Robotics, Automation & Control

Briefs : Electronics & Computers

High-Reliability Radio Frequency MEMS Switch

Applications include homeland security, vehicle anti-collision systems, telecommunications systems, and industrial instrumentation.

Briefs : Electronics & Computers

Soft, Flexible Materials with Enhanced Properties

These materials can be used in soft robotics, self-healing electronics, and medical devices.

Briefs : Aerospace

Insect-Inspired Arms Improve Drones

The new arm design enables unmanned aerial vehicles to fly in windy conditions.

Briefs : Robotics, Automation & Control

Trunk Support Assists Those with Spinal Cord Injury

The device retrains patients with spinal cord injury to sit more stably and gain an expanded active sitting workspace.

Briefs : Motion Control

Bio-Inspired Mechanics to Make Robots More Effective

This technology could impact new directions in robotics design.

Briefs : Electronics & Computers

Multimaterial Fiber “Ink” for 3D-Printed Devices

Filaments with embedded circuitry can be used to print complex shapes for biomedical and robotic devices.

Briefs : Automotive

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 : Energy

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 : Manufacturing & Prototyping

3D-Printed Structures Morph from Flat Layers into Predetermined Shapes

The flat structure morphs into another shape when temperature changes, enabling self-deploying tents or adaptive robotic fins.

Briefs : Robotics, Automation & Control

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 : Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Soft, Skin-Like Structures for Robotic Locomotion and Transportation

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

Briefs : Robotics, Automation & 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

Intelligent Microrobots

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

Briefs : Robotics, Automation & Control

Helping Autonomous Vehicles See Around Corners

A system senses tiny changes in shadows on the ground to determine if there’s a moving object coming around the corner.

Briefs : Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Robotic “Cockroach” Explores Underwater Environments

This microbot can walk on land, swim, and walk underwater.

Briefs : Data Acquisition

Modular Toolbox Builds Safe Robots

Various components are used to assemble robots that are more aware of their surroundings.

Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition

Particle Robot Works as a Cluster of Simple Units

Loosely connected disc-shaped “particles” can push and pull one another, moving together to transport objects.

Briefs : Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Microrobot Powered by Soft Muscles

This microrobot with soft actuators can crash, fall, and collide without being damaged.

Briefs : Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Robot Performs Complex Maneuvers

An upgraded mini robot can leap over obstacles with ease.

Briefs : Transportation

Precision Low-Speed Motor Controller

The technology can be used in commercial motors, robotic systems, and hybrid and electric vehicles.

Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition

Algorithm Gives Robots a Faster Grasp

The algorithm speeds up the planning process that robots use to adjust their grip on objects.

Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition

WiFi-Based Technique Measures Speed and Distance of Indoor Movement

A technology uses a combination of WiFi signals and accelerometer technology to track devices in near-real-time.

Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition

Biologically Inspired Artificial Skin Improves Sensory Ability of Robots

A synthetic skin enables robots to sense their own bodies and surroundings

Briefs : Data Acquisition

Robots Can Pick Up Any Object After Inspecting It

For decades, robots in controlled environments like assembly lines have been able to pick up the same object over and over again. More recently, breakthroughs in computer vision have enabled...

Briefs : Communications

Method Enables Robots to Exchange Directed Messages

A novel approach was developed to improve communications range and allow for covert behavior using a team of robots for future multi-domain operations. Specifically, researchers...

Briefs : Motion Control

Soft Robotics Perception System

A perception system for soft robots was developed that is inspired by the way humans process information about their own bodies in space and in relation to other objects and people. The system includes a...

Briefs : Robotics, Automation & Control

Flying Robot Mimics Rapid Insect Flight

Flying animals both power and control flight by flapping their wings. This enables small natural flyers such as insects to hover close to a flower but also to rapidly escape danger. Animal flight has...

Briefs : Robotics, Automation & Control

Robots Track Moving Objects with Sub-Centimeter Accuracy

A system was developed that uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags to help robots target moving objects with unprecedented speed and accuracy. The system could enable greater...

Briefs : Materials

Toughening Stretchable Fibers Using a Metallic Core

Researchers have developed a fiber that combines the elasticity of rubber with the strength of a metal, resulting in a tougher material. The fibers consist of a gallium metal core...