Motion Control

Electronic Skin Sensor Decodes Human Motion

This system can track the motion of the entire body with a small sensory network.

Motion Control Using Micro Controllers

Accomplishing motion control with digitally commanded electric motors is a responsive, precise, and energy-efficient approach suitable for a wide range of applications.

Reverse Vortex Ring

This mechanism improves rotordynamic stability in turbomachinery.

Inductive Non-Contact Position Sensor

Potential uses include MEMS accelerometers, vibration monitoring, and other precision motion control applications.

Incorporating Computer Vision and Uncertainty into AI for Robotic Prosthetics

The software can be integrated with existing hardware to aid people using robotic prosthetics or exoskeletons.

Computational Model Enables Robots to Learn New Concepts

The model allows robots to ask clarifying questions to soldiers.

Laser-Light-Based Accelerometer

The tiny device accurately measures acceleration in smaller navigation systems and other devices.

Lightweight Crane Technology for the Moon

A prototype version could be demonstrated on a large cargo lunar lander.

New Capabilities for Grasp-Assisting Gloves

NASA is developing the next generation of spacesuits for future missions.

3D-Printed Insect-Inspired Robots

Instead of adding soft materials to a rigid robot body, researchers have taken a soft body and added rigid features to key components.

Soft, Mechanical Metamaterials

Researchers produced a soft, mechanical metamaterial that can “think” about how forces are applied to it and respond via programmed reactions.

Solar-Powered Smart Robots Walk Autonomously

A team has installed electronic “brains” on solar-powered robots that are 100 to 250 micrometers in size so that they can walk autonomously.

Teaching Robots the Craft of Manipulating Materials

The new system learns directly from visual inputs to let a robot with a two-fingered gripper see, simulate, and shape doughy objects.

Robot Overcomes Uncertainty to Retrieve Buried Objects

A new robotic system fuses visual information and radio-frequency signals to efficiently find hidden items buried under a pile of objects.

Easing Industrial-Grade Ethernet Implementation

Equipment and test system designers need Ethernet devices that outperform consumer-grade components, while remaining easy to use.

Liquid Metal Turns Motion into Electricity, Even Underwater

The soft and stretchable device converts movement into electricity and can work in wet environments.

Soft Mate Lifting Device

This below-the-hook device enables gentle crane placement to decrease the risk of property damage.

NanoGear Molecular Gear

Oscillatory and rotational motions of different parts are combined to pave the way to developing super-miniaturized mechanical devices.

Locking Side Pull Hoist Ring

The integrated tool eliminates the need for manual operators or additional custom fixtures.

A Manta Ray-Inspired Bio-Syncretic Robot

Biomimetics is one of the most important robotic research methods which can improve the kinematic performance of robots by imitating the structure and behavior of natural organisms.

Inflatable Actuators Use Origami Principles to Deform

Researchers have taken inspiration from origami to create inflatable structures that can bend, twist, and move in complex, distinct ways from a single source of pressure.

Tiny Motors to Power a Network of Nanomachines

Researchers from the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin recently created the first ever solid-state optical nanomotor.

Anti-Phase Noise Suppression Rotor Technologies

Acoustic optimization for anti-phase asymmetric rotor.

A New Method to Improve Motion Planning for Robots

Interactive program aids motion planning for environments with obstacles.

Improved Fixed-Wing Gust Load Alleviation Device

Gust load alleviation is an increasing concern for the design of fixed-wing aircraft with ultra-high aspect wings.

Outer Aileron Yaw Damper

A lightweight alternative to rudders for aircraft with spanwise adaptive wings.

Autonomous Assemblers Assemble

In-space and planetary surface assembly for human exploration is a challenging domain that encompasses various technological thrusts to support human missions. NASA is developing autonomous assembly agents to...

An Artificial Intelligence System to Identify Objects in Cluttered Scenes

Robotic vision has come a long way, reaching a level of sophistication with applications in complex and demanding tasks, such as autonomous driving and object...

A Telerobotic System to Help Surgeons Remotely Treat Stroke Patients

MIT engineers have developed a telerobotic system to help surgeons quickly and remotely treat patients experiencing a stroke or aneurysm. With a modified joystick, surgeons in...