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Archives
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| COVER STORY | | | Fiberless Data Made Easy | | | | MATERIALS | | | Lumera Lights Up the Lines | | | | Composite Lifesavers | | | | OPTICS | | | Aculight’s Laser Lineup | | | | SENSORS | | | Canary in a Beam Line | | | | Outsmarting Chemical Leaks | | | | SOFTWARE | | | The Optimization Game | | | | DEPARTMENTS | | | From the Editor | | | | Mind Your Business | | |
Fiberless Data Made Easy
System holds promise for campus-like networks and cellular infrastructure. By L. Scott Tillett/stillett@nttc.edu
A technology with a history of funding from the missile defense program has spawned a new product that should make high-speed, broadband wireless data communications easier and more viable for new users. The product, developed by a subsidiary of Trex Enterprises Corporation (San Diego, CA), is a line-of-sight, millimeter-wave radio system that will compete with fiber-optic cable, offering data rates as high as 1.5 gigabits per second (Gbps)—the equivalent of transmitting the contents of a standard DVD in about 25 seconds.  |
Lumera Lights Up the Lines
New organic polymers stand ready to replace crystalline optical materials. By Joan Zimmermann/jzimmermann@nttc.edu
Development of a novel polymer, funded by MDA as well as other agencies, has opened the door to faster and more reliable switching in optical communications, with implications for numerous optical technology applications. |
Composite Lifesavers
Lightweight air tanks could reduce first-responder fatigue. By Joe Singleton/jsingleton@nttc.edu
New linerless composite tanks developed with MDA funding could lighten the load for firefighters and rescue workers when responding to emergencies, thereby forestalling fatigue and allowing first responders to do their jobs more safely. |
Aculight’s Laser Lineup
Beams of light illuminate new paths in research, medicine, and defense. By Joan Zimmermann/jzimmermann@nttc.edu
With an assist from MDA funding, Aculight Corporation (Bothell, WA) has parlayed its SBIR experience into a suite of laser products. While the company continues to actively pursue aerospace, defense, and medical laser technology applications, its current products address areas as diverse as underwater communications, noninvasive nerve stimulation, spectroscopy, and high-end physics research. |
Canary in a Beam Line
A novel optical monitor helps fend off laser breakdowns before they happen. By Joan Zimmermann/jzimmermann@nttc.edu
NovaWave Technologies (Redwood City, CA) has developed a real-time optical-health monitoring system, dubbed a “Canary in a Beam Line,” to fend off damage to laser components before it’s too late.
Based on a Phase II SBIR supporting the Airborne Laser (ABL) program, the system comprises an optical cavity that uses an optical coating very similar to that used in the ABL’s laser. When conditions are such that the cavity begins to deteriorate due to accumulation of contamination, the operator is immediately alerted, fast enough to avoid damage to the primary laser optics. The monitoring system functions on a microsecond timescale, can operate continuously for months at a time, and can detect destructive gases or particulates at parts-per-million to parts-per-billion sensitivity levels. |
Outsmarting Chemical Leaks
New sensor-driven piping system detects and warns of toxic emissions. By Joe Singleton/jsingleton@nttc.edu
A new sensor-enhanced piping system could soon improve the ability of heavy industry and local utilities to detect chemical spills, natural gas leaks, and groundwater contamination.
Odyssian Technology, LLC (South Bend, IN), is developing “smart” pipes, an innovative tubing system with embedded wireless, networked sensors that could be widely used for detecting chemical leaks of any kind. Smart pipes are manufactured from lightweight composites and could easily be installed to replace aging metal or copper piping, such as natural gas lines or piping used in municipal water systems. |
The Optimization Game
Software aims to improve sensor networks, logistics, and resource management. By Keith Costa/kcosta@nttc.edu
Taking its cue from game theory and economics, an MDA-funded company has developed software that optimizes networked sensors by treating them like buyers and sellers in a virtual market. The approach also could be applied to optimizing the use of assets in commercial areas such as resource management, logistics, and manufacturing. |
Toward a More Useful Web Site
Web presence of MDA TA program gets an overhaul.
The MDA Technology Applications program has redesigned and improved its Web site, www.mdatechnology.net. The newly revamped site retains nearly all of the information that visitors have come to expect from us—information on the business assistance we offer to MDA-funded researchers; publications and profiles on MDA-funded technologies; and other information about MDA technology programs. But the latest iteration of our site has reorganized information in a way that, we hope, will allow readers to find what they need more easily. |
Writing Your Success Story Before You’re a Success
Know the answers to key questions that reporters might one day ask. By L. Scott Tillett/stillett@nttc.edu
Success often begins with daydreaming—imagining a new idea for a business, a new way of doing things, a new product, or an improvement to an existing product.
But the daydreaming shouldn’t stop there. If your business becomes a true success story, someone likely will want to tell your story to a broad audience. A local reporter might want to cover your business for your town’s newspaper. A writer for a niche or specialty publication might want to interview you to craft a story suited to a very specific readership. And if your product or service has national or global impact, you could find yourself being interviewed by a major television outlet. |
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