On-Demand Webinars: Robotics, Automation & Control

Collaborative Robotics: Sharing the Workspace

Manufacturing robots were kept in cages previously, programmed by specialists, and often used for a single task. Today’s collaborative robots are being used by manufacturers to automate...

Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

Watch: The Mars 2020 Perseverance Launch

Watch below as the Perseverance rover and its Ingenuity helicopter make their way to Mars. NASA pros will offer their expertise throughout the day.

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Human-Like Hands with Flexible, Hybrid Actuators

In industrial settings, robots often are used for tasks that require repetitive grasping and manipulation of objects. A humanoid hand design that is a soft-hard hybrid flexible gripper can...

INSIDER: Motion Control

Self-Latching Piezocomposite Actuator

NASA Langley has developed a self-latching piezocomposite actuator with power-off, set-and-hold capability. If integrated into an aerodynamic control surface or engine inlet, deflections could be...

Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

Watch Live: A Mars 2020 Briefing with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine

Mars 2020 NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and other NASA experts offer a briefing on this week's launch of the Perseverance rover.

Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

Watch: NASA's Mars 2020 Sample Return Briefing

Watch below as NASA experts review how they plan to return samples from the surface of Mars back to Earth.

On-Demand Webinars: Robotics, Automation & Control

Why Multiple Sensing Modalities Are Required to Achieve Level 3 to 5 Vehicle Automation

In the past 24 months, there has been increased skepticism regarding the ability of the automotive industry to deliver fully functional Level 3...

Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

Answering Your Questions: How Automated is the Mars Rover Landing?

Can NASA "joystick" the landing of the next Mars rover? A Tech Briefs reader asks our NASA expert.

Blog: Motion Control

Robotic Gripper Gets a Handle on a Challenging Object: Cables

We plug in our headphones everyday. Now a robot can perform the task.

On-Demand Webinars: Robotics, Automation & Control

The Path to High-Level Autonomy for Commercial Vehicles

Automated-driving technology experts continue to project commercial vehicles as the most promising early adoption sector for high-level automation. But ever-evolving technology...

Blog: Unmanned Systems

Guided by Light, A Mini Robot Catches Particles Underwater

A tiny underwater robot may someday filter out water contaminants by catching them with its tentacles.

Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Answering Your (Mars 2020) Questions: Will the Perseverance Rover Carry Around NASA's Mars Helicopter?

The Mars rover Perseverance has a helicopter. Will the rover have to carry it around?

Podcasts: Aerospace

Here's an Idea: A Morphing Airplane Wing Built by Tiny Robots

Ben Jennet is a PhD student at MIT and a former space research fellow at NASA. He is working with NASA to develop a new kind of aircraft wing that's flexible and changes mid-flight.

Articles: Lighting

Optical In-Line VCSEL Testing

In-line testing of certain LEDs, using nanosecond pulses, will become more and more relevant with time-of-flight applications.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Low-Cost Imaging System Poised to Provide Automatic Mosquito Tracking

A new low-cost imaging system could make it easier to track mosquito species that carry disease, enabling a more timely and targeted response.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

System Reduces the Carbon Footprint of Artificial Intelligence

An automated system cuts the energy required for training and running neural networks.

Facility Focus: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Facility Focus: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

NIBIB is committed to integrating the physical and engineering sciences with the life sciences to advance basic research and medical care.

INSIDER: Motion Control

Smallest Motor in the World

The smallest motor in the world — consisting of just 16 atoms – measures less than one nanometer or about 100,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. The rotor rotates on the surface of the...

Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Answering Your (Mars 2020) Questions: Perseverance vs. Curiosity Rover Hardware

A reader asks NASA experts: How much hardware from the Curiosity rover is being used on the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover?

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Scavenger Technology Allows Robots to ‘Eat’ Metal for Energy

A new metal-air scavenger works like a battery, in that it provides power by repeatedly breaking and forming a series of chemical bonds. But it also works like a harvester,...

Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Don’t Blame it on the Bearings

New measurement methodologies can save you time that would otherwise be wasted on returning and reordering bearing.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Navigation Measurement Software

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

Articles: Materials

Boosting Performance in Hydraulic Systems with Alternative Coatings

Taking a holistic approach to sealing systems in hydraulic systems using chrome alternatives helps engineers achieve optimum function.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Soft Hardware for More Flexible Robots

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