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Tech of the WeekWelcome to NASA Tech Briefs Featured Technologies, powered by yet2.com's Tech of the Week. As featured in NASA Tech Briefs, yet2.com's Tech of the Week highlights a sampling of technologies on the forefront of development, just emerging from the lab and ready for sale or license on the yet2.com marketplace. Many have never been seen outside of their development organizations. NASA Tech Briefs and yet2.com are committed to featuring the best technology solutions available to the engineering community. Check back frequently to see new technologies! |
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| Current Featured Technologies, May 2004 |
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| Previously Featured Technologies |
| Biodegradable Polymer/Starch
Blends Ideal for Packaging and Film Applications Biodegradable polymer/starch blend from Bayer has excellent physical properties and is ideal for packaging and film applications. |
| Enamels, Painte, and
Related Coatings Offer Excellent Hardness and Flexibility Method for generating monomers, resins, final coatingsm paints, and enamels with excellent flexibility and hardness properties. |
| Solid-State Laser
Apparatus Provides Second Harmonic Wave Features A small, high-efficiency, solid-state laser apparatus can be made in which optical alignment becomes unnecessary, simplifying the assembly process. |
| Optical Disk Focus Control
Through Disk Movement Provides precise control of the distance between a rotating disk and the head of the mechanical arm moving without contact across the optical information record disk. |
| Precise, Hand-Held
Electrostatic Spraying Technology Fills Void for Personal
Use Procter & Gamble´s precise, hand-held electrostatic spraying technology ideal for a wide variety of consumer products and uses. |
| Piezoceramic Actuator
Provides Cost, Performance, and Size Advantages for Electrical
Protection Devices Piezoceramic actuator offers cost, performance, size advantages for industrial, commercial, consumer electrical protection devices. |
| Low-Cost Infrared Detector
Spots Water in Fuel Pipe Flow Real-time information eliminates the necessity of laboratory analysis; works with spot or centralized monitoring. |
| Innovative Injection
Molding Process for Long or Segmented Parts Expands Market
Opportunities While Lowering Cost Sonoco´s innovative Injection Molding of Long Parts provides capabilities, applications, quality & savings previously unavailable. |
| Software Provides Improved
Contrast for Sharper Details in Digital Images AGFA´s contrast-enhancing software offers improved contrast and sharper details while retaining natural color in digital images. |
| Extend the Life
and Improve the Performance of Aluminum Pumping Devices
with Honeywell´s Corrosion Inhibitor Organic anti-corrosion technology from Honeywell extends life and reduces maintenance for aluminum pump-based circulation systems. |
| Novel Cellulose Fiber
Treatment Increases Absorbency and Resiliency in a Wide
Range of Products P&G´s technology increases cellulose fiber absorbency, retention, and resiliency in personal, commercial, and industrial products. |
| DuPont Offers Multiple
Cell Centrifuge Technology for Simultaneous Analyses DuPont´s centrifugal device features multiple-cell, disposable rotor with uniform loading for accurate, simultaneous analyses. |
| Compression/Freezing
Process Improves Taste, Texture of Microwaveable Frozen Baked Goods Kao´s compression/freezing process improves taste, texture of microwaved baked goods while reducing product size, shipping costs. |
| Water-Shrinkable Film Polymeric film shrinks up to 40% original size when exposed to water, without need for heat treatment; useful in wide range of unique products. |
| Low-Cost, Low-Density Ceramic
Fibers Perfect Replacement for Costly Superalloys and Ceramics Bayer AG offers high performance ceramic fiber technology to replace costly conventional ceramic composites and superalloys. |
| Three Technologies Work Together
to Reduce Combustion Engine Noise and Vibration Vibration is the enemy of internal combustion engines; these 3 technologies can dampen it. |
| Smart Card Technology for Mobile
Storage Applications Bayer AG´s suite of technologies provides secure, updateable, high capacity credit card-sized storage for mobile applications. |
| Metallurgy Reduces
Steel Production Cost and Weight While Improving Strength Caterpillar´s world-class metallurgy and know-how available to reduce cost and weight while improving strength of steel products. |
