Motion Control

Mechanical Controller for Robot-Assisted Surgery

Robot-assisted surgery has advanced dramatically over the past decade in almost every surgical sub-specialty. Robot-assisted surgery is usually performed using surgical robot systems that...

Resolution, Accuracy, and Precision of Encoders

Here's what you'll need to know when you’re choosing an encoder for a motion control system.

Optical Gyroscope-on-a-Chip

The gyroscope is smaller than a grain of rice — about 500 times smaller than the current state-of-the-art device.

Dynamic Force Control and Advanced Electropneumatic Positioning Systems in Automation

As advancements in technology continue to define how pneumatic or electromechanical linear devices lift, move, or place a load, the requirements of excellent closed-loop positioning and accuracy greatly increase

Guiding and Harnessing Transition Waves in Multi-Stable Mechanical Structures

The domino effect is used to design deployable systems that expand quickly with a small push and are stable and locked into place after deployment.

Reimagining Robotics in a Connected World

Manufacturers are beginning to realize the same benefits by cloud-connecting their equipment and processes on the shop floor.

New Products: April 2020 Motion Design

Motor drivers, position sensors, offset couplings, and more.

Machine Learning Algorithm Identifies Objects Using Microwaves

Hardware and software tweak microwave patterns to discover the most efficient way to identify objects.

Maximizing Safety in Advanced Battery Systems

Fuse devices enable circuit safety in high-power applications, such as motion control and alternative energy generation, in addition to electric vehicles.

Small, Precise Gyroscope Navigates Without GPS

A small, inexpensive, and highly accurate gyroscope, developed at the University of Michigan, navigates without GPS. The key to making the gyroscope is a nearly symmetrical mechanical...

Robot Draws Blood and Inserts Catheters

Rutgers University engineers have created a tabletop device that can draw blood or insert catheters to deliver fluids and drugs. The device can accurately pinpoint blood vessels, improving success...

New Products: March 2020 Photonics & Imaging Technology

Perovskites

Goodfellow (Coraopolis, PA) recently announced a new range of perovskites, a group of materials that demonstrate great potential for optoelectronic applications....

New Products: March 2020 Sensor Technology

This month: Sensors that measure weather, proximity, pH, and more.

Low-Inductance DC Power Bus

The bus is designed for high-frequency, high-temperature operation in electric drive systems and next-generation power electronics.

Spring Drive Fitting

Applications include valves, tubes, and other gas and fluid system components.

New on the Market: March 2020

Thermal cameras, testing software, an ion air knife, and more.

Bio-Inspired Mechanics to Make Robots More Effective

This technology could impact new directions in robotics design.

5G in Manufacturing: What’s Here and What’s to Come

5G has the potential to provide connectivity for a range of different uses in manufacturing.

Insect-Inspired Motion Sensing

This mechanical gyroscope can advance motion sensing capabilities in consumer-sized applications.

Shape-Shifting Robot Uses New Locomotion Strategy

The robot is built entirely from smaller robots and can form a robophysical system that can move by itself.

Dynamic Gripper Mimics Adjustable Grip of the Human Hand

Such grippers would be suited for human-robot partnership in assembly lines in the automotive, electronic packaging, and other industries.

New Products: February 2020 Motion Design

Encoder

The AI25 hazardous series AI25 encoder from Dynapar (Gurnee, IL) is suited for Class 1 Division 2 applications where a Zone 1 or Division 1 encoder may have previously been...

Smart Manufacturing Control

Today's advanced smart CNC controls allow manufacturers to optimize the manufacturing process right on the factory floor

Flexure for Self-Assembly

Conventional fastening mechanisms like nails, bolts, and welds are subject to manufacturing and inspection tolerances, differential thermal growth, and other sources of error that lead to over-constraint, among...

Soft, Skin-Like Structures for Robotic Locomotion and Transportation

These soft robots can be rolled up and carried in a pocket.

Modified Fittings Enhance Industrial Safety

NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is home to one of the largest buildings in the world — the massive Vehicle Assembly Building — and also hosts a number of one-of-a-kind facilities. The...

Robots Assemble Large Structures from Little Pieces

Systems of tiny robots could build high-performance structures, from airplanes to space settlements.

Going Beyond the Basics: Innovative Step Motor Designs Give Machine Designers More Options for Motion Control

Machine and system designers now have greater options in choosing a motor to meet motion control requirements.

Robot Circulating Liquid Stores Energy and Provides Power

This robot “blood” stores energy, transmits force, operates appendages, and provides structure, all in an integrated design.