Worldwide growth of photovoltaics has been fitting an exponential curve for more than two decades. During this period of time, photovoltaics (PV), also known as solar PV, has evolved from a pure niche market of small scale applications towards becoming a mainstream electricity source. The Sun blankets the Earth with …

With the rapid development of the aerospace field, fiber-reinforced, resin-based composite materials have gradually replaced traditional metal materials due to their advantages of low density and high strength. An increasingly important innovation in the aerospace industry is the use of composite materials, and they have played a major role in …

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is defined as a powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are …

Indian Defense Ministry report had warned of the “grave threat” posed by the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean. It suggested that China is widening its orbit of patrols beyond Chinese waters to jockey for control of highly sensitive sea lanes. In mid-2016, Indian naval officials said they were sighting Chinese …

Reliability, maintainability, and availability (RAM) are three system attributes that are of great interest to systems engineers, logisticians, and users. Collectively, they affect both the utility and the life-cycle costs of a product or system.   Although significant improvements have been made in increasing the reliability of basic components such …

Since the invention of nuclear power, there have been numerous “accidents.” From Three Mile Island and Chernobyl to the more recent problems in Fukushima, it would seem nuclear power is not fully under our control. Recently  a Chinese scientist  has warned that the single mountain under which North Korea most …

Embedded computers can be found in places such as smart home appliances, medical gear, cars, and even facilities such as power plants. And they run software that can be exploited just like any computer, warmed Ang Cui, founder and CEO of cybersecurity company Red Balloon. “This is probably the most …

The Department of Defense (DOD) has a well-documented history of taking much longer and spending much more than originally planned to develop and acquire its weapons systems. In particular, as systems transition from development to production, programs experience significant manufacturing problems. Billions of dollars in cost growthoccur as programs transition …

The rapid evolution of technology and outsourced manufacturing has created new opportunities, as well as new challenges and risks. Organizations today are under increased pressure to improve product designs as well as manufacturability and sustainability while reducing costs and development schedules. These initiatives are taking place in a competitive environment where …

Space capabilities have become central to many military operations, including missile warning, geolocation and navigation, target identification, and tracking of adversary activities.  US, Russia and China are world leaders in  militarization of space possessing extensive space infrastructure. The NASIC report said there number of foreign intelligence and imaging satellites “has tripled” to …