| Non-Contact Rotary Fluid
or Oil Seal Reduces Shaft Wear and Failure Non-contact rotary seal by Honeywell prevents leaks, improves high-speed turbomachinery lubrication, and virtually eliminates wear. |
| Coupling Technology Simplifies
Glass Fiber-to-Chip Interconnects Bosch´s suite of fiber-to-chip coupling technologies holds promise for cost-effective polymer-waveguide devices, broadband service. |
| Precision Heat Transfer
Measuring System Enersyst´s heat transfer rate measurement device accurately captures data from heating and cooling processes for a range of uses. |
| Three Technologies Work Together
to Reduce Combustion Engine Noise and Vibration Vibration is the enemy of internal combustion engines; these 3 technologies can dampen it. |
| Breakthrough Microporous
Structure Improves Immobilized Liquid Membranes Honeywell´s microporous, immobilized liquid membrane offers cost-efficient, effective gas and liquid separation and purification. |
| New Low-Cost, Single-Substrate
Flat-Panel Display Single-substrate plasma display operates at atmospheric pressure and offers improved performance and substantially reduced costs. |
| Versatile, Super Water-Repellent
Technology Can Be Controlled By Light Learn about Hitachi´s remarkable, photochromatically-controllable, super water-repellent technology and its wide range of uses. |
| New Stabilizers
Improve Appearance and Lengthen Life of Plastics Honeywell´s new plastic stabilizers promise longer life and improved physical characteristics in a wide range of plastic products. |
| Extremely High Speed Replicator
Synchronizes Data Updating Between Relational Databases Robust, reliable High Speed Data Replicator updates and synchronizes multiple relational databases in near real-time. |
| New Manufacturing Techniques
Can Add a Variety of Apertures to Nonwoven Material High-speed aperture process reduces fabric cost and debris; improves comfort for nonwoven materials. |
| Using Conductance/Capacitance
to Measure Fuel Mixture Ratios Electronic sensor allows the substance of the fuel itself to help set the optimum fuel-air mixture. Wide application. |
| DuPont´s Patented
Phosgene Catalyst Significantly Reduces Toxic By-Product New phosgene catalyst reduces carbon tet emission by 80%. |
| New Water-Wash Paint Overspray Solution Reduces Or Eliminates Paint Waste |
| New Communication Software Securely
Bridges Diverse Firewalls Disparate firewalls pose a problem for collaborative applications. This software tool makes the connection. |
| Novel Thickening Agent Promises
Better Stability, Faster Processing, and Easier Clean-up New thickening agent -- highly-stable, water-soluble -- is widely applicable in paints, inks, and chemicals. |
| Low-Cost, High-Volume Ether Compound
Production Profitable, but hard-to-produce unsymmetrical ethers become inexpensive and easy with this new manufacturing technique. |
| Platinum as Paparazzi: Minimizing
Catalyst While Maximizing Electrode Performance Catalyst deposition technology for electrodes targets reaction sites, resulting in dramatically lower catalyst usage. |
| New Pressure Wave Supercharger
Improves Engine Performance, Reduces Emissions Ceramic, catalyst-coated rotor is key component to supercharger. |
| Afterburning Ericsson Cycle Engine
Low Cost Fuel Cell Alternative Unique external combustion engine runs on variety of fuels as low-cost alternative to a fuel cell. |
| Aluminothermic Process Reduces
Cost, Improves Yield for Chromium Metal Manufacturing Make chromium with less energy and improved yield while producing marketable by-products. |
| Hydrogen-Driven Actuators Self-contained hydrogen-driven actuators work on battery energy. |
| Using Hot Air to Improve
Microwave Cooking High-velocity air jets sweep over food, browning and crisping, in this microwave combo technology that permits metal containers. |
| Modified Manufacturing Process
Yields Remarkably Uniform Silica Spheres This modified process yields tiny silica spheres of uniform size and porosity for use as catalyst carriers and other uses. |
| Modular Fuel Injection System
Simplifies Installation and Optimizes Performance Fuel injection and atomization technology overcomes alignment problems, applies to chemical blending, rocketry, other IC engines. |
| Unique Polyethylene Fibers Produced
From Film Technology Produce directionally oriented non-woven fabrics with variable absorbency, channels, and wet-ability. |
