Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control

Watch Live: Mars Perseverance Rover Touches Down on Jezero Crater

Watch as the Perseverance rover lands on Mars.

Podcasts: Robotics, Automation & Control

Here's an Idea: Hospital Robots

In this episode of Here's an Idea, we look at a set of robots already helping out hospitals in the fight against COVID-19.

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Ultra-Thin and Highly Sensitive Strain Sensors

A research team from National University of Singapore (NUS) has taken a first step towards improving the safety and precision of industrial robotic arms by developing a new range of...

Briefs: Wearables

Stretchable Micro-Supercapacitors Self-Power Wearable Devices

A stretchable system can harvest energy from human breathing and motion.

Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

New Products: February 2021 Motion Design

Industrial robots, motor disconnect switches, position sensors, and more.

Briefs: Motion Control

Miniscule Robots of Metal and Plastic

A technique enables manufacturing of minuscule robots by interlocking multiple materials in a complex way.

Application Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Online Tools Reduce Time and Expense in Selecting, Configuring, and Ordering Motion Control Components

New online tools — coupled with online libraries of pre-selected and tested component specifications — simplify machine design.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Electronic Skin Sensor Decodes Human Motion

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

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Locking Side Pull Hoist Ring

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

Articles: Internet of Things

Electronic Device Manufacturers Shouldn’t Fear Custom Connector Solutions — They Should Embrace Them

As 5G arrives, devices will need to expand I/O counts at the controller, as well as overall networking capabilities.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

New Capabilities for Grasp-Assisting Gloves

Applications include aiding patients with impaired hand muscle strength and in manufacturing for operating tools for extended periods of time.

Articles: Internet of Things

Executive Roundtable: Facility & Network Security

Tech Briefs asks industry experts about cybersecurity, the cloud, wireless devices, and securing a remote workforce.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Ultra-Thin, Battery-Free Strain Sensors for Industrial Robotic Arms

These nanomaterial strain sensors are ten times more sensitive when measuring minute movements compared to existing technology.

NASA Spinoff: Sensors/Data Acquisition

NASA Brain-Training Technology Makes Smart Glasses

With a technique first used at NASA, researchers are making glasses that can improve your concentration.

Articles: Nanotechnology

Multipurpose Batteries Make it Easier to Get Around on Mars

NASA-funded research by Clemson University scientists could lead to the creation of lighter, faster-charging batteries suitable for powering a spacesuit or even a Mars rover.

Facility Focus: Electronics & Computers

Facility Focus: University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering

Some of the technologies coming from the UT labs include COVID antibody tests, self-watering soil, and the "DRACO" robot.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

4D Printing of Morphing Structures

A new method manufactures complex shapeshifters for soft robots and biomedical implants.

5 Ws: Manufacturing & Prototyping

5 Ws of the Screen-Printed Battery

The battery can be used in flexible, stretchable electronics for wearables as well as soft robotics.

Briefs: Materials

Linking Materials May Transform Robots Made of Robots

A new method of linking materials with unique mechanical properties could enable robots made of robots.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Split-Ring Torque Sensor

This optical-based device measures position, velocity, and torque.

INSIDER: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Chemically Driven Wheels “Morph” Into Gears

University of Pittsburgh researchers have utilized a catalytic reaction that causes a two-dimensional, chemically coated sheet to spontaneously “morph” into a three-dimensional...

INSIDER: Motion Control

T-REX Rover Looks to the Dark Side

The Tethered permanently shadowed Region EXplorer (T-REX) rover, designed and built by a team of Michigan Technological University students – is designed to provide reliable power and data to other...