The Romer articulating arm was introduced more than 35 years ago. In the mid-1970s, a California technology company called Eaton Leonard Corp. designed an arm-shaped instrument for tube inspection that could capture the shape of a 3-D object such as an exhaust pipe.

Piezoelectric ceramic components made of lead zirconate titanates (PZT) have enabled many recent technological innovations in the automobile industry. PZT components can be found throughout many state-of-the-art vehicles, enhancing safety, performance, energy-efficiency and comfort.

Using a biaxial testing machine, researchers characterize and model silicone materials for complex soft-bodied robots.

A safety equipment manufacturer takes advantage of 3-D laser scanning to quickly and cheaply improve the aesthetics of a product mid project.

The list of national and international standards seems never ending and ever changing. As a result, standards and regulations continue to create significant challenges for Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) members in identifying, understanding and applying the requirements of the many standards.

Williamette Valley Co. produces polyurethane systems used in many industrial applications. In the past, the company had difficulty maintaining high yields when producing these products.

Toshiba GE Turbine Components has reduced the time required to inspect and measure steam turbine blades from 280 minutes to 45 minutes through use of the Maxos noncontact measurement system from NVision Inc.

One of the main roles of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is to ensure sustainability and a harvestable surplus of fish and wildlife resources for the 49th state. The ADF&G began experimenting with underwater video technology for scallop stock assessment in 1999.

The problem: verify and inspect wine labels after they have been glued onto the bottles. The solution: acquire images of the bottle’s entire surface and use the Matrox Imaging Library (MIL) to process and analyze the images.

High-resolution wavefront sensors help improve the alignment of the optical systems involving lasers; control and predict the shape of laser beams; measure collimation of the beam and detect the tiniest aberrations caused by optical elements in the optical setup, thus protecting sensitive components of laser chains.