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Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The increasing variety of applications for the Internet of Things is driving predictions that the sales volume for sensors will reach 75 billion units by 2025. Applications unforeseen just five...
INSIDER: Motion Control
A cageless bearing with rolling separator elements was developed for applications including portable medical devices, toys, and robotic applications with medium force requirements. The normal...
INSIDER: Motion Control
A thin layer of conducting thermoplastic, applied to common paper with an inexpensive 3D printer or even painted by hand, serves as a low-cost, reversible actuator. When an...
Question of the Week: Motion Control
Can Popcorn Power Robots?
In last week's INSIDER, we featured a Q&A with Cornell University researcher Steven Ceron, who is experimenting with a new way — and delicious — way of powering robots: Popcorn.
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
Cornell researchers have discovered a novel – and delicious – way to power simple robots: Popcorn.
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
There are applications that require multiple electric machine drives, such as electric or hybrid electric vehicles, where there is a main traction motor and one or more accessory...
Products: Motion Control
Servo Controller IC
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 stepper motors, as well as DC motors and...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Hydraulic-Based Spherical Robot
Current spherical robots rely upon rotating mechanical weights inside the sphere to change the center of gravity of the sphere, causing the robot to roll. The use of rotating mechanical weights is not optimal due to the reliance upon moving parts, which can present burdensome maintenance issues. It would be...
Briefs: Motion Control
Today's crop breeders are trying to boost yields while preparing plants to withstand severe weather and changing climates. To succeed, they must locate the genes for high-yielding, hardy traits in crop plants’...
Briefs: Materials
Resistance welding with direct current (DC) using inverter technology reduces costs by improving quality, reducing maintenance, and increasing productivity. Switching from...
Briefs: Materials
In the early years of manned flight, wing warping was used for lateral control of an aircraft. This technique consisted of a system of pulleys and cables used to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposite...
Articles: Software
Presented by the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) has been the premier manufacturing technology show in the Northern Hemisphere. IMTS is held every even...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Ultra-Thin Capacitive Sensor Has the Least Possible Resistance to Motion
A thin and flexible sensor was developed for sensing sounds, since it can move with the airflow made by even the softest noises. With the least possible resistance to motion, the sensor addresses issues with accelerometers, microphones, and many other similar sensors. The goal...
Articles: Imaging
The ability to automatically extract information from digital images opens many doors for manufacturers striving to cut costs, improve quality, and streamline their processes overall. The primary uses...
Application Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Worldwide, there are only a handful of manufacturers of electrical actuators for the process industry, and the Vienna, Austria-based company Schiebel Antriebstechnik GmbH is the smallest...
Briefs: Materials
The unique capabilities of soft robots are to bend, deform, stretch, twist, or squeeze in all the ways that conventional rigid robots cannot. Today, it is easy to envision a world in...
Application Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Silphenix GmbH is an engineering and consulting firm in Switzerland specializing in high-speed electrical machines, magnetic bearings, and electromagnetic field analysis. One project focus is compact...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A new valve concept consists of a solid piston floating in a medium to control a flowstream. Although the conical shape of the seat is a prominent feature of the valve, especially when the concept was...
INSIDER: Materials
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 light...
Podcasts: Materials
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 gloves.
What drives...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Computers and software play a major role in force measurement and quality control. Whether in the engineering lab, quality control inspection area,...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Positional sensors have applications where a very accurate measurement of position is needed over a limited range. One example of such an application is in manipulation of a stage...
Products: Software
Altair, Troy, MI, released the 2018 versions of electromagnetic (EM) simulation software FEKO®, WinProp®, Flux®, and FluxMotor®. These electromagnetic solver tools are part of the HyperWorks® design platform. FEKO...
INSIDER: Aerospace
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...
Briefs: Aerospace
NASA Langley Research Center has developed Greased Lightning, the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that combines vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability with...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
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 a...
Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Rotary Position Sensors
Novotechnik, U.S. (Southborough, MA) announced industrial and redundant channel industrial versions of the SP 2800 Series rotary position sensors. The industrial version is offered in standard electrical...
Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
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, it's...
Articles: Materials
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...
Top Stories
Blog: Design
Aerial Microrobots That Can Match a Bumblebee's Speed
Blog: Semiconductors & ICs
Revolutionizing the Production of Semiconductor Chips
News: Power
INSIDER: Unmanned Systems
World’s Smallest Programmable, Autonomous Robots
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
Tech Briefs Wrapped 2025: Top 10 Technology Stories
INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: Power
Powering America’s EV Future: Connect, Collaborate, Innovate
Upcoming Webinars: Robotics, Automation & Control
Next-Generation Linear and Rotary Stages: When Ultra Precision...
Upcoming Webinars: Power
E/E Architecture Redefined: Building Smarter, Safer, and Scalable...
Upcoming Webinars: Energy
Hydrogen Engines Are Heating Up for Heavy Duty
Upcoming Webinars: Semiconductors & ICs
Advantages of Smart Power Distribution Unit Design for Automotive...
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Quiet, Please: NVH Improvement Opportunities in the Early Design...
