TechBlog

A CubeSat is a type of space research picosatellite with dimensions usually of 10×10×10 centimetres (i.e., a volume of exactly one litre), weighing no more than one kilogram, and typically using commercial off-the-shelf electronics components.

Developed through joint efforts, California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University introduced the CubeSat to academia as a way for universities throughout the world to enter the realm of space science and exploration.

Currently, a large number of universities and some companies and other organizations around the world are actively developing CubeSats. One of these companies Clyde-Space, has just developed an ‘off-the-shelf’ website with information and resources for various sized cubesats and their subsystems. Other suppliers such as ISIS and GomSpace are also offering products and services through their websites.
With their relatively small size, CubeSats can be made and launched for an estimated US$65,000–80,000 each (2004 US dollars). This low price tag, as compared to most satellite launches, has made Cubesat a viable option for schools and universities across the world.

Continue reading ‘Researchers And Students To Develop Small CubeSat Satellites, the Size of a Loaf of Bread’ »

Robotic transporters are key when you want to automate welding of extremely large, heavy parts.  The maximum work envelope radius of an extended-reach robot is about 3-meters (9.84’).  If the parts you are welding require more reach than that, you need to find ways to move the robot to the part to provide optimal torch access to the welds.  A variety of robot transporters are available, and each type lends itself to a particular type of work flow.  How do you decide whether your application is best-suited for a linear floor- or wall-mounted track, linear overhead gantry or radial transport beam solution? 

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Robotic Transporter

Continue reading ‘Robotic Transporters for Large Weldments’ »

The all new MEMS G50Z High Performance Single Axis Gyro is a MEMS Rate Sensor with both excellent bias over temperature and low noise. Designed for commercial stabilization and aircraft applications, the unit utilizes standard +5V DC power and has a voltage output. The -200 model features a +/- VSG compatible signal.

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The all new A30 MEMS High Performance Single Axis Accelerometer offers excellent bias with a small light weight form factor and low power. Designed for commercial stabilization and aircraft applications, the unit utilizes standard +5V DC power and has a voltage output.

• Low Cost & High Performance MEMS Single Axis Accelerometer
• Excellent Bias ? 1mg
• Bias Repeatability ? 2.5mg
• Axis Alignment <15mrad
• Low Power < 5 mA Typical
• Light Weight < 10 grams
• Low Voltage +5V (single sided power)
• Bandwidth 40Hz / 100Hz
• Voltage Output
• Reference Voltage
• Internal Temperature Sensor
• Self Test
• Shock Resistant 500g
• Long Life

Continue reading ‘A30 High Performance MEMS Accelerometer’ »

The all new LandMark20 MEMS GPS/AHRS is an ultra low power combined digital Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) that provides internally temperature compensated RS485 output of delta velocity, delta theta, heading, pitch and roll angle and altitude information and a 16 channel C/A code GPS receiver with 10Hz position update rate.

A complete turnkey software development kit with advanced features including direct PC interface, data recording, bandwidth and output rate selection is also available.A complete turnkey software development kit with advanced features including direct PC interface, data recording, bandwidth, output rate selection and GPS is also available.

Continue reading ‘MEMS LandMark20 GPS/AHRS - Low Noise AHRS with GPS’ »

Gnat-sized robots, microscopic gyroscopes, television beamed directly onto your retina. This may sound like a grocery list for a crazed sci-fi visionary. But all these projects are in the works today, thanks to an emerging chip technology known as microelectromechanical systems. While magical microbots may still be a few years away, MEMS are already a multibillion-dollar business in the car, printer, and display-projection industries.

Traditional chips are flat, static structures. MEMS, by contrast, are silicon wafers packed with kinetic, three-dimensional gizmos: laboratories, laser-guided mirrors, canals flowing with chemicals. An offshoot of the semiconductor industry, MEMS benefit from the well-known peculiarities of the silicon universe - every year chips get tinier, cheaper, and faster.

