Briefs: Physical Sciences
Jamie Paik and colleagues in the Reconfigurable Robotics Lab in EPFL’s School of Engineering have developed a sensor that can perceive combinations of bending, stretching, compression, and temperature changes, all using a robust system that boils down to a simple concept: color. Read on to learn more about it.
Briefs: Motion Control
In a recent study published in the journal eLife, an international research group has studied the relationship between electrical stimulation in stick insects’ leg muscles and the resultant torque (the twisting force that makes the leg move). Read on to learn what they found.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
In creating a pair of new robots, Cornell researchers cultivated an unlikely component: fungal mycelia. By harnessing mycelia’s innate electrical signals, the researchers discovered a new way of controlling “biohybrid” robots that can potentially react to their environment better than their purely synthetic counterparts. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: AR/AI
A new study led by Flinders University and French researchers has used a novel bio-inspired computing artificial intelligence solution to improve the potential of UUVs and other adaptive control systems to operate more reliability in rough seas and other unpredictable conditions. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A team has programmed a robotic spacecraft simulator with what it calls s-FEAST: Safe Fault Estimation via Active Sensing Tree Search. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A recent study demonstrates that soft skin pads doubling as sensors made from thermoplastic urethane can be efficiently manufactured using 3D printers. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Manned Systems
Innovators at the NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a novel foot-pedal-operated system and device to control movement of an object in 3D space. The Foot Pedal Controller system enables operators to control movement of spacecraft, aircraft, and watercraft using only foot pedals. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A team led by University of Maryland computer scientists invented a camera mechanism that improves how robots see and react to the world around them. Inspired by how the human eye works, their innovative camera system mimics the tiny involuntary movements used by the eye to maintain clear and stable vision over time. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Design
MIT engineers are designing a pair of wearable robotic limbs that can physically support an astronaut and lift them back on their feet after a fall. The system, which the researchers have dubbed Supernumerary Robotic Limbs or “SuperLimbs,” is designed to extend from a backpack. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
Inspired by a small and slow snail, scientists have developed a robot prototype that may one day scoop up microplastics from the surfaces of oceans, seas, and lakes.
Briefs: Motion Control
Researchers have developed a new soft robot design that engages in three simultaneous behaviors: rolling forward, spinning like a record, and following a path that orbits around a central point. The device, which operates without human or computer control, holds promise for developing soft robotic technologies that can be used to navigate and map unknown environments. The new soft robots are called twisted ringbots. Read on to learn more about them.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Researchers led by Professor Young Min Song from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology have unveiled a vision system inspired by feline eyes to enhance object detection in various lighting conditions. Featuring a unique shape and reflective surface, the system reduces glare in bright environments and boosts sensitivity in low-light scenarios. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Software
Penn Engineers have developed a new algorithm that allows robots to react to complex physical contact in real time, making it possible for autonomous robots to succeed at previously impossible tasks, like controlling the motion of a sliding object. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Motion Control
MIT engineers have developed a method that enables robots to make similarly intuitive, task-relevant decisions. The team’s new approach, named Clio, enables a robot to identify the parts of a scene that matter, given the tasks at hand. Read on to learn more about Clio.
Briefs: Design
A team of researchers has developed an innovative soft robotic gripper named ROtation-based Squeezing grippEr or ROSE. Read on to learn more about it.
Briefs: Manned Systems
Incorporating a vision-based navigation method, NASA Ames has developed a novel Alternative Position, Navigation, and Timing (APNT) solution for AAM aircraft in environments where GPS is not available. Read on to learn more about it.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Yen-Ling Kuo at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science is collaborating with a team at the Toyota Research Institute to build language representations of driving behavior that enable a robot to associate the meaning of words with what it sees by watching how humans interact with the environment or by its own interactions with the environment. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Inspired by the paper-folding art of origami, North Carolina State University engineers have discovered a way to make a single plastic cubed structure transform into more than 1,000 configurations using only three active motors. The findings could pave the way for shape-shifting artificial systems that can take on multiple functions and even carry a load. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Medical
Read on to learn about CARMEN — Cognitively Assistive Robot for Motivation and Neurorehabilitation — a small, tabletop robot designed to help people with mild cognitive impairment learn skills to improve memory, attention, and executive functioning at home.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
The “nanoswimmers” could be used to remediate contaminated soil, improve water filtration, or even deliver drugs to targeted areas of the body.
Briefs: Software
A new paper explores pick-and-place solutions with more precision. In precise pick-and-place, also known as kitting, the robot transforms an unstructured arrangement of objects into an organized arrangement. The approach, dubbed SimPLE (Simulation to Pick Localize and placE), learns to pick, regrasp and place objects using the object’s computer-aided design model. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Inspired by the paper-folding art of origami, North Carolina State University engineers have discovered a way to make a single plastic cubed structure transform into more than 1,000 configurations using only three active motors. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Medical
Researchers have successfully developed a DNA-based molecular controller that autonomously directs the assembly and disassembly of molecular robots. This pioneering technology marks a significant step toward advanced autonomous molecular systems with potential applications in medicine and nanotechnology.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A new algorithm may make robots safer by making them more aware of human inattentiveness. In simulations, it improved safety by about a maximum of 80 percent and efficiency by about a maximum of 38 percent compared to existing methods. Read on to learn more about it.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
High-performance servo motion is now more affordable and accessible than ever due to integrated controllers, making the technology viable even for applications, which could not formerly support the cost or complexity of traditional implementations. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Physical Sciences
For the first time, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin’s Applied Research Laboratories and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center have formed a radio interferometer between a GPS antenna and receiver and a large radio telescope. Read on to learn more about the new technique.
Briefs: AR/AI
Southwest Research Institute has developed off-road autonomous driving tools with a focus on stealth for the military and agility for space and agriculture clients. The vision-based system pairs stereo cameras with novel algorithms, eliminating the need for LiDAR and active sensors. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The sensing and control principles used in this framework could lead to new tactile sensors that can be attached to any existing robotics system, offering new sensing and control paradigms for safe human-robot interaction without altering the robot’s original design. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Imaging
The camera mimics the involuntary movements of the human eye to create sharper, more accurate images for robots, smartphones, and other image-capturing devices. Read on to learn more about it.
