Motion Control

Briefs: Unmanned Systems

Navigation Measurement Software

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

Briefs: Materials

Soft Hardware for More Flexible Robots

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

Briefs: Power

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: Materials

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: Robotics, Automation & 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: Materials

Soft Tactile Logic Distributes Decision-Making Throughout Stretchable Material

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

Briefs: Test & Measurement

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: Motion Control

Algorithm Helps Swarming Robots Avoid Collisions

This technology could help control driverless cars and automated warehouses.

Briefs: Motion Control

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: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

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.

Briefs: Internet of Things

Machine Learning Algorithm Identifies Objects Using Microwaves

Hardware and software tweak microwave patterns to discover the most efficient way to identify objects.

Briefs: Motion Control

Maximizing Safety in Advanced Battery Systems

Fuse devices enable circuit safety in high-power applications, such as motion control and alternative energy generation, in addition to electric vehicles.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Low-Inductance DC Power Bus

The bus is designed for high-frequency, high-temperature operation in electric drive systems and next-generation power electronics.

Briefs: Motion Control

Spring Drive Fitting

Applications include valves, tubes, and other gas and fluid system components.

Briefs: Nanotechnology

Bio-Inspired Mechanics to Make Robots More Effective

This technology could impact new directions in robotics design.

Briefs: Aerospace

Multi-Objective Flight Control Optimization Framework

This framework can be used by commercial and military aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Briefs: Aerospace

Insect-Inspired Motion Sensing

This mechanical gyroscope can advance motion sensing capabilities in consumer-sized applications.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Shape-Shifting Robot Uses New Locomotion Strategy

The robot is built entirely from smaller robots and can form a robophysical system that can move by itself.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Dynamic Gripper Mimics Adjustable Grip of the Human Hand

Such grippers would be suited for human-robot partnership in assembly lines in the automotive, electronic packaging, and other industries.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Flexure for Self-Assembly

Conventional fastening mechanisms like nails, bolts, and welds are subject to manufacturing and inspection tolerances, differential thermal growth, and other sources of error that lead to over-constraint, among...

Briefs: Wearables

Soft, Skin-Like Structures for Robotic Locomotion and Transportation

These soft robots can be rolled up and carried in a pocket.

Briefs: Motion Control

Robots Assemble Large Structures from Little Pieces

Systems of tiny robots could build high-performance structures, from airplanes to space settlements.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Robot Circulating Liquid Stores Energy and Provides Power

This robot “blood” stores energy, transmits force, operates appendages, and provides structure, all in an integrated design.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Intelligent Microrobots

Such machines, only a few tens of micrometers across, could be used in the human body to perform small operations.