On December 4-5, 1884, John Wesley Powell addressed the U.S. Congress seeking authorization for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to begin systematic topographic mapping of the United States. During the next 125 years, terrain mapping techniques evolved from field surveys through photogrammetry to the computer-based methods currently used. There is [...]
Optical imaging is a technique for non-invasively looking inside the body, as is done with x-rays. But, unlike x-rays, which use ionizing radiation, optical imaging uses visible light and the special properties of photons to obtain detailed images of organs and tissues as well as smaller structures including cells [...]
By the time you finish reading this article, another elephant will have been killed by poaching in Africa for its ivory. Every 20 minutes, every single day, another elephant is massacred. In 2014 alone, 40,000 elephants and over 1,200 rhinos were killed by poachers. If this rate continues, that [...]
Patrolling high-crime areas in major cities is costly and dangerous. Therefore, it is easy to understand why the use of unmanned drones can help law enforcement fight crime. This method is a topic of discussion in law enforcement departments nationwide. Police departments can now deploy drones to improve their [...]
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have demonstrated for the first time that they can discover cracks in the ship’s structure by detecting acoustic emission from cracks in riveted lap joints. Optical Sciences Division, in collaboration with the laboratory’s Material Science Division, used a distributed feedback fiber laser-acoustic emission sensor [...]
Safer lasers to map your cells could soon be in the offing – all thanks to the humble jellyfish. A combined team of researchers from Scotland and Germany has developed a way to create a polariton laser by using jellyfish proteins cultivated in E. coli cells. In their paper [...]
The factory of the future calls for technology that is fit for Industry 4.0. Industrial automation and productivity is underpinned by technology across a number of sectors, including machine vision. Industry 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution, is the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. [...]
Somewhere in the not so recent past, the thought of a vehicle that could ‘drive itself’ was something right out of science fiction. Interestingly, the future is catching up. There is growing interest in self-driving cars following tests over the past few years by Google and research by several major [...]
Neuroimaging or brain imaging is the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure, function/pharmacology of the nervous system. It is a relatively new discipline within medicine, neuroscience, and psychology. Physicians who specialize in the performance and interpretation of neuroimaging in the clinical setting are [...]
During this time of vigilance against terrorist activity, in situ detection and testing of seawater for trace levels of explosives is a high priority of the Navy and the DoD, both for protection of U.S. personnel and assets and for environmental monitoring of Navy-patrolled littoral waters. NRL has immersed [...]
