Space to Sea: An Underwater Robot Takes a Deep Dive

Aquanaut, built on lessons from NASA’s robot astronaut, will cut costs for ocean industries.

Underwater Security System

KnightShield covers medium ranges in ports and detects hostile divers – whether using closed or open breathing apparatus – as well as AUVs, SDVs, DPVs, and UUVs.

5Ws of the Green Submarine

Who

A fully automated net positive submarine fleet, powered entirely on hydrogen, could help cleanse the oceans of toxic pollution. Developed by London-based startup Oceanways, the submarine was named among the...

High-Power Direct Borohydride Fuel Cells

Electrification of the transportation sector is critical to future energy and environmental resilience and will require high-power fuel cells (either standalone or in conjunction with batteries) to...

Fuel Cell Boosts Electric-Powered Vehicles

This fuel cell could power a variety of transportation modes such as unmanned underwater vehicles, drones, and eventually electric aircraft.

New Hybrid Concept for Actuating Subsea Valves

A valve actuator has deep-sea applications.

Faster-Degrading Plastic for Marine Uses

This material could reduce persistent plastic accumulation in the environment.

Products of Tomorrow

Nanowire masks, underwater imaging, and tiny 3D-printed block that repair bone breaks.

Facility Focus: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

See how "APL" is developing ways to ensure the safety and performance of autonomous systems.

Autonomous Boats Automatically Target and Clasp Onto Each Other

A fleet of “roboats” could transport people, collect trash, and self-assemble into floating structures.

Insect-Inspired Motion Sensing

This mechanical gyroscope can advance motion sensing capabilities in consumer-sized applications.

Robotic “Cockroach” Explores Underwater Environments

This microbot can walk on land, swim, and walk underwater.

Pearl-Like Coating Enhances Lightweight Armor

By mimicking the outer coating of pearls (nacre or mother of pearl), researchers created a lightweight plastic that is 14 times stronger and eight times lighter (less dense) than steel. It could...

Battery-Free Sensor for Underwater Use

To investigate oceans, researchers aim to build a submerged network of interconnected sensors that sends data to the surface. Supplying constant power to scores of sensors designed to stay for long...

All-Silicon MEMS Inertial Sensing at Fiber Optic Gyro Performance Levels

There is increasing demand in many high-end commercial and industrial markets for precision motion sensing for a diversity of applications.

Text Tech: Navy Vessels Use Shipboard Signal Lamps for Text Messaging

Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research's (ONR) TechSolutions program, the Flashing Light to Text Converter (FLTC) features a camera that can be mounted atop a signal...

Submarine Swims Without an Engine

Researchers have developed a new propulsion concept for swimming robots that exploits temperature fluctuations in the water for propulsion without the need for an engine, propellant, or power supply.

System Makes Opaque Materials Totally Transparent

Most naturally occurring materials have a disordered atomic structure that interferes with the propagation of both sound and electromagnetic waves. When the waves come into contact with these...

Shrimp-Inspired Camera May Enable Underwater Navigation

The underwater environment may appear to the human eye as a dull-blue, featureless space. However, a vast landscape of polarization patterns appear when viewed through a camera that is...

Method 3D-Prints Marine-Grade Stainless Steel

Marine-grade stainless steel is valued for its performance under corrosive environments, and for its high ductility — the ability to bend without breaking under stress. But conventional...

Transparent Eel-Like Soft Robot Swims Silently Underwater

An eel-like robot was developed that can swim silently in salt water without an electric motor. Instead, the robot uses artificial muscles filled with water to propel itself. The...

High-Speed, High-Resolution Multimode Sensing of Structural Strain and Shape

Researchers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) have been developing a fiber optic sensing system (FOSS) that represents a major breakthrough in...

Device Heals Organs Through Cell Function Change

A new chip device called Tissue Nano-transfection (TNT) can generate any cell type of interest for treatment within the patient’s own body. This technology may be used to repair injured...

Software Verifies Identity by DNA in Minutes

Researchers have developed a method to quickly and accurately identify people and cell lines from their DNA. The software could be used to flag mislabeled or contaminated cell lines in cancer...

Modular Fixturing for Assembly and Welding Applications

Researchers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have developed new modular fixtures for holding metal in place during the assembly and welding of cylindrical and conical sections...

Lower-Chatter Friction Pull Plug Welding (FPPW)

Friction Pull Plug Welding (FPPW) is the process necessary to plug the hole that is left behind as a friction stir weld (FSW) joint is completed and the pin tool of the welder retracts from the...

2017 Create the Future Design Contest: Machinery Category Winner

EJBot: Versatile Climbing Robot for Industrial Vessel Inspection Dr. Mohamed Gouda Alkalla and Mohamed Fanni
Mansoura University
Mansoura, Ad-daqahliyah, Egypt...