Tech Briefs

Building More Dexterous Robots

MIT researchers have developed a camera-based touch sensor that is long, curved, and shaped like a human finger. Their device provides high-resolution tactile sensing over a large area. The sensor, called the GelSight Svelte, uses two mirrors to reflect and refract light.

A Soft Robotic Gripper Mimics a Woven Structure

Dr. Song Kahye along with Professor Lee, Dae-Young have jointly developed a soft gripper with a woven structure that can grip objects weighing more than 100 kg with 130 g of material. To increase the loading capacity of the soft robot gripper, the team applied a new structure inspired by textiles.

Smart Soft Sensor Improves Human-Robot Interaction

A new soft sensor developed by UBC and Honda researchers opens the door to a wide range of applications in robotics and prosthetics. When applied to the surface of a prosthetic arm or a robotic limb, the sensor skin provides touch sensitivity and dexterity, enabling tasks that can be difficult for machines such as picking up a piece of soft fruit.

An Autonomous Battery-Free Microrobot Powered by Surrounding Light

Moving robots demands a lot of energy, and batteries, the typical power source, limit lifetime and raise environmental concerns. Researchers at the University of Washington have now created MilliMobile, a tiny, self-driving robot powered only by surrounding light or radio waves.

Origami-Inspired Robot Uses Single Motor for Self-Folding and Movement

Centimeter-scale walking and crawling robots are in demand both for their ability to explore tight or cluttered environments and for their low fabrication costs. Pulling from origami-inspired construction, researchers have crafted a more simplified approach to the design and fabrication of these robots.

Novel Control Method in Tailless Aircraft

A research team at the Illinois Institute of Technology has for the first time demonstrated the use of a novel control method in a tailless aircraft. The technology allows an aircraft to be as smooth and sleek as possible — making it safer to fly in dangerous areas where radar scans the sky for sharp edges.

Megawatt Motor Could Lead to Electrifying Large Aircraft

A team of MIT engineers is creating a one-megawatt motor that could be a key stepping-stone toward electrifying larger aircraft. The team has designed and tested the major components of the motor.

Spacecraft with Artificial Gravity Modules

NASA Ames Research Center has developed a novel technology — a system and approach for creating artificial gravity using a non-rotating spacecraft with connected moving modules, which can be used for habitation and other purposes.

New Algorithm Keeps Drones from Colliding in Midair

When multiple drones are working together in the same airspace, perhaps spraying pesticide over a field of corn, there’s a risk they might crash into each other. To help avoid these costly crashes, MIT researchers developed a system called MADER in 2020.

Coil-On-Plug Igniter for Reliable Engine Starts

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a coil-on-plug ignition system for integrated liquid oxygen/liquid methane thermal-vacuum environment propulsion systems operating in a thermal vacuum environment. The innovation will help quell corona discharge issues and reduce overall mass.

Robust Serial Communications

Devices of all types are becoming more intelligent and may include native Ethernet. However, there are many opportunities where proven serial communications will remain the best choice for cost-effective communications.

Ultra-Low-Power Underwater Communication Device

MIT researchers have demonstrated the first system for ultra-low-power underwater networking and communication, which can transmit signals across kilometer-scale distances. This technique uses about one-millionth the power that existing underwater communication methods use.

Method Detects Defects in 2D Materials

To further shrink electronic devices and to lower energy consumption, the semiconductor industry is interested in using 2D materials but manufacturers need a quick and accurate method for detecting defects in these materials to determine if the material is suitable for device manufacture.

INRS Researchers Design the World’s Fastest UV Camera

Imagine being able to snap a picture of extremely fast events on the order of a picosecond.

Optimal Information About the Invisible

Researcher are finding ways to estimate a target location when light gets deflected by a disordered structure.

Cell Labelling Method from Microscopy Adapted for Use in Whole-Body Imaging

Processes and structures within the body that are normally hidden from the eye can be made visible through medical imaging. Scientists use imaging to investigate...

Testing Real Driverless Cars in a Virtual Environment

Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed new software to aid in the development, evaluation, and demonstration of safer autonomous, or driverless, vehicles. Called the Vehicle-in-Virtual-Environment (VVE) method, it allows the testing of driverless cars in a perfectly safe environment.

Aerovy Mobility Develops Cloud Software to Support Electric Aircraft Infrastructure

Launched by Purdue University postgraduate students, Aerovy Mobility commercializes cloud-based software solutions to plan and operate infrastructure that charges electric aircraft with renewable energy.

Securing Supply Chains with Quantum Computing

New research in quantum computing at Sandia National Laboratories is moving science closer to being able to overcome supply-chain challenges and restore global security during future periods of unrest.

On/Off Functionality for Fast, Sensitive, Ultra-Small Technologies

An ultra-small actuator has nanometer-scale precision.

Making the Structure of ‘Fire Ice’ with Nanoparticles

Cage structures made with nanoparticles could be a step toward making organized nanostructures with mixed materials, and researchers at the University of Michigan have shown how to achieve this through computer simulations.

Algae-Powered Devices Inspired by Bioluminescent Waves

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed soft devices containing algae that glow in the dark when experiencing mechanical stress, such as being squished, stretched, twisted, or bent.

Self-Organizing Lasers Could Lead to New Materials

Researchers from Imperial College London and University College London have demonstrated the first spontaneously self-organizing laser device, which can reconfigure when conditions change.

Alternative Transparent Coating Suitable for Optics with Vacuum Deposition Layer

Researchers have developed a viable dust, water, and ice mitigation optical coating for space flight, aeronautical, and ground applications. The innovation of the LOTUS coating prevents contamination on sensitive surfaces.

Multicolored Light-Emitting Array on a Single Chip

A team of researchers demonstrated the first light-emitting array with 49 different colors on a single chip. This novel optoelectronic device is built on metal-oxide semiconductor capacitors.