Browse innovative developments in motion control technologies. Find essential news, technical briefs, and applications used in PID controllers, servo motors, direct drive solutions, autonomous positioning, and motion-related components.
Laser invention to steer the next generation of moon landers…why Mars rovers keep getting stuck in the sand…are nuclear micro reactors the future of spacecraft propulsion? Read all about it in this compendium...
Bipedal — two-legged — autonomous robots can be quite agile. This makes them useful for performing tasks on uneven terrain, such as carrying equipment through outdoor...
The potential of microrobots is enormous. These miniature objects can be designed to carry out actions within the body, such as sensing biomarkers, manipulating...
With its opposable thumb, multiple joints, and gripping skin, human hands are often considered to be the pinnacle of dexterity, and many robotic hands are designed in their image. But...
Engineering the next generation of surgical robots...conductive skin gives robots the human touch...how vision integration is transforming collaborative robotics. Read about these innovations and more...
Building on her experience volunteering at retirement homes, Carnegie Mellon researcher Jasmine Li decided to focus her research on assistive robotics that help people with everyday tasks....
Sea stars are creatures whose movements involve the coordination of hundreds of tiny tube feet to navigate complex environments — despite the lack of a central brain. In other words, it’s as though...
If the goal of a robot is to perform a function, then minimizing the possibility of failure is a top priority when it comes to robotic design. But although systems with multiple units, or agents,...
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a next-generation wearable system that enables people to control machines using everyday gestures — even...
Relying solely on motor-based force/speed curves often leads to undersized actuators and costly system delays. This white paper explores the critical gap between...
An essential question engineers ask before specifying a rotary ball spline is: Should the rotary spline nut be riding on angular contact ball bearings or crossed roller bearings?
Achieving advanced, modern motion performance often feels like a battle against physics. Designers face tradeoffs among speed, precision, and cost, while...
From packaging to life science applications to office equipment to factory automation, smooth motion, fast accelerating and highly accurate are hallmarks of high quality linear movement actuators. Together with...
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan have created the world’s smallest fully programmable, autonomous robots: microscopic swimming machines that can...
Leila Bridgeman and her team at Duke University Pratt School of Engineering are developing software that will improve upon existing techniques to ensure robust and safety-assured control for complex autonomous systems such as drones and medical robotics.
The medical industry is constantly growing, which has led to stricter requirements for medical equipment. Installation space is one particular area where designers and...
This whitepaper explores how to choose gearmotors for dirty and wet environments. Subject matter experts at Bodine Electric Company explain the standardized Ingress...
New technology for autonomous building on the moon and Mars…conductive skin gives robots a human touch…soft robots carry loads through the air, climb steep slopes. Read about these innovations and...
See the new products, including NVIDIA's IGX Thor, an industrial-grade platform built to bring real-time physical AI directly to the edge; Teknic's precision planetary gearboxes; PI's L-220 series linear actuators; Compact Click dev tool from MIKROE; and more.
The future of industrial autonomy will not be defined by systems that operate as opaque black boxes, but by approaches that deliberately embed the expertise of the people who know the processes best. Machine teaching makes this possible by making the skills and strategies of expert operators the foundation of AI system design. Read on to learn more.
While growing up, many of us were fascinated by watching gears turning, whether in bicycles, clocks or garbage trucks packing trash on the old rear-load machines. Today, gearing systems play a crucial role in machinery, transmitting power efficiently and reliably across a wide range of applications. Read on to learn more.
Spider silk spins new life into nerve repair…3D‐printed implants help repair spinal cord injuries…plasma pen transforms adhesion in medical device manufacturing. Read about these and...
A new prototype of a knitting machine creates solid, knitted shapes, adding stitches in any direction — forward, backward, and diagonal — so users can construct a wide variety of shapes and add...
The USC Department of Astronautical Engineering (ASTE) is expanding its focus on space robotics, with an emphasis on autonomous systems that can operate in extreme and unmapped environments....
Researchers have created a class of robots made from thin sheets of material that can snap into hundreds of stable shapes — allowing them to execute a wide variety of...
Researchers from UMass Amherst are working to define the primary mathematical components of running. Compared to walking, much less is understood about...
Matching three-phase AC motors with variable frequency drives introduces specific thermal, electrical and control considerations that call for close attention during...
Imagine a tiny robot, no bigger than a leaf, gliding across a pond’s surface like a water strider. One day, devices like this could track pollutants, collect water samples or scout...
