Washington Beat 8-3-98

August 3, 1998 Design News

Washington Beat

Technical news from the nation's capital

by Walter Wingo, Washington Editor

Government-college team creates world's smallest transistor

Fresh research promises to enable engineers to design products that are smaller and much smarter. A team at the University of Maryland has created the world's tiniest transistor. Trillions of such transistors could fit on one computer chip--100 times more than is possible with current technology. Using a principle called tunneling physics, the researchers first produced a 25-nm transistor and then one as small as 10 nm. At that size, it would take 100,000 transistors to span the width of a single human hair. The advance, supported by the National Security Agency and the Naval Research Laboratory, could lead to smaller, more complex, and more efficient integrated circuits. "Whether or not this technology is adopted wide-scale by industry will come down to practical issues," says team leader Chia-Hung Yang, a professor of electrical engineering at the university.

Fellowships promote research in integrated manufacturing

How can product designs be integrated better into manufacturing processes? The National Academy of Engineering seeks answers by awarding predoctoral fellowships each year for projects in integrated manufacturing and processing. Twelve fellows were named this year to research their ideas at different U.S. universities. Research in the program, which began in 1993, may cover aspects of unit operations, tooling and equipment, intelligent sensors, and manufacturing systems, as they relate to product design. One 1998 fellow plans to use an innovative tooling design to improve sheet-metal forming in the automotive industry. Another wants to find a simplified approach to composite repair of aircraft by identifying the integration of initial design, strength requirements, and manufacturing challenges. Each award carries a stipend of $20,000 a year, and an institutional allowance of up to $15,000 per year for three years of support. A similar competition is planned for 1999. You can find out more at www.fellowships.nas.edu , by contacting the Fellowship Programs Unit by phone at (202) 334-2872, or by e-mail at [email protected] .

Bus-size, sensor-packed vehicle would fix potholes on the fly

The design for a bus-size vehicle that would repair potholes on the fly at speeds up to 35 mph has received U.S. patent No. 5,746,539. Operated by only the driver, the machine would use a global positioning system to record exactly where and how bad each pothole is. The inventor, Leo M. Mara, of Livermore, CA, is a technician at Sandia National Laboratories, which supports the project. Mara calls his idea the Rapid Road Repair Vehicle. Scanners on the front bumper would detect anomalies on the road surface. High-pressure air would clean and vacuum the spots. On-board image processing would determine if an object is a hole, bump, manhole cover, or crack. If it's a pothole, a phalanx of nozzles would deliver fast-drying filling material to the proper spots. The mixture would be tamped into place, dusted with grit to provide traction, and vacuumed. Finally, another row of scanners would check the quality of the repair. Under ideal conditions, Mara claims, "the vehicle could possibly patch roads at up to 35 mph." Usually, however, he envisions it moving at 10 to 15 mph. "Even at 10 mph," Mara asks, "can you imagine patching 10 miles of road in an hour?" Phone Subra Subramanian at (925) 294-2311.

Low-temperature chamber tests ultra-high altitude drone

A unique chamber tests pilotless aircraft for their ability to function at altitudes exceeding 67,000 ft. Engineers at Aurora Flight Sciences Corp. (Manassas, VA) designed, built, and operate the chamber, called the Ultra-High Altitude Test Facility. Aurora successfully tested its Perseus B drone in the 12- by 7-ft chamber. Ram air coolers, normally mounted under the Perseus wing and on the fuselage's side, were replaced with compact coolers in which liquid fluids cool the engine and turbos instead of the ram air. To simulate the low temperatures at high altitudes, a special low-temperature fluid with a freezing temperature of about -130C was pumped through the coolers. For details, e-mail Ben Russat at [email protected] .

Detective Colombo's raincoat never had pockets like this

Originally devised to be worn by arms inspectors, an electronics-loaded vest has been adapted for use in investigation of crime scenes. The vest, called Team Leader, can contain an array of devices for quickly analyzing and transmitting vast amounts of information. Modules include a geographical information system, a multi-media computer, a digital video and still camera, voice recorder, a barcode scanner, and specialized sensors. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has teamed with Mnemonic Systems Inc. (Washington, DC) to develop the Team Leader. Phone Mnemonic at (202) 785-4530 or reach them at [email protected] .