Robotics, Automation & Control

Briefs: Nanotechnology

Nanocardboard Aircraft with No Moving Parts

Tiny aircraft that weigh as much as a fruit fly could serve as Martian atmospheric probes.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Wavy Surfaces for Better Light Control

This method could impact optical technologies such as smartphone cameras, biosensors, or autonomous vision for robots and self-driving cars.

Briefs: Unmanned Systems

Drones Change Shape Mid-Flight

This capability will optimize performance of the vehicle through different phases of flight.

Briefs: Materials

Soft, Self-Actuated Pump for Mechatronic Devices

A soft hydrogel, driven by an oscillatory chemical reaction, produces an autonomous integrated pump for microfluidic applications.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Origami-Inspired Miniature Manipulator

This mini robot improves precision and control of teleoperated surgical procedures.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Integrated Microchips for Electronic Skin

Fully integrated flexible electronics made of magnetic sensors and organic circuits open the path towards the development of electronic skin.

Briefs: Imaging

Testing Swarming Drones

This system has a capacity of more than 1,500 times the volume of a typical testing facility.

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Medical Robotic Hand? Rubbery Semiconductor Makes It Possible

Researchers at the University of Houston report that they have designed and produced a smart electronic skin and a medical robotic hand capable of assessing vital diagnostic...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Controller Helps Robots Avoid Collisions

MIT startup Realtime Robotics invented a solution that gives robots the ability to quickly adjust their path to avoid objects as they move to a target. The Realtime controller can be connected to...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Biomorphic Batteries Could Provide 72 Times More Energy for Robots

Like biological fat reserves store energy in animals, a new rechargeable zinc battery integrates into the structure of a robot to provide much more energy, a team led by...

Blog: Photonics/Optics

With a Flash of a Laser, Microscopic Robots Move

A Cornell team developed paramecium-sized robots that can be controlled with lasers.

Podcasts: Robotics, Automation & Control

Here's an Idea: An ‘Aerodrome’ Testing Ground for Unmanned Aircraft

Before delivery drones start carrying packages (and passenger drones start delivering ourselves), engineers will need to keep refining an unmanned aircraft's ability...

Briefs: Aerospace

Hummingbird Robot Uses AI to Maneuver in Tight Spaces

The robots could fly silently for covert operations and stay steady through turbulence.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Nanomaterial Gives Robots Chameleon Skin

Features include unusual color changes and high touch sensitivity.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Automated Robotic Device for Faster Blood Testing

This technology provides rapid results, improving hospital workflow and patient care.

Briefs: Nanotechnology

Soft Robotic Insect Survives Being Flattened by a Flyswatter

The ultra-light robotic insect can be folded or crushed, yet continues to move.

Application Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Force/Torque Sensor Helps Rover Sample Mars

See how one company reached out to NASA with an offer to develop a custom sensor for the Mars 2020 mission rover.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

EEG-Based Technique for Controlling a Robotic Arm with the Brain

This technique can be used by people who are paralyzed or have neurodegenerative diseases.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Technique Mass-Produces Cell-Sized Robots

This process could lead to tiny, self-powered devices for environmental, industrial, or medical monitoring.

Articles: AR/AI

Executive Forum: Machine Learning & AI

Tech Briefs posed questions to machine learning/AI industry execs to get their opinions on platform selection, data interpretation, and more.

Application Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

USB and GigE Connectivity for Modern Machine Vision

Learn the USB3 and GigE vision standards, how they keep pace with imaging technologies, and how augmenting the cabling is critical for optimal performance.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Engineers 3D-Print Sensors Onto Moving Organs

Designed to assist in robotic surgeries, biomedical devices can be printed in and on the human body.

Briefs: Data Acquisition

Electronic “Skin” Brings Sense of Touch and Pain to Prosthetic Hands

The “E-dermis” will enable amputees to perceive through prosthetic fingertips.