Stories

Medical Crash Cart Goes Robotic

Medical crash carts — stocked with medications, syringes, gauze, and IV fluids — are essential tools in emergency rooms, where seconds matter, space is tight, and confusion can cost lives. However,...

New System Enables Robots to Solve Manipulation Problems in Seconds

Ready for that long-awaited summer vacation? First, you’ll need to pack all items required for your trip into a suitcase, making sure everything fits securely without...

Teaching Robots to Serve Humans

Over the past decade, robots have become an increasingly important part of our daily lives. Autonomous vehicles shuttle us from point A to point B, drones deliver lifesaving medicine to remote towns, sidewalk...

New Imaging Technique Reconstructs the Shapes of Hidden Objects

A new imaging technique developed by MIT researchers could enable quality-control robots in a warehouse to peer through a cardboard shipping box and see that the handle of a...

How Much Do You Know About Model-Based Systems Engineering?

How much do you know about MBSE terms and its adoption by the aerospace and defense industry? Test your knowledge with this quiz.

How Horses Can Induce Better Social Robots

Equine-Assisted Interventions (EAIs) offer a powerful alternative to traditional talking therapies for patients with PTSD, trauma, and autism who struggle to express and regulate emotions through words alone.

A Robot with the ‘Brains’ to Morph Mid-Air

The new robot, dubbed ATMO (aerially transforming morphobot), uses four thrusters to fly, but the shrouds that protect them become the system's wheels in an alternative driving configuration. The whole transformation relies on a single motor to move a central joint that lifts ATMO's thrusters up into drone mode or down into drive mode.

Soft Robotics that Can ID, Self-Repair Damage

A University of Nebraska–Lincoln engineering team is another step closer to developing soft robotics and wearable systems that mimic the ability of human and plant skin to detect and self-heal injuries.

How Much Do You Know About Radio Jamming?

The deliberate blocking of or interference with wireless communications, radio jamming has been around for decades. How much do you know about radio jamming? Find out with this quiz.

An Affordable, Sustainable New Battery Technology

Traditional Li-ion batteries rely on graphite as an anode material. However, the same graphite structure fails when it comes to sodium or potassium. But, by rethinking the shape of carbon at the microscopic level, researchers found a workaround.

My Opinion: Quantum Computing Is Coming But Has This Engineer Puzzled

My Opinion: Quantum computing is coming but has this engineer puzzled. As we celebrate 2025, the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, I find that thinking about these things from an engineer’s point of view is quite challenging.

Mid-Air Transformation Helps Flying, Rolling Robot to Transition Smoothly

Specialized robots that can both fly and drive typically touch down on land before attempting to transform and drive away. But when the landing terrain is rough,...

Brain-Like Computer Steers Rolling Robot With 0.25 Percent of the Power Needed by Conventional Controllers

Analog computing is making a comeback with hardware that processes and stores information in the same location, similar to biological...

Flying Robots Unlock New Horizons in Construction

An international team led by researchers from Empa and EPFL has explored how aerial robots could precisely process construction materials in the air — an approach with great potential for...

Nimble Dimples: Agile Underwater Vehicles Inspired by Golf Balls

A spherical prototype that can change its surface from smooth to dimpled, cuts through drag and generates lift. Underwater or aerial vehicles with dimples like golf balls...

Digitalization in Battery Development: What Engineers Need to Know

From initial design to end-of-life recycling, digitalization is transforming every stage of battery development. Puneet Sinha, Senior Director and Global Head of the Battery Industry at Siemens Digital Industries Software, discusses the emerging battery technology trends and how digital transformation is reshaping the industry.

How Much Do You Know About Electric Vehicle Powertrains?

Switching the powertrain from ICE to electrical can be a tough challenge. How much do you know about electric vehicle powertrains? Find out with this quiz.

Breakthrough in Semiconductor Technology Paves the Way for Faster 6G Networks

Self-driving cars which eliminate traffic jams, getting a health care diagnosis instantly without leaving your home, or feeling the touch of loved ones based across the continent may soon become reality thanks to a radical breakthrough in semiconductor technology.

A More-Efficient, Less-Wasteful 3D-Printing Method

MIT engineers have developed a resin that turns into two different kinds of solids, depending on the type of light that shines on it: Ultraviolet light cures the resin into a highly resilient solid, while visible light turns the same resin into a solid that is easily dissolvable in certain solvents.

New AI Can Predict the 3D Shape of Chromosomes Inside Individual Cells

Two researchers have developed a new AI tool that can predict the 3D shape of chromosomes inside individual cells — helping researchers gain a new view of how our genes work.

Substrate Engineering to Improve Power Electronics

As the growth in global electricity need and supply continues to accelerate, efficient power electronics will be key to improving grid efficiency, stability, integration, and resilience for...

Superconducting Diode Bridge Efficiently Converts AC to DC for Quantum Circuits

Superconductivity is an advantageous property observed in some materials. It entails an electrical resistance of zero at extremely low temperatures....

Hardening the Grid: Research Team Focuses on Quake Proofing Transformer Bushings

The electric grid we take for granted involves large, expensive equipment, most notably power transformers. If one goes down, it can take more than a year to...

Diamond Quantum Imaging Can Enable Next-Gen Power Electronics

Improving energy conversion efficiency in power electronics is vital for a sustainable society, with wide-bandgap semiconductors like GaN and SiC power devices offering...

How Much Do You Know About Wireless Industrial Systems?

Automated factories are networks of separate but interconnected systems. The interconnections have been mostly hard-wired in the past but now we’re seeing more wireless systems. How much do you know about wireless industrial systems? Take this quiz and see.

A VR Game with Smell May Keep Cognitive Decline at Bay

One promising strategy to counter cognitive decline is through olfactory stimulation — engaging the sense of smell. Read on to learn how a team developed VR tech to do just that.

Biocompatible Ultrasonic Receiver Overcomes Many Wireless Charging Limitations

A research team has developed a biocompatible ultrasonic receiver that maintains its performance even when bent. Read on to learn more about it.

How Reusable Rockets Are Transforming Space Travel

Reusable rockets represent a significant step forward in space exploration and commercial space travel, offering the potential for more affordable, accessible, and frequent space missions. Test your knowledge about reusable rockets in this quiz.

An Octopus-Inspired Smart Robot

The work shows how a soft robot can use suction flow not just to stick to things, but also to sense its environment and control its own actions — just like an octopus.