image processing software. This software combines
the advantages of a flexible architecture with the possibility of
quickly developing various image processing and analysis
applications. The uEye camera provides the corresponding
interface to HALCON as well as to many other standard
machine vision programs, such as ActivVisionTools, Common
Vision Blox or NeuroCheck.
The article was written by Thomas Schmidgall, Marketing Manager,
IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH, Stuggart, Germany. For
more information, contact Mr. Schimidgall at t.schmidgall@ids-imag-
ing.de, or visit http://info.hotims.com/15136-326.
➮
➭
NEW
Products
Linear Positioning Stage
The Slipstream Series from LM76 (East Longmeadow, MA) 1
linear stage features 0.2mm/300mm accuracy and 0.1mm repeata-
bility. Available in travel lengths to 6 meters, the precision stage
has T-Slots on three sides for installation and/or accessories. The
linear stage is ideal for robotics, pick-and-place, assembly, packag-
ing, sampling, testing and other precision positioning applica-
tions.
Motor options for the linear stage include a NEMA 23 Stepper, and a 100W or 200W servo-
motor with encoder. Motors can be mounted on the left or right side, and a fail-safe brake is
optional. Mounting configurations include X, Y, and Z axes, and gantries.
Steel precision profile rails handle dynamic loads to 22.3KN, and the 50-mm wide, steel-rein-
forced polyurethane timing belt features a maximum belt strength at 3000 rpm of 1300 N.
The low profile (83mm wide x 73mm high) stages are also available in stainless steel versions.
For free info visit http://info.hotims.com/15136-300
Piezo Motor
The P-653 piezo motor from Physik Instrumente (Auburn,
MA) is smaller than other miniature linear stages and pro-
vides higher velocity and resolution. The linear motor system
comprises only four parts and provides speeds of up to 200
mm/sec (8in./sec).
Measuring only 8.0mm long, the stage offers a travel range
of 2mm and sub-micron resolution, combined with a high
holding force of 0.15N (0.5 oz). Integrating the P-653 into an
application is simple because the moving slider and the piezo motor are assembled as a unit and
already mounted on a PCB driver board requiring only a 5-VDC supply voltage.
The motor drives are ideal for OEM applications where space is at a premium. They are opti-
mized to move small objects such as optical fibers, micro-optics, or micro-electro-mechanical
elements fast and precisely.
For free info Visit http://info.hotims.com/15136-301
Variable Frequency Drive

Lenze-AC Tech (Uxbridge, MA) has introduced the enhanced
SMVector NEMA1 variable frequency drive, in power ratings
to 30 hp. The drive’s increased capabilities include an addi-
tional programmable digital input, terminals for RS-485 com-
munications, and an enhanced keypad.
The drive incorporates four modes of operation – V/Hz,
Enhanced V/Hz, Vector Speed, and Torque – plus high start-
ing torque, auto-tuning, advanced low-speed control and dynamic speed regulation. It accepts
input voltages from single-phase 120 to three-phase 600VAC. An electronic programming mod-
ule allows a customer to program multiple drives in seconds.
Linear Positioning Stage

