Motion Control/​Automation

Explore the latest developments in motion control and automation. Discover innovative advances from NASA and major research labs in robotics, autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, PID controller applications, motor drives and power transmissions.

Stories

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Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Standard commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) connectors continue to be a great resource for quick prototypes and reference designs.
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Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
By consolidating tasks traditionally performed by multiple devices into a single, high-performing controller, manufacturers can improve operations.
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Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A soft hydrogel, driven by an oscillatory chemical reaction, produces an autonomous integrated pump for microfluidic applications.
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Briefs: Unmanned Systems
This capability will optimize performance of the vehicle through different phases of flight.
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
This method could impact optical technologies such as smartphone cameras, biosensors, or autonomous vision for robots and self-driving cars.
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Briefs: Nanotechnology
Tiny aircraft that weigh as much as a fruit fly could serve as Martian atmospheric probes.
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Articles: Imaging
New collaborative robot-based vision systems are changing how manufacturers can inspect their parts.
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Briefs: Unmanned Systems
The learning approach allows swarms of unmanned vehicles to optimally accomplish their mission while minimizing performance uncertainty.
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
This system has a capacity of more than 1,500 times the volume of a typical testing facility.
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Briefs: Wearables
Fully integrated flexible electronics made of magnetic sensors and organic circuits open the path towards the development of electronic skin.
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NASA Spinoff: Aerospace
NASA's UAS traffic management expertise leads to advances in drone navigation.
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Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
This technology can work with multiple wavelengths of light simultaneously.
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Products: Software
Tubing plugs, displacement measurements, CAM software, and more.
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Special Reports: Medical
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Medical Manufacturing and Outsourcing - October 2020
Discover how advances in factory automation, robotics, 3D printing and other fabrication technologies are shaping the future of medical device manufacturing in this Special Report – a...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
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 data...
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INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
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 a...
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INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition
For planned robotic and crewed missions to the Moon and Mars, NASA is developing and testing precise landing and hazard-avoidance technologies. A combination of laser sensors, a camera, a high-speed...
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Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
New software from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) wants to predict all traffic possibilities, so that self-driving vehicles will never get into accidents.
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Question of the Week: Energy
Will 'Biomorphic' Batteries Support a Future of Tiny Robots?
A Tech Briefs TV video highlighted a rechargeable zinc battery from the University of Michigan that integrates into the structure of a robot to provide much more energy. The “biomorphic” battery, according to researchers, could provide 72x more energy for robots.
INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control
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 the...
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Question of the Week: Robotics, Automation & Control
Are You OK With a Robot Taking Your Vitals?
The "Spot" robot, developed by Boston Dynamics, can measure skin temperature, breathing rate, pulse rate, and blood oxygen saturation in healthy patients, from a distance of 2 meters.
Blog: Photonics/Optics
A Cornell team developed paramecium-sized robots that can be controlled with lasers.
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Podcasts: Aerospace
Before delivery drones start carrying packages (and passenger drones start delivering ourselves), engineers will need to keep refining an unmanned aircraft's ability to navigate and...
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Special Reports: Robotics, Automation & Control
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Aerospace & Defense - September 2020
In this compendium of recent articles from the editors of Tech Briefs and Aerospace & Defense Technology, you'll learn about the technology driving the Mars 2020 rover, how NASA will use GPS to navigate...

Special Reports: Electronics & Computers
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Test & Measurement - September 2020
See how the latest test tools and methodologies are enabling new applications in aerospace, electronics, robotics, healthcare, and other key industries. This compendium of recent articles is presented by the...

Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Learn the USB3 and GigE vision standards, how they keep pace with imaging technologies, and how augmenting the cabling is critical for optimal performance.
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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Designed to assist in robotic surgeries, biomedical devices can be printed in and on the human body.
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Products: RF & Microwave Electronics
Safety-critical MEMS, absolute pressure sensors, thermal imaging cameras, and more.
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Articles: Data Acquisition
Tech Briefs posed questions to machine learning/AI industry execs to get their opinions on platform selection, data interpretation, and more.
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Videos