AI Yields ‘Athletically Intelligent’ Robotic Dog

Someday, when quakes, fires, and floods strike, the first responders might be packs of robotic rescue dogs rushing in to help stranded souls. These battery-powered quadrupeds would use...

Finger-Shaped Sensor Enables More Dexterous Robots

Imagine grasping a heavy object, like a pipe wrench, with one hand. You would likely grab the wrench using your entire fingers, not just your fingertips. Sensory receptors in your skin,...

How to Diagnose an Ailing Bridge

A solar-powered wireless sensor system developed by a Drexel University team can continuously monitor bridge deformation and could be used to alert authorities if the bridge performance deteriorates significantly.

Sensors that Operate at High Temperatures and in Extreme Environments

Extreme environments in several critical industries — aerospace, energy, transportation, and defense — require sensors to measure and monitor numerous factors...

Stretchable Pressure Sensor Could Lead to Better Robotics, Prosthetics

The sensor can be stretched up to 50 percent with almost the same sensing performance.

Faster Computation for Deep-Learning Applications

A new area of artificial intelligence called analog deep learning promises faster computation with a fraction of the energy usage.

Strain-Sensing Smart Skin Ready to Deploy

A strain-sensing smart skin developed at Rice University uses very small carbon nanotube structures to monitor and detect damage in large structures. The “strain paint” uses the fluorescent...

Artificial Skin Gives Robots a Sense of Touch

We tend to take our sense of touch for granted in everyday settings, but it is vital for our ability to interact with our surroundings. Imagine reaching into the fridge to grab an egg for...

Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science

Columbia University is a private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan, Columbia, is the...

New on the Market: May 2022

Dual Locking C14 IEC Connector

The SG03DC from MEGA Electronics, New Brunswick, NJ, contains side locking tabs similar to the Raritan Securelock. It will mate with any standard nonlocking C13 Outlet along...

Material for the Next Generation of Smart Sensors

Scientists have developed color-changing, flexible photonic crystals that could be used to develop sensors that warn when an earthquake might strike next. The wearable, robust, and low-cost...

Machine Intelligence to Build Soft Machines

Soft machines — a subcategory of robotics that uses deformable materials instead of rigid links — are an emerging technology commonly used in wearable robotics and biomimetics (e.g.,...

Piezoelectric Polymers

A Penn State-led team of interdisciplinary researchers have developed a polymer with robust piezoelectric effectiveness, resulting in 60% more efficient electricity generation than previous iterations.

Simplifying Sensor Fabrication with Adhesive Compounds

Epoxy and silicone compounds serve a critical role as adhesives in electronics.

New on the Market: April 2022

High-performance laser trackers, gimbal motors, air-quality sensors, and more.

Electronic Skin Reacts to Pain

Artificial skin reacts to pain just like real skin, paving the way to better prosthetics, robotics, and noninvasive alternatives to skin grafts.

EV vs. ICE: How Does Wire Harness Design Differ?

The wire harness is changing as vehicles become “computers on wheels.” A reader asks how electrification impacts the wiring harness.

New Products

Battery monitoring, flow meters, torque sensors, and more.

Measuring Aggressive Launch Loads on Spacecraft

What began as a research tool to collect aerodynamic data from research aircraft is now solving technical challenges for NASA.

Stanford Engineers Create Perching Bird-Like Robot

Like snowflakes, no two branches are alike. They can differ in size, shape, and texture; some might be wet or moss-covered or bursting with offshoots. And yet birds can land on just...

Q&A: Ultra-Fast Manufacturing of Wearable Sensors

An "E-Skin" material can be printed without polymer binders.

Personalized Exosuit for Real-World Walking

People rarely walk at a constant speed and a single incline. We change speed when rushing to the next appointment, catching a crosswalk signal, or going for a casual stroll in the park. Slopes...

New Products

Motors, suspension arms, slit couplings, and more.

Soft Robots Use Camera and Shadows to Sense Human Touch

An off-the-shelf USB camera captures the shadows made by hand gestures on the robot’s skin.

2021 Supplier Guide: Sensors

See leading manufacturers in a variety of sensor topic areas, including radar and encoders.

Soft Pressure Sensor Breakthrough Solves Field's Most Challenging Bottleneck

Medical sensing technology has taken great strides in recent years, with the development of wearable devices that can track pulse, brain function, biomarkers in...