Motion Control

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Soft Robotic Insect Survives Being Flattened by a Flyswatter

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

Briefs: Wearables

EEG-Based Technique for Controlling a Robotic Arm with the Brain

This technique can be used by people who are paralyzed or have neurodegenerative diseases.

Briefs: Unmanned Systems

Hummingbird Robot Uses AI to Maneuver in Tight Spaces

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

Briefs: Materials

Thermally Conductive, Stretchable Rubber Material

This material could be used for artificial muscles that power bio-inspired robots.

Briefs: Materials

Aerogels Protect Against Electromagnetic Interference

Aerogels based on cellulose nanofibers can effectively shield electromagnetic radiation over a wide frequency range.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Process Creates Soft Actuated Objects Using Commercial Knitting Machines

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

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Gripper Handles Freely Moving Cables

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

Briefs: Materials

Wireless Aquatic Robot Cleans Water

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

Briefs: Motion Control

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

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

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

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.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Fluid-Filled Frequency-Tunable Mass Damper

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

Briefs: Motion Control

4D Printing of Morphing Structures

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

Briefs: Motion Control

Autonomous Boats Automatically Target and Clasp Onto Each Other

A fleet of “roboats” could transport people, collect trash, and self-assemble into floating structures.

Briefs: Unmanned Systems

Navigation Measurement Software

This program provides a relative navigation capability for spacecraft, remotely operated terrestrial vehicles, and machine vision.

Briefs: Motion Control

Soft Hardware for More Flexible Robots

Combined muscles and sensors made from soft materials allow for adaptable robots.

Briefs: Energy

Scavenger Technology Allows Robots to “Eat” Metal for Energy

This type of energy source could be the basis for robots that seek out and “eat” metal, breaking down its chemical bonds for energy like humans do with food.

Briefs: Imaging

Showing Robots How to Complete Complicated Tasks

By observing humans, robots learn to perform complex tasks such as setting a table.

Briefs: Motion Control

Solenoid Valve Health Monitor

The Solenoid Valve Health Monitor System (SVHMS) was developed to remotely monitor the health of solenoid valves, lowering operational costs and increasing reliability by predicting valve failures before they...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Surfaces That Grip Like Gecko Feet Could Be Easily Mass-Produced

The new method produces strips of rubbery material that can pick up and release objects.

Briefs: Motion Control

Small, Precise, Affordable Gyroscope Navigates Without GPS

An inexpensive gyroscope could help drones and autonomous cars stay on track without a GPS signal.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Soft Tactile Logic Distributes Decision-Making Throughout Stretchable Material

Inspired by the octopus, the structure senses, computes, and responds without any centralized processing.

Briefs: Communications

Wi-Fi-assisted Inertial Odometry (WIO) Measures Speed and Distance of Indoor Movement

The technique could be used to improve navigation for robots, drones, or pedestrians.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Algorithm Helps Swarming Robots Avoid Collisions

This technology could help control driverless cars and automated warehouses.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Square Structural Joint with Robotic Assembly Tool

Square trusses replace round for enhanced strength and robotics compatibility.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Multifunctional Structure Stabilizes and Rotates Satellites

This technology cancels out the vibrations of a satellite by vibrating the solar panels in the opposite direction.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Mechanical Controller for Robot-Assisted Surgery

Robot-assisted surgery has advanced dramatically over the past decade in almost every surgical sub-specialty. Robot-assisted surgery is usually performed using surgical robot systems that...

Briefs: Motion Control

Optical Gyroscope-on-a-Chip

The gyroscope is smaller than a grain of rice — about 500 times smaller than the current state-of-the-art device.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Guiding and Harnessing Transition Waves in Multi-Stable Mechanical Structures

The domino effect is used to design deployable systems that expand quickly with a small push and are stable and locked into place after deployment.