A 3D-Printed 'Fish Fin' Offers New Ideas for Morphing Aircraft

Professor Francois Barthelat wants to incorporate the fish fin's strong, flexible characteristics into robotic and aerospace designs.

Optimizing 5G Fiber Optic Filament Production

Ball screws are helping manufacturers meet the growing demand for fiber optic cables generated by 5G communications.

Sustainable 3D-Printed Magnets

An alternative, environmentally friendly production method creates permanent magnets.

UpFront: September 2021 Tech Briefs

NASA Washing Machine Designs Go for a Spin

Right now, there is no laundry service in space.

Astronaut garments aren’t washed. They are put onto ships that burn up in the...

Solid-State Carbon Dioxide Sensor

Applications include wearables, airplane cabin monitoring, medical diagnostics, and indoor air quality measurement.

5 Ws of Puncture-Proof Soft Electronics

The durable soft electronics could be used in wearable electronics and soft robotics and could someday be part of a stretchable smartphone.

Facility Focus: The Pennsylvania State University School of Engineering

Learn about the batteries, skin sensors, flexible antennas, and other cutting-edge research coming from Penn State Engineering.

Inflatable Robotic Hand Gives Amputees Real-Time Tactile Control

Engineers at MIT and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have designed a soft, lightweight, and potentially low-cost neuroprosthetic hand. The prosthetic, designed with a system...

On Tough Terrain, An Algorithm Finds Robots the Best Path

A new algorithm finds robots the best path across uneven terrain — and the best placement for a robot’s arms and feet.

2021 Motion Control Product Directory

Explore manufacturers and products in over 25 motion-design categories.

Robotic Finger Senses Buried Items

MIT researchers have designed a sharp-tipped robot finger equipped with tactile sensing to meet the challenge of identifying buried objects. Digger Finger was able to dig through granular media such as...

Simulator Helps Robots Sharpen Their Cutting Skills

USC researchers unveiled a new simulator for robotic cutting that can accurately reproduce the forces acting on a knife as it slices through common food such as fruit and vegetables....

Making High-Duty-Cycle Industrial Automation Affordable

A new generation of long-life electric linear actuators has emerged to give designers more flexibility.

NanoGear Molecular Gear

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

“Flexoelectricity” in Soft Elastomers Could Improve Robot Movement

A connection between electricity and mechanical motion in soft, rubber-like materials could improve robot range.

Coiled Linear Actuators for Soft Robotics

This artificial muscle technology enables more human-like motion.