| Advanced Microreactors Make
Chemical Processing Safer, Faster A rethinking of chemical reactors results in more precise control and increased safety. |
| Improving e-Community Collaboration
Through Intelligent Software Agents Software agents and a central profile of the individual increase connectivity and community via the Internet. |
| Optical Fiber Alignment Technology
Promises to Lower Cost, Increase Production Volume On-chip optical fiber alignment technology works inside the sealed package. |
| Moving Magnetic Assembly Drives
Integrated Micro-Linear Actuator/Sensor Rugged space telescope steering actuator offers friction-free, short-thrust, magnetic linear motion with digital control. |
| Guaranteed Verification of
Artificial Neural Network Verifying neural nets has been dicey. New verification technology enables using nets in safety, medical, and other applications. |
| New Manufacturing Techniques Can
Add a Variety of Apertures to Nonwoven Material High-speed aperture process reduces fabric cost and debris; improves comfort for nonwoven materials. |
| Quick Chilling Technology
Holds Promise for Many Applications Highly adaptable technology speeds chilling by 15 times; freezing by 5 times. |
| Remarkable New Sensors from NEC
Adaptable to a Range of Applications Acceleration sensors built with semiconductor technology offer smaller base, increase stability, and simplified structure. |
| A Unique Way to Produce Ultra Low
Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) Diesel pre-treatment technique enables ultra low sulfur content after hydro-desulfurization. |
| New Rotating Device Can
Perform As A Seal, Bearing, or Pump Tapered stator and rotor technology changes the game in bearings, seals, and pumps. |
| Next Generation Multimedia
Via the Internet Smooth, broadcast-quality video over the Internet is available with this software kernel technology. |
| A Novel Approach to Suppressing
Bitter Tastes "A spoonful" of acidic phospholipids "helps the medicine go down" in this innovative bitterness-fighting technology. |
| Innovative Additive Technology
Improves Concrete Versatility and Performance Additive technology reliably customizes the behavior and performance of concrete. |
| Electromagnetic Device Surpasses
Hydraulic Piston for Controlling Motion With a force of up to 100 tons, electromagnetic actuators take the place of hydraulic cylinders. |
| Nano-Fiber-In-Nano-Pore
Technology Enhances Electrical Characteristics of Piezoceramics Advanced piezoceramic produces high efficiency, high-voltage effects. |
| New Methods for Tracking
and Operating Vehicles Using GPS New single-satellite GPS technology tracks -- and guides -- vehicles in tough terrain. |
| New Process for Producing
Optical Quality, Low Cost Plastic Films New technique delivers high-quality, low-cost plastic films for LCD and other applications. |
| Environmentally-Safe Flame Retardants
for Polymers Non-toxic compound suppresses flames and smoke in burning plastics. |
| Maximizing Profits From Intellectual
Properties GE´s New IP Asset Management System Lasso and manage your intellectual property with this intranet-based system created by GE. |
| New Plastic Laminate Provides
Same Quality Paint Surface as Metal Plastic surface supports Class A auto paint quality. |
| Optical technology enables
wireless monitoring of shallow exploration drilling Wireless optical telemetry system is ideal for harsh downhole environments. |
| Project Management Application
Provides Comprehensive Overview, Increased Efficiency Software integrates project, tools, and tracking into one package. |
| New LCD Technology Enhances
Display Viewing Light-emissive technology turns LCD into a more energy-efficient, easier-to-see display. |
| Improved Methods for Sealing
and Lubricating Dynamic Groove Bearings New technologies for bearing lubrication includes simple, dependable pump. |
| Satellite/Internet-Based Detection
and Notification System Provides Real-Time Environmental Protection
A network of sensors report far-flung environmental conditions via satellite. |
| Low-Cost Instrument Landing System
Promotes Safer Aircraft Landings in Poor Visibility ILS system picks out runways and taxiways visually using only six emitters. |
| Bayer Develops New Superabsorbent
Polymers Superabsorbent polymers: powderable, toxicologically negative, rapidly take up liquids. |
| Innovative Polymer Blending
Technique Reduces Cost, Improves Product Unconventional and much wider range of blends now possible in polymerization reactor. |