Stories
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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
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...
Briefs: Materials
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...
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
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...
INSIDER: Motion Control
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. Soft...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
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 pressed,...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Mounted Ball Bearings
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 several shaft-locking methods. The mounted...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
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 miniature...
Briefs: Medical
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
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 becoming...
Application Briefs: Software
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 manual...
Articles: Test & Measurement
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
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
Rotary encoders play important roles in motion control and industrial automation systems, providing control systems with information about the motion of motor shafts,...
Articles: Motion Control
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 move...
Briefs: Propulsion
Thruster-Based Attitude and Translation Control with Minimum Pulse-Count Disturbance Rejection
Thruster-based control typically requires a substantial engineering effort in order to mitigate an important issue: the control system tends to use many thruster pulses to accomplish what a single thruster pulse could do instead. This fundamental problem...
Briefs: Motion Control
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,...
Briefs: Motion Control
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
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: Propulsion
Axial Magnetic Flux Airflow Integrated Compressor-Generator-Motor Turbojet Design
Innovators at the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center have developed a compressor-generator-motor turbojet design concept that integrates the generator with the aerodynamic blade structures of the compression section of turbomachinery. This reduces weight and volume...
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...
INSIDER: Motion Control
A technology not only allows wheels to know when and how to rotate, but also enables them to work together in interactive teams. Simply monitoring the data generated when the motors inside the wheels...
Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Digital Temperature Sensors
The ProSense® ETS series digital temperature sensors from Automation Direct (Cumming, GA) now include a precision RTD sensing element, measuring electronics, and process fitting, combined in a single...
Briefs: Motion Control
NASA is preparing for the next generation of CubeSats that are propelled and will make directional maneuvers. The new gimbal mount provides a seat for the motor, and controls the position of the thrusters...
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
A wireless triboelectric nanogenerator (W-TENG) generates electricity from motion and vibrations. It consists of a biodegradeable polymer and graphene. When the two materials are brought...
INSIDER: Imaging
Engineers from MIT and Princeton University have developed a robotic pick-and-place system that consists of a standard industrial robotic arm outfitted with a custom gripper and suction cup. An...
INSIDER: Motion Control
A JHU team has developed a prototype robot that steals some moves from a Central American cockroach species known as blaberus discoidalis.
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
The wide variety of industrial applications each independently calls for a level of robustness from the physical (PHY) layer, all the way up to applications. Time...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Linear actuator manufacturers have a history of strong mechanical design expertise, which is the core of any linear actuation; however, giving motion to modern powered equipment goes beyond a...
Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Ring Motor
ThinGap (Camarillo, CA) introduced the PM model TGO77 large-bore compact ring motor for precision and highspeed applications. The brushless, frameless motor has an outside diameter of 77 mm (3.03"), 59 mm (2.32") inside...
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Webcasts
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Upcoming Webinars: Robotics, Automation & Control
Next-Generation Linear and Rotary Stages: When Ultra Precision...
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