A team of researchers at NASA’s Langley Research Center recently were awarded a prize that’s known as the ‘Oscar of Innovation’. They received the 49th Annual R&D 100 Award for the product known as the SansEC Temperature Sensor.
The award is presented to 100 significant technological products that are released in the past year into the markets. The winners are selected by an independent panel of judges and editors of the R&D magazine.
The SansEC technology used in the sensor was begun by the late Stanley Woodard. The co-inventors Bryant Taylor from the ATK Space Systems and research scientist Chuantong Wang from the National Institute of Aerospace were part of the team.
Bryant Taylor said that it was a great feeling of accomplishment to have your work selected as a R&D 100 award. His thoughts went back to the many good times he had working with the late Dr. Stanley Woodard on this technology, and his persistent quest of achieving what seems to be unachievable.
The SansEC was originally developed as a method of thermal insulation to save the damage detection system for inflatable space structures. The researchers then discovered its unique qualities as a new way of doing electrical systems.
The SansEC sensor can measure things unrelated to each other such as temperature and fluid levels. Unlike traditional closed circuit sensors the SansEC open circuit sensor has no conventional electrical connections making it highly resilient to damage. It is a single component that is lighter than its close circuit peers and is manufactured at a lower cost. It needs less materials, time and labor and produces less waste. It also has a wide range of possible and existing commercial applications.