Engineers Create 3D-Printed Smart Gel That Walks Underwater, Moves Objects
Rutgers University-New Brunswick engineers have created a 3D-printed smart gel that walks underwater and grabs objects and moves them. The watery creation could lead to…
Robotics
MIT Engineers Develop Autonomous Glider That Can Fly and Sail
MIT engineers have designed a robotic glider that can skim along the water’s surface, riding the wind like an albatross while also surfing the waves…
New Approach Helps Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Explore
Observing the world’s oceans is increasingly a mission assigned to autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) — marine robots that are designed to drift, drive, or glide…
NASA Explores Visionary Ideas That Could Transform the Future
NASA is investing in technology concepts that include meteoroid impact detection, space telescope swarms, and small orbital debris mapping technologies that may one day be used…
Machine Learning Algorithm Personalizes Control Strategies for Wearable Exosuits
When it comes to soft assistive devices — like the wearable exosuit being created by the Harvard Biodesign Lab — the wearer and the robot…
This Four Millimeter Long Millirobot Can Walk, Crawl and Roll Through Difficult Terrain
Tiny robots need not fear obstacle courses in the future: Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have developed a minuscule,…
Origami-Inspired Robot Opens New Avenues for Microsurgery, Microassembly
Because of their high precision and speed, Delta robots are deployed in many industrial processes, including pick-and-place assemblies, machining, welding, and food packaging. Starting with…
Scientists Develop Electric Propulsion Technology for Nanorobots
Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a novel electric propulsion technology for nanorobots. It allows molecular machines to move a hundred…
Cornell Scientists Take First Step Toward Cell-Sized Robots
An electricity-conducting, environment-sensing, shape-changing machine the size of a human cell? Is that even possible? Cornell physicists Paul McEuen and Itai Cohen not only say…
Scientists Direct the Growth of Hydrogel to Mimic Plant and Animal Tissue Structure
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) have found a way to direct the growth of hydrogel, a jelly-like…
New Inexpensive Robots Find Leaks from Inside Pipes
Engineers from MIT have developed a fast, inexpensive robotic device that can find even tiny leaks in pipes with pinpoint precision, no matter what the…
New Chip Design Method May Result in Miniature Smart Drones
A team of engineers at MIT has developed a method for designing efficient computer chips may get miniature smart drones off the ground. In recent…
MIT Develops a System That Can 3D Print the Basic Structure of an Entire Building
The list of materials that can be produced by 3D printing has grown to include not just plastics but also metal, glass, and even food….
Engineers Design Microfluidic Device That Generates Passive Hydraulic Power
Engineers have designed a microfluidic device that mimics the pumping mechanism of trees and plants, generating passive hydraulic power that may be used to make…
MIT Engineers Design Transparent, Gel-Based Robots
A team of engineers from MIT has developed transparent, gel-based robots that may one day assist in surgical operations and evade underwater detection. Engineers at…
New “Morphing” Wing Could Enable More Efficient Plane Flight
Engineers at MIT and NASA have developed a new kind of bendable, “morphing” wing that could enable more efficient plane manufacturing and flight. When the…
Motion-Directed Microrobots Can Be Propelled Light
Researchers reveal a surprisingly simple way to direct synthetic microswimmers towards light or darkness. Phototactic behavior directs some bacteria towards light and others into darkness:…
Researchers Develop Shape-Programmable Miniscule Robots
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute have developed functional elastomers that can be activated by magnetic fields. One day, microrobots may be able to swim…