Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
How to Power Robots with Popcorn
Cornell researchers have discovered a novel – and delicious – way to power simple robots: Popcorn.
Podcasts: Green Design & Manufacturing
Here's an Idea: Scientists Serve Up New Spins on Whiskey, Wine, and Beer
Blog: Semiconductors & ICs
Functional Fabric Brings Semiconductors Directly to the Fiber
Question of the Week: Transportation
Are Robo-Fleets 'Very Economically Viable?'
Robo-taxi fleets are on the way, according to Chris Heiser, co-founder and CEO of Renovo, a California-based manufacturer of automotive operating systems.
News: Medical
Wireless System Can Power Devices Inside the Body
MIT researchers, working with scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital, have developed a new way to power and communicate with devices implanted deep within the human body. Such devices could be used to deliver drugs, monitor conditions inside the body, or treat disease by stimulating the...
News: Medical
Plug-and-Play Diagnostic Devices
Researchers at MIT's Little Devices Lab have developed a set of modular blocks that can be put together in different ways to produce diagnostic devices. These "plug-and-play" devices, which require little expertise to assemble, can test blood glucose levels in diabetic patients or detect viral infection, among...
News: Medical
Device Attaches to Damaged Heart to Restore Cardiac Function
After a patient has a heart attack, a cascade of events leading to heart failure begins. Damage to the area in the heart where a blood vessel was blocked leads to scar tissue. In response to scarring, the heart will remodel to compensate. This process often ends in ventricular or valve...
News: Medical
Repetition Key to Self-Healing, Flexible Medical Devices
Medical devices powered by synthetic proteins created from repeated sequences of proteins may be possible, according to materials science and biotechnology experts, who looked at material inspired by the proteins in squid ring teeth.
INSIDER: Energy
Tiny Defects in Semiconductors Created ‘Speed Bumps’ or Electrons. UCLA Researchers Cleared the Path
UCLA scientists and engineers have developed a new process for assembling semiconductor devices. The advance could lead to much more...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Trapping Light that Doesn't Bounce Off Track for Faster Electronics
Replacing traditional computer chip components with light-based counterparts will eventually make electronic devices faster due to the wide bandwidth of light. Because...
By integrating the design of antenna and electronics, researchers have boosted the energy and spectrum efficiency for a new class of millimeter wave transmitters,...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Semiconductor Quantum Transistor Opens the Door for Photon-Based Computing
Transistors, the tiny switches that form the bedrock of modern computing—billions of them — route electrical signals around inside the circuitry of our...
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Autonomous Vehicles are Expensive – Why is Hailing One So Cheap?
Question of the Week: Transportation
Will Cities be Ready for Autonomous Vehicle Fleets?
Autonomous vehicle fleets are on the way, according to Chris Heiser, co-founder and CEO of Renovo, a California-based manufacturer of automotive operating systems.
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
How Soon Will Autonomous Vehicle Fleets Take the Streets?
Articles: Motion Control
Conical, Floating-Piston Isolation Valve
A new valve concept consists of a solid piston floating in a medium to control a flowstream. Although the conical shape of the seat is a prominent feature of the valve, especially when the concept was...
Application Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
High-Speed Reluctance Machine Design
Silphenix GmbH is an engineering and consulting firm in Switzerland specializing in high-speed electrical machines, magnetic bearings, and electromagnetic field analysis. One project focus is compact...
Briefs: Materials
Fast, Low-Voltage Actuator for Soft and Wearable Robotics
The unique capabilities of soft robots are to bend, deform, stretch, twist, or squeeze in all the ways that conventional rigid robots cannot. Today, it is easy to envision a world in...
Application Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Drive Technology: The Recipe for Precise Actuator Control
Worldwide, there are only a handful of manufacturers of electrical actuators for the process industry, and the Vienna, Austria-based company Schiebel Antriebstechnik GmbH is the...
Articles: Test & Measurement
Machine Vision Can Do More Than You Think
The ability to automatically extract information from digital images opens many doors for manufacturers striving to cut costs, improve quality, and streamline their processes overall. The primary...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Ultra-Thin Capacitive Sensor Has the Least Possible Resistance to Motion
A thin and flexible sensor was developed for sensing sounds, since it can move with the airflow made by even the softest noises. With the least possible resistance to motion, the sensor addresses issues with accelerometers, microphones, and many other similar sensors. The...
Articles: Test & Measurement
IMTS2018 Preview
Presented by the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) has been the premier manufacturing technology show in the Northern Hemisphere. IMTS is held every even...
Briefs: Materials
Variable-Camber Compliant Wing
In the early years of manned flight, wing warping was used for lateral control of an aircraft. This technique consisted of a system of pulleys and cables used to twist the trailing edges of the wings in...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Using Direct Current with Inverter Technology in Resistance Welding
Resistance welding with direct current (DC) using inverter technology reduces costs by improving quality, reducing maintenance, and increasing productivity. Switching from...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Autonomous Crop-Counting Robot
Today's crop breeders are trying to boost yields while preparing plants to withstand severe weather and changing climates. To succeed, they must locate the genes for high-yielding, hardy traits in crop...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Hydraulic-Based Spherical Robot
Current spherical robots rely upon rotating mechanical weights inside the sphere to change the center of gravity of the sphere, causing the robot to roll. The use of rotating mechanical weights is not optimal due to the reliance upon moving parts, which can present burdensome maintenance issues. It would be...
Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
New Products: August 2018 Motion Design
TRINAMIC Motion Control (Hamburg, Germany) announced the TMC-4671 fully integrated servo controller IC that provides field-oriented control for BLDC/PMSM and 2-phase...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Integrated Inverter for Controlling Multiple Electric Machines
There are applications that require multiple electric machine drives, such as electric or hybrid electric vehicles, where there is a main traction motor and one or more accessory...
Top Stories
Blog: Materials

A New Way to Cure Adhesives on Demand? Magnets.
Podcasts: Sensors/Data Acquisition

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Orbiting Instrument Hints That Stored Magnetic Energy Heats Solar...
Blog: Transportation

CES 2021: How COVID-19 Turned the Car into a Personal 'Second Space'
Videos: Motion Control

'Blueswarm' Robots Synchronize Movements like School of Fish
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition


Question of the Week
Will We Make Vibration-Free Helicopters?
Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Electric-Vehicle Transmission Development Priorities
Upcoming Webinars: Medical
The Critical Role of Fiber Optic Temperature Sensors in Medical...
Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Zinc Die Casting Concepts to Achieve Precision, Performance, and...
Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement
Radar Measurements: Triggering, Analysis, and Generation
Upcoming Webinars: Materials
Designing with Silicone for Space
Upcoming Webinars: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Trending Stories
Articles: Motion Control

Linear Motors and Actuators Meets Automation Needs
NASA Spinoff: Propulsion

Nanotechnology Repairs Engine Damage in Cars
INSIDER: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Chemically Driven Wheels “Morph” Into Gears
Articles: Electronics & Computers

Battery Power Source Options for Mission-Critical Applications
NASA Spinoff: Automotive

Nanotechnology Repairs Engine Damage in Cars
Q&A: Energy
