Motion Control

Algorithm Gives Robots a Faster Grasp

The algorithm speeds up the planning process robots use to adjust their grip on objects for picking and sorting or tool use.

Servo Motion Improves Robot Operations

Servo motion control delivers powerful, fast, and precise movement onboard robots and for associated equipment.

GPS-Enhanced Onboard Navigation System (GEONS)

The open-architecture flight software package provides solutions for onboard orbit determination.

Material Motion is “Flexoelectric”

Researchers from the University of Houston have demonstrated “giant flexoelectricity” in soft elastomers that could improve robot movement range and make self-powered pacemakers a real...

New Hybrid Concept for Actuating Subsea Valves

A valve actuator has deep-sea applications.

Linear Bearings: What You Need to Know

Learn the distinct forms that linear bearings take, and where the bearings are being used today.

3D Motion Tracking System for Autonomous Technology

The system could one day replace LiDAR and cameras in automated manufacturing, biomedical imaging, and autonomous driving.

Options Abound When Selecting a Sensor for Motor Feedback

Designers who must sense motor position, speed, or acceleration have a lot of choices, including resolvers, optical encoders, and Hall-effect devices.

Swimming Living Robots Can Self-Train

Biobots based on muscle cells can swim at unprecedented velocities.

AI and Wearable Cameras Combined in Self-Walking Robotic Exoskeletons

Exoskeleton legs are capable of thinking and making control decisions on their own using artificial intelligence technology.

Automated X-Ray Inspection

Faster inline CT inspections makes it possible to inspect far greater numbers of circuit boards.

New Products: June 2021 Motion Design

Encoders, quick disconnects, automation systems, and more.

Chemically Driven Wheels “Morph” Into Gears

A catalytic reaction causes a two-dimensional, chemically coated sheet to spontaneously morph into a three-dimensional gear.

Nanosized Foldable Robots

The machines fold themselves within 100 milliseconds and can flatten and refold thousands of times.

Air-Powered Robot Needs No Electronics

The walking quadruped is controlled and powered by pressurized air.

Soft Tactile Sensor with Skin-Comparable Characteristics for Robots

The design could contribute to various applications in the robotics field such as smart prosthetics and human-robot interaction.

High Bus Voltage Stepper Motor Systems

New high bus voltage stepper motor systems avoid the complexity and expense of servo motors.

Simulation Applications Streamline the Development of Electric Vehicle Motors

See how simulation software is being used to is automate the test process for vehicle rotors.

Machine Control Power Quality and Surge Protection

You may not be able to see them, but power anomalies that originate within your automated control system are costing you expensive downtime.

Transport of Mechanical Energy, Even Through Damaged Pathways

This work could lead to much more robust devices that continue to operate in spite of damage.

New Products: June 2021 Sensor Technology

High-precision medical sensors, battery-cell mappers, signal conditioners, and more.

NASA Rover Seeks Moon Resources

As part of the Artemis program, NASA is planning to send its first mobile robot to the Moon in late 2023 in search of ice and other resources on and below the lunar surface. Data from the Volatiles...

Accelerometer and Gyroscope Designs Based on Carbon Nanotube Tape

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center developed designs for two micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) motion and position sensors: a single-axis accelerometer and a gyroscope....

RFID-Based Rotary Position Sensor

Innovators have developed an RFID-based system for sensing the angular position of rotating systems. The RFID-Based Rotary Position Sensor can be used as a position/orientation sensor or implemented in a...

Hinge Design Helps Quadrotors Climb

The new hinge is the key to get loadbearing, large quadrotors to climb a few dozen feet in seconds.