Continue reading ‘As the MEMS Revolution Takes Off, Small Is Getting Bigger Every Day’ »

Lab-on-a-Chip

Color coding: This prototype of a new paper diagnostic test from Harvard University analyzes the glucose (left well) and protein (right well) content of urine; the top well is a control for the glucose assay. The beige part of the test paper has been treated with a hydrophobic polymer that channels the liquid into the wells. In this test, the paper was dipped in an artificial urine solution that contained glucose and a protein extracted from cow blood.

By taking advantage of the natural movement of liquid through paper, researchers at Harvard’s Whitesides Research Group may have found a way to make microfluidics technology much cheaper. The result could be disposable diagnostic tests simple and abundant enough for use in the developing world.

The field of microfluidics deals with the precise manipulation of tiny quantities of liquid. One of its most promising applications is the so-called lab-on-a-chip, which can work with much smaller fluid samples than larger devices require, potentially allowing for more portable diagnostic tools. But existing microfluidic chips are generally made from comparatively expensive materials like silicon, glass, or plastic and have tiny pumps and valves that can be difficult to manufacture.

Continue reading ‘Lab-on-a-Chip Made of Paper’ »

SiC MEMS Pressure Sensors: Technology, Applications and Markets

Silicon Carbide: Material Platform for Harsh Environment Solutions Silicon carbide (SiC) has been used for many conventional applications that require mechanical and chemical stability at high temperatures. Mechanical stability is defined as the ability of a particular material to preserve its mechanical properties – elasticity, fracture toughness, hardness – at temperatures below and above room temperature.

Chemical stability is similarly defined as the ability of a particular material to preserve its composition at temperatures below and above room temperature. For high temperature applications, mechanical properties tend to deteriorate and chemical stability is compromised as corrosion processes occur.

Any material that can overcome these mechanical and chemical limitations becomes a candidate for what are called “harsh environment” applications. Harsh environment means a combination of media properties that can interact with the exposed material and alter its originally intended behavior. Harsh environments can be classified in three broad categories: 1) mechanically aggressive: high loads, vibration, shock; 2) thermally aggressive: high temperature; and 3) chemically aggressive: corrosive media.

Continue reading ‘SiC MEMS Pressure Sensors: Technology, Applications and Markets’ »

Stanford chemists have developed a new way to make transistors out of carbon nanoribbons. The devices could someday be integrated into high-performance computer chips to increase their speed and generate less heat, which can damage today’s silicon-based chips when transistors are packed together tightly. For the first time, a research team led by Hongjie Dai, the J. G. Jackson and C. J. Wood Professor of Chemistry, has made transistors called “field-effect transistors”—a critical component of computer chips—with graphene that can operate at room temperature. Graphene is a form of carbon derived from graphite. Other graphene transistors, made with wider nanoribbons or thin films, require much lower temperatures.

“For graphene transistors, previous demonstrations of field-effect transistors were all done at liquid helium temperature, which is 4 Kelvin [-452 Fahrenheit],” said Dai, the lead investigator. His group’s work is described in a paper published online in the May 23 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.

Continue reading ‘Researchers Develop Method To Create Transistors Out Of Carbon Nanoribbons’ »

Engineers and applied physicists from Harvard University have demonstrated the first room-temperature electrically-pumped semiconductor source of coherent Terahertz (THz) radiation, also known as T-rays. The breakthrough in laser technology, based upon commercially available nanotechnology, has the potential to become a standard Terahertz source to support applications ranging from security screening to chemical sensing.Spearheaded by research associate Mikhail Belkin and Federico Capasso, Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering, both of Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the findings will be published in the May 19 issue of Applied Physics Letters. The researchers have also filed for U.S. patents covering the novel device.

Using lasers in the Terahertz spectral range, which covers wavelengths from 30 to 300å, has long presented a major hurdle to engineers. In particular, making electrically pumped room-temperature and thermoelectrically-cooled Terahertz semiconductor lasers has been a major challenge. These devices require cryogenic cooling, greatly limiting their use in everyday applications.

Continue reading ‘Engineers Demonstrate First Room-Temperature Semiconductor Source Of Coherent Terahertz Radiation’ »