INSIDER

INSIDER: Motion Control

Printing Paper Structures for Mechatronics

Natural motion in plants occurs because of cellulose fibers absorbing and releasing water. Scientists developed a simple method to produce self-folding origami structures based on this concept....

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Robotic “Snake” Grips and Picks Up Objects

An invention similar to an elephant’s trunk has potential benefits for many industries where handling delicate objects is essential. UNSW Sydney developed a soft fabric robotic gripper...

INSIDER: Packaging & Sterilization

Navy Researchers Evaluate Ultraviolet Sources to Combat COVID-19

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory researchers evaluated commercial ultraviolet (UV) sources for viral disinfection to combat COVID-19 on land and at sea and established a...

INSIDER: Lighting

Turning Streetwear into Solar Concentrators

Researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich succeeded in developing a material that works like a luminescent solar concentrator and can even be applied to textiles. This opens up numerous possibilities...

INSIDER: Motion Control

Transforming Rover Explores the Toughest Terrain

NASA’s DuAxel, a pair of two-wheeled rovers each called Axel, can split in half with each half connected only by a tether that unspools as the lead axle approaches a hazard.

INSIDER: Aerospace

Students Design Custom Satellites

Engineering students at the University of Cincinnati are building tiny custom CubeSat satellites to test the radiation shielding properties of carbon fiber material and take high-resolution photos of the...

INSIDER: Communications

Undergrads Improve Cybersecurity of Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications

Students at Rochester Institute of Technology created a wireless testbed that future research teams can use to investigate secure V2V communications.

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Soft Robots Deliver Medical Treatments

Researchers created a way to send tiny, soft robots into humans. Doctors would use magnetic fields to steer the soft robot inside the body, bringing medications or treatments to places that need...

INSIDER: Data Acquisition

Researchers Have Developed the World’s Smallest Ultrasound Detector

Researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed the world’s smallest ultrasound detector. Based on...

INSIDER: Wearables

Researchers Devise Efficient, Scalable Process for Fabricating MXene Films That Block Electromagnetic Interference

The proliferation and miniaturization of electronics in devices, wearables, medical implants, and other applications has...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

2D Materials for Extra Thin Computer Chips

For a long time, something important has been regularly neglected in electronics. If you want to make electronic components smaller and smaller, you also need the right insulator materials. This...

INSIDER: Wearables

Medical Robotic Hand? Rubbery Semiconductor Makes It Possible

Researchers at the University of Houston report that they have designed and produced a smart electronic skin and a medical robotic hand capable of assessing vital diagnostic...

INSIDER: Motion Control

Controller Helps Robots Avoid Collisions

MIT startup Realtime Robotics invented a solution that gives robots the ability to quickly adjust their path to avoid objects as they move to a target. The Realtime controller can be connected to...

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Precision Landing Without a Pilot

For planned robotic and crewed missions to the Moon and Mars, NASA is developing and testing precise landing and hazard-avoidance technologies. A combination of laser sensors, a camera, a high-speed...

INSIDER: Imaging

Perovskite and Organic Solar cells Prove Successful in Space

Almost all satellites are powered by solar cells – but solar cells are heavy. While conventional high-performance cells reach up to three watts of electricity per gram,...

INSIDER: Imaging

Scientists Use Photons as Threads to Weave Novel Forms of Matter

New research from the University of Southampton has discovered a way to bind two negatively charged electron-like particles which could create opportunities to form novel...

INSIDER: Materials

Researcher Gets Navy Grant to Develop Flexible, Printed Solar Cells

University of North Texas professor Anupama Kaul straddles the line between electrical engineering and materials science, which puts her in the perfect place to develop...

INSIDER: Power

Faster, More Efficient Energy Storage From Layered Materials

A team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) developed a novel, integrated approach to track energy-transporting ions within an ultra-thin...

INSIDER: Design

Improved Battery Life for Wearable Electronic Devices

Researchers at the University of Warwick have found that asymmetric stresses within electrodes used in certain wearable electronic devices provides an important clue as to how to...

INSIDER: Power

Scientists Boost Stability and Efficiency of Next-Gen Solar Tech

Researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have created next-generation solar modules with high efficiency and good...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Biomorphic Batteries Could Provide 72 Times More Energy for Robots

Like biological fat reserves store energy in animals, a new rechargeable zinc battery integrates into the structure of a robot to provide much more energy, a team led by...

INSIDER: Software

“Drive-By Science” Helps Rovers Go Farther, Faster

A NASA team is working on Mars robot autonomy to make future rovers more intelligent, to enhance safety, to improve productivity, and to drive faster and farther. Two novel...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Army Readies Robots for Underground Tunnels

The Army Research Laboratory released a software suite that simulates conditions of an underground tunnel network. Researchers interested in developing robots for subterranean environments can...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

NASA’s Robot Hotel Gets Its Occupants

A protective storage unit for robotic tools called Robotic Tool Stowage (RiTS) was among the items launched to the International Space Station last December as part of SpaceX’s resupply services...

INSIDER: Physical Sciences

Researchers Develop Ultra-Sensitive Device for Detecting Magnetic Fields

A team of Brown University physicists has developed a new type of compact, ultra-sensitive magnetometer, 20 times more sensitive than many traditional sensors. The...

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

Configurable Circuit Technology Poised to Expand Silicon Photonic Applications

Researchers have developed a new way to build power efficient and programmable integrated switching units on a silicon photonics chip. The new technology is...

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

New Method Measures Temperature Within 3D Objects

University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers have made it possible to remotely determine the temperature beneath the surface of certain materials using a new technique they call depth...

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Researchers Develop 3D Hand-Sensing Wristband

In a potential breakthrough in wearable sensing technology, researchers from Cornell and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have designed a wrist- mounted device that continuously tracks...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Human-Like Hands with Flexible, Hybrid Actuators

In industrial settings, robots often are used for tasks that require repetitive grasping and manipulation of objects. A humanoid hand design that is a soft-hard hybrid flexible gripper can...