Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
New Products: August 2018 Motion Design
TRINAMIC Motion Control (Hamburg, Germany) announced the TMC-4671 fully integrated servo controller IC that provides field-oriented control for BLDC/PMSM and 2-phase...
INSIDER: Motion Control
Future Robots Powered by Light
A novel actuating material – nickel hydroxide-oxyhydroxide –can be powered by visible (Vis) light, electricity, and other stimuli. The material actuation can be instantaneously triggered by visible...
Podcasts: Defense
Here's an Idea: Engineering Real-Life 'Superpowers'
Engineers today are using their creativity to build a variety of superhero-like technologies that enhance our human capabilities, including exosuits, invisibility cloaks, and wall-scaling...
Articles: Data Acquisition
Selecting a Force Measurement Solution to Minimize Variables and Protect Tensile Testing Data
Computers and software play a major role in force measurement and quality control. Whether in the engineering lab, quality control inspection area,...
INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
Aerial Robot Morphs in Flight
An aerial robot capable of altering its profile during flight paves the way for a new generation of large robots that can move through narrow passages, making them ideal for exploration as well as search and...
Articles: Photonics/Optics
Benefits of Using Encoders to Improve Step Motor System Performance
Step motors are widely used in automation due to their high resolution, precision positioning, minimal control electronics, and low cost. As an open loop system, traditional...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Transparent Eel-Like Soft Robot Swims Silently Underwater
An eel-like robot was developed that can swim silently in salt water without an electric motor. Instead, the robot uses artificial muscles filled with water to propel itself. The...
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Sensor-Free Smart Wheel
Technology was developed that not only allows wheels to “know” when and how to rotate, but also enables them to work together in interactive teams. The new technology can be used wherever there is a need for...
Application Briefs: Automotive
Guiding the Way in Automotive Plants
Vision-guided robotics commonly used in today's automotive plants enables robots to “see” the object they are working on so they can perform the required activity accurately on/to an object that is...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Plastic Bearings Reduce Weight and Improve Durability
When engineer Mark Doyle started to put together plans for an exoskeleton to support surgeons in 2012, he wanted to develop a lightweight product that they could wear comfortably for...
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
Sensing the Future of Pneumatics
Some species of sharks must constantly swim to keep water flowing over their gills to stay alive. That same concept also tends to apply to technology — once a technology stops evolving and moving forward,...
Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition
New Products: June 2018 Motion Design
Novotechnik, U.S. (Southborough, MA) announced industrial and redundant channel industrial versions of the SP 2800 Series rotary position sensors. The industrial version is...
Briefs: Motion Control
“Intelligent” Rotor Blades React Quickly to Changing Conditions
The giant rotor blades are one central part of a wind turbine. Researchers developed a rotor blade that makes more efficient use of large fluctuations in wind strength using...
Briefs: Propulsion
VTOL UAV with the Cruise Efficiency of a Conventional Fixed-Wing UAV
NASA Langley Research Center has developed Greased Lightning, the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that combines vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability with...
INSIDER: Materials
3D-Printed Smart Gel Grabs, Moves Objects
A 3D-printed smart gel that grabs objects and moves them could lead to soft robots that mimic sea animals like the octopus, which can walk underwater and bump into things without damaging them....
Piezoelectric materials, which generate an electric current when compressed or stretched, are familiar and widely used; for example, lighters that spark when a switch is...
Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition
New Products: April 2018 Motion Design
SKF (Lansdale, PA) launched mounted ball bearing units with industry-standard inch series cast iron housings in several designs, inch or metric insert bearings, and...
Briefs: Motion Control
Control for Molecular Machines
Scientists around the world are working on new technologies for the nanofactories of the future, which one day could be used to analyze biochemical samples or produce active medical agents. The required...
Because of their high precision and speed, Delta robots are deployed in many industrial processes, including pick-and-place assemblies, machining, and welding. Delta...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Load/Position Control of Rigidly Coupled Electromechanical Actuators
A technique was developed to prevent cross-coupling in systems where two or more linear electromechanical actuators (EMAs) are rigidly connected, and are in danger of...
Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
NASA's Autonomous Robot Keeps Manufacturing Floors Safe
A600-pound spider-like robot, called Spidernaut, was part of a prototype robot team built in 2005 to assemble a solar array on the Moon. The goal was not only to have robots do the...
Articles: Test & Measurement
Protecting Sensitive Instruments with Piezo-Driven Active Vibration Isolation Platforms
As the need for nano precision has become increasingly important in many fields of research and manufacturing — such as microelectronics fabrication,...
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
Choosing the Right Brake for Robotic Applications
Industrial robots play an essential role in manufacturing, from assembly, to pick-and-place, to packaging. One of the major risks of robotics — and what OEMs seek to mitigate — is...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Industrial Rotary Encoders: Selecting the Right Device for Your Application
Rotary encoders play important roles in motion control and industrial automation systems, providing control systems with information about the motion of motor...
Articles: Motion Control
Cobots and Industrial Robots: Choose the Right Robot for the Job
Automating manufacturing processes is a complex issue, with no one-size-fits-all solution. Robots range from insect-like microrobots to industrial robots powerful enough to...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Autonomous Robotic Self-Righting
Robots are increasingly being used for various applications including search and rescue operations and combat situations. Unfortunately, during the performance of maneuvers, a robot may fall or tip over, preventing it from moving normally. Controlling the robot to successfully right itself can be a difficult and...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Orangutank Robotic Pipe Traveler
The Orangutank™ is a remote-controlled, tethered robotic platform for traveling from one pipe to another using a network of vertical pipes for support. It combines specialized robotic grippers to provide...
Briefs: Motion Control
Robotic Gripper for Satellite Capture and Servicing
The robotic gripper was developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as part of a robotic satellite servicing mission. The gripping device can be used to autonomously or remotely grasp and...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Controllable Dry Adhesive for Efficient Climbing Robot
A small robot with the ability to hoist large loads could have countless applications, not only as a small, inexpensive, disposable, mobile sensor in the realms of search and rescue,...
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Blog: Aerospace

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Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: Materials
Ultra-High Purity Silicone in Aerospace and Defense Product Design
Webinars: Medical
Lunch & Learn: Pitfalls of Medical Cord Sets
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A Four-Pillar Approach to Driving Greater Efficiency ePowertrain...
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Confident TCU Connectivity Through Efficient Functional Testing
Upcoming Webinars: Transportation
7 Levers for Electric and Autonomous Vehicles
Upcoming Webinars: Information Technology
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A Solid-State Alternative to the Vacuum Photomultiplier Tube