The DR (dual profile rail) positioning stages from H2W
Technologies (Valencia, CA) provide travel lengths to 160in.
(4m). These wide footprint (to 15.6 in/396 mm) brushless linear
motor stages handle loads up to 442lb (200Kg), continuous force
to 445lb (1978N), high resolution to 0.00004in.(1 micron), veloc-
ity up to 200in./s (25m/sec), and acceleration up to 9 G’s.
The stages are supplied with a non-contact, 3-phase
brushless linear motors, commutated either sinusoidally
or trapezoidally with Hall-effect sensors. Available options include matching servo
amplifiers and controllers; a high-resolution, non-contact glass or metal scale optical
encoder; or magnetic linear encoders with a reference mark for homing.
Motion Control Technology, August 2008 www.techbriefs.com/motion Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/15136-793
➮
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NEW
Products
Brushless DC Motor Infrared camera
Maxon Motor (Fall River, MA) is launching FLIR Systems Inc. (Boston, MA) has introduced the ThermoVision A320G infrared camera
a range of flat brushless DC motors with inte- for machine vision applications. The A320G is reportedly the only infrared camera designed to
grated electronics. The EC 20 flat, EC 32 flat be compatible with GigE Vision and supports the GenICam protocol for easy integration with
and EC 45 flat motors with integrated elec- digital cameras.
tronics reduce the user’s need for control With its universal plug and play (uPnP) and GigE Vision Control protocols, the A320G allows
input to the absolute minimum. for easy system integration. The camera’s GenICam protocol provides a generic programming
Motors are available in interface for various cameras, regardless of interface technology, and is compatible with third-
two-wire versions with sp- party software including IMAQ Vision and Common Vision Blox.
eed proportional Other features include image flow control that allows an external signal to control the image
to the applied streaming, digital I/O for triggering and synchronization with external equipment, infrared
operating volt- monitoring software to run up to 9 cameras simultaneously, a built-in 25 degree lens with both
age of 10 to 28 motorized and auto focus, and high sensitivity (<70mK) for sharp images and excellent image
volts. A five-wire quality (320×240 pixels).
version offers For free info Visit http://info.hotims.com/15136-305
additional func-
tionality and a wider operating range with set
value input, enable and speed monitor. Motion Control Software
Current limitation, under and over-voltage ACS Motion Control (Plymouth, MN) has enhanced its motion control
switch-off plus temperature monitoring are software to support the IEC61131-3 programming language. Designated
standard in all models. Application Development Kit (ADK) 6.0, the PLC Open compliant con-
The motors have an operating range of 2 trol software allows users to program using any of the five languages in
to 50 watts. They are suited for use where addition to ACSPL+.
there is minimal installation space, and where ADK 6.0 software provides fully variable mapping that enables flexible
long service life and constant speed are bi-directional interfacing, mutual synchronization, and functionality
required. exchange between ACSPL+ and IEC 61131-3 programs. The addition of full
For free info Visit CANOpen support allows SPiiPlus motion controllers to be configured as a
http://info.hotims.com/15136-304 CANOpen Master, per the DS-402 specification, and control up to 64 nodes of motion or I/O.
The software also allows advanced two-phase, step motor operation in both open and closed-
loop modes when operated by the internal amplifiers of the SPiiPlus CM and MC4U. In closed-
loop operation, the step motors provide performance approaching that of servo motors.
Encoder
The HC20 encoder from Dynapar (Gurnee, IL), for brushless
servo and step motor applications, is capable of up to 2,500 pulses
per revolution, and is available with commutation tracks for 4, 6, or
8-pole variants of brushless motors. The encoder has direct-read
non-interpolated technology that stems from a custom phased array
ASIC.
With industry-standard 50mm diameter and short 36mm mount-
ing depth, the encoder is suited for use on NEMA 23 and 34 size
brushless servo and stepper motors. It is available with 6mm or 8mm
hollow or hub shafts, or a 9mm shaft with 10:1 taper. Two tether options are also offered, in
40mm and 55mm bolt circles.
The motor is available with a wide 5 to 26 VDC operating range.
Multi-Rib Belt
The PolyVee belt driven roller and RollerDrive from Interroll
(Wilmington, NC) provides reliable torque transmission up to
300 percent higher than traditional O-rings. Unlike other multi-
rib belts, the PolyVee belt features a flexible core that allows it to
be applied without any tensioning device. In addition, the
PolyVee belt accepts center-to-center distance tolerances, without
impairing performance, and quickly and accurately controls the
starting and stopping of boxes on a conveyor.
The high torque PolyVee multi-rib belt has a new hub and belts with up to four ribs, mini-
mizing belt slippage and providing superior torque transmission and long life cycle. It is suited
for most conveying applications including roller curves, 24VDC pallet conveyors, long transport
zones, and high speed applications.
➮
➭

Aug 2008 NTB

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Aug 2008 NTB

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