Magazine

Hummingbird Robot Uses AI to Maneuver in Tight Spaces

The robots could fly silently for covert operations and stay steady through turbulence.

Nanomaterial Gives Robots Chameleon Skin

Features include unusual color changes and high touch sensitivity.

New on the Market: September 2020

Foam gasket tapes, data analytics software, ceramic tape, and more.

Wireless “Pacemaker” for the Brain

This neurostimulator could deliver fine-tuned treatments to patients with diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson’s.

Electronic “Skin” Brings Sense of Touch and Pain to Prosthetic Hands

The “E-dermis” will enable amputees to perceive through prosthetic fingertips.

Printed Polymer Makes Integrated Airplane Parts

In 2019, NASA engineers test-fired a 3D-printed rocket engine combustion chamber.

Automated Robotic Device for Faster Blood Testing

This technology provides rapid results, improving hospital workflow and patient care.

5 Ws of the Sign-to-Speech Translation Glove

People who use sign language could communicate directly with non-signers, without needing someone else to translate for them.

Breathable Electronics for Wearable Technologies

The material was designed specifically for biomedical or wearable technologies, since sweat and volatile organic compounds evaporate away from the skin.

Smart Fabrics with Bioactive Inks Monitor the Body by Changing Color

Bioactive inks printed on wearable textiles can map conditions over the entire surface of the body.

Products of Tomorrow

An A/C alternative, AI that sharpens blurry images, and a NASA energy harvester.

Soft Robotic Insect Survives Being Flattened by a Flyswatter

The ultra-light robotic insect can be folded or crushed, yet continues to move.

Valve Leakage Detection in Industrial Pumps

As an integral part of onshore and offshore drilling, mud pumps circulate drilling fluids to facilitate drilling oil and natural gas wells. Mud pumps stabilize pressure and support the well during the...

Process Creates Soft Actuated Objects Using Commercial Knitting Machines

This approach could be used to cost-effectively make soft robots and wearable technologies.

Man vs Machine: Who Reigns Supreme for Quality Inspection?

When inspecting products for instance, machine vision is not only faster but also far more accurate.

Traverse System Enables Vertical Farming

See how a system feeds plants, delivering about 5,417 gallons of water per hour.

Wiegand Wire: Energy Harvesting and More

With the emergence of a new generation of ultra-efficient electronic chips, the Wiegand technology is showing significant promise, especially in the exciting area of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

Gripper Handles Freely Moving Cables

The gripper’s soft, sensitive fingers could enable robots to help with tying knots, wire shaping, or surgical suturing.

Wireless Aquatic Robot Cleans Water

Inspired by a coral polyp, this plastic mini robot moves by magnetism and light.

Planetary Exploration Rover Avoids Sand Traps with “Rear Rotator Pedaling”

Complex locomotion techniques enable the rover to climb hills covered with soft granular material.

Flexible Feet Help Robots Walk Faster

This technology can help robots walk up to 40 percent faster on uneven terrain such as pebbles and wood chips.

New Products

Positioning devices, vibration transmitters, brushless DC motors, and more.

Fluid-Filled Frequency-Tunable Mass Damper

Applications include absorbers, tuned mass dampers, harmonic absorbers, and seismic dampers.

4D Printing of Morphing Structures

A new method manufactures complex shapeshifters for soft robots and biomedical implants.

Ultrasound Device Improves Charge Time and Run Time in Lithium Batteries

The device brings lithium metal batteries one step closer to commercial viability.

Active Battery Cell Balancing

Active cell balancing redistributes charge between battery cells during the charge and discharge cycle

Spreadable Way to Stabilize Solid-State Batteries

A “butter-like” interlayer material boosts current density and increases safety.