Stories
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Articles: Motion Control
There is always a need to increase production in automation applications. Sometimes achieving improvements requires breaking the process down to its fundamental basics. The...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Six-legged insects run fastest using a three-legged (tripod) gait where they have three legs on the ground at all times (two on one side of their body and one on the other). The tripod gait has long...
Articles: Motion Control
Scanning is a common technique in applications ranging from high-resolution microscopy to industrial material processing. Scanning involves moving either a workpiece or an...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Portable Superconductivity Systems for Small Motors
Superconductivity, where electrical currents travel unhindered through a material, has many practical uses. It is used in applications extending from MRIs in hospitals to the cavities of particle accelerators. However, practical exploitation of superconductivity also presents many challenges.
Briefs: Motion Control
Engineers and scientists at the University of Texas at Austin and the AMOLF institute in the Netherlands have invented mechanical metamaterials that easily transfer motion in one direction while...
Application Briefs: Motion Control
Cold conditioning systemAggrekoHouston, TX281-985-8200www.aggreko.com
Products: Motion Control
Variable Frequency Drives
Through a new partnership, variable frequency drives (VFDs) from American Control Electronics (South Beloit, IL) will now be offered as a product add-on to Brother Gearmotors’ portfolio of...
INSIDER: Motion Control
The Pop-Up Flat Folding Explorer Robot (PUFFER) that’s in development at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, was inspired by origami. It travels with a rover, and its lightweight...
INSIDER Product: Motion Control
The Measuring Division of Kaman Precision Products, Inc. (Middletown, CT) has released the KD-5100 differential measurement system, which provides resolution to a nanometer of positional change. Featuring a small...
INSIDER: Motion Control
Engineers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA have been testing its Exo-Brake technology as a simple design that promises to help bring small payloads...
INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Five-axis machine tools are computer-numerically controlled (CNC) machines that can move, cut, or mill a part on five different axes at the same time. Because of inherent...
INSIDER: Motion Control
Researchers in Lausanne, Switzerland have determined that a bipod gait is the fastest and most efficient way for six-legged robots to move on flat ground, provided they don’t have the adhesive...
INSIDER: Motion Control
Engineers and scientists at the University of Texas at Austin and the AMOLF institute in the Netherlands have invented mechanical metamaterials that transfer motion in one direction...
Application Briefs: Software
Broadcasting employs the latest technology in many areas, but controlling the broadcast hardware connected to the antenna and the related transmission power, source, and facilities is usually still a...
Articles: Motion Control
With an increased focus on plant productivity and equipment reliability, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems have become vital tools to reduce downtime while increasing asset...
Articles: Motion Control
Gears play an essential role in precision robotics, and they can become a limiting factor when the robots must perform in space missions. In particular, the extreme temperatures of deep space pose...
Articles: Propulsion
Couplings are a critical part of system performance in high-tech applications, yet they are often one of the last components to be specified. Selecting the proper coupling ensures the equipment will meet...
Articles: Motion Control
Many small motor applications, such as robotics, industrial equipment, and consumer products, employ digital incremental encoders for feedback sensing. Encoder selection is therefore an important part of the...
Briefs: Motion Control
The Yale-CMU-Berkeley (YCB) Object and Model Set provides universal benchmarks for labs specializing in robotic manipulation and prosthetics. About two years ago, Aaron Dollar, an associate professor of...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Inspecting the condition of dykes and other sea defense structures is typically a task for a team of robots. They consume a lot of energy to move across the dykes, perform tests, and communicate the...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
The Mars 2020 coring drill will generate a significant amount of dust and debris (known as fines) due to the volume of milled material displaced by the corer’s annulus. These cuttings must be removed to ensure...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Actuators are a critical driver of all the mechanisms used in space, and improvements of their operation mechanism enhance...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), in collaboration with General Motors and Oceaneering, have designed a state-of-the-art, highly dexterous, humanoid robot: Robonaut 2 (R2). R2...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Roboticists at the University of California, Berkeley, have designed a small robot that can leap into the air and then spring off a wall, or perform multiple vertical jumps in a row, resulting in...
Briefs: Motion Control
A group of researchers at Osaka University, Kobe University, Tohoku University, The University of Tokyo, and Tokyo Institute of Technology developed construction robots for disaster relief that solve the...
INSIDER: Software
Designing a soft robot to move organically — to bend like a finger or twist like a wrist — has always been a process of trial and error. Now, researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson...
INSIDER: Software
A team of researchers from the Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy, is working to improve how industrial electric drives operate. They propose a new control scheme that will not only...
Articles: Motion Control
Positioning: Resolution and Accuracy
An application’s required positioning resolution dictates the choice of encoder resolution. A well-tuned system can maintain the position within one encoder state...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Improving Stirling Engine Performance Through Optimized Piston and Displacer Motion
Stirling engines typically achieve high efficiency, but lack power density. Low power density prevents them from being used in many applications where internal combustion engines are viable competitors, and increases system costs in applications that require...
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Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
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Batteries that Can Withstand the Cold
INSIDER: Design
Advancing All-Solid-State Batteries
Blog: Design
Blog: Materials
Making Tungsten Carbide a More Viable Alternative
INSIDER: Power
Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Beyond AI-Copy-Paste Engineering: Advanced AI-Integration Success...
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Battery Abuse Testing: Pushing to Failure
Upcoming Webinars: Power
A FREE Two-Day Event Dedicated to Connected Mobility
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Choosing the Right N-Port Strategy: Multiport VNAs vs. Switch...
Upcoming Webinars: Energy
2026 Battery & Electrification Summit (Online)
Upcoming Webinars: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The Over-Engineering Trap: Aligning Custom Equipment Specs with...
