Motion Control/​Automation

Topics:

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.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Researchers have invented a new kind of walking robot that takes advantage of dynamic instability to navigate. By changing the flexibility of the couplings, the robot can be made to turn without the need for complex computational control systems.
Feature Image
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
See the products of tomorrow, including a spoofing device, a deployable electrode, and a snake robot.
Feature Image
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have introduced a method for robust flight navigation agents to master vision-based fly-to-target tasks in intricate, unfamiliar environments.
Feature Image
Briefs: Wearables
A brain-machine interface coupled with robot offers increased benefits for stroke survivors.
Feature Image
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have developed biosensor technology that will allow you to operate devices, such as robots and machines, solely through thought-control.
Feature Image
Briefs: Materials
Researchers have demonstrated a caterpillar-like soft robot that can move forward, backward, and even dip under narrow spaces. Its movement is driven by a novel pattern of silver nanowires.
Feature Image
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Researchers at Columbia Engineering have demonstrated a highly dexterous robot hand, one that combines an advanced sense of touch with motor learning algorithms in order to achieve a high level of dexterity.
Feature Image
White Papers: Motion Control
Document cover
Engineer’s Guide to Replacing Problematic Hydraulic Cylinders With High-force Electric Actuators

This eBook from Tolomatic examines how new, high-force electric linear actuators are capable of delivering the power of hydraulics in many...

Quiz: Software
Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) for warehouse and industrial operations are surging, and this growth is expected to increase for the foreseeable future. Test your knowledge about AMRs in this quiz.
Feature Image
INSIDER: Design

A newly created real-life Transformer can reconfigure its body to achieve eight distinct types of motion and can autonomously assess the environment it faces to choose the most effective...

Feature Image
INSIDER: Unmanned Systems

It’s a long-held notion, proven in fact, that robots are the perfect instrument to free humans from jobs that are dull, dirty, and dangerous — the “3 Ds” in industry speak — with...

Feature Image
INSIDER: AR/AI

In the film “Top Gun: Maverick,” Maverick, played by Tom Cruise, is charged with training young pilots to complete a seemingly impossible mission — to fly their jets deep into a rocky...

Feature Image
Podcasts: AR/AI
AI can enhance healthcare delivery, improve patient outcomes, and enable personalized treatments.
Feature Image
On-Demand Webinars: Aerospace
Feature Image

The Artemis 1 Mission is a step closer to launch. Before NASA returns humans to the Moon in 2024, a fleet of lunar landers will precede them and look for potential landing locations and resources for...

Application Briefs: Motion Control
Combining an industrial robot, computerized vision system, AI, and machine learning, Skyline Robotics has succeeded in automating window washing for the world’s skyscrapers.
Feature Image
Application Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Leveraging a high-speed permanent magnet motor, an environmental control system aboard the ISS represents a step change toward electrification and optimization.
Feature Image
White Papers: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Document cover
Selecting the Appropriate Sensors for Rotating Equipment Condition Monitoring

This comprehensive guide provides detailed insights on selecting appropriate sensors for condition monitoring of rotating equipment, considering measurement...

Podcasts: Robotics, Automation & Control
Gather AI is using drones to automate inventory monitoring processes for warehouse operators to decrease the cost of inventory, improve productivity and boost revenue.
Feature Image
White Papers: Medical
Document cover
Linear Motion Design Considerations for Medical Device OEMs

Electromechanical linear actuators have become integral components of modern medical devices because of their high precision, accuracy, and ability to deliver repeatable motion...

White Papers: Automotive
Document cover
Automotive Applications

Tolomatic’s Automotive Applications resource guide will help you learn the scope of how actuators are being used in the industry at both manufacturers and tiered providers. Explore our wide range of electric and...

NASA Spinoff: Robotics, Automation & Control
Squishy Robotics’ tensegrity sensor robots gather data at the scenes of fires, crashes, explosions, and other disasters to help first responders determine their approach to a disaster scene.
Feature Image
Special Reports: Energy
Document cover
Vehicle Electrification - July 2023

Read this compendium of recent articles from the editors of Automotive Engineering and Battery & Electrification Technology to learn about the latest advances in e-powertrain design, batteries/energy...

Special Reports: Software
Document cover
Space Technology - July 2023

Read about ten surging space startups, robotic construction on the moon, metal 3D printing in orbit, and much more in this compendium of recent articles from the editors of Tech Briefs and Aerospace & Defense...

Articles: Manned Systems
University of Arizona engineers have developed a system that allows autonomous vehicles to scout out underground habitats for astronauts. Their robust platform could allow robotic explorers to operate underground or even submerged in liquid environments.
Feature Image
Special Reports: Unmanned Systems
Document cover
Robotics - July 2023

Read about the latest advances in robots for space exploration, healthcare, manufacturing, and more in this compendium of recent articles from the editors of Tech Briefs, Medical Design Briefs, and Aerospace &...

Articles: AR/AI
CHAPEA is a series of analog missions that will simulate year-long stays on the surface of Mars. Insights from these missions will help NASA make informed decisions to design and plan for a successful human mission to Mars.
Feature Image
White Papers: Robotics, Automation & Control
Document cover
Submicron Precise Displacement and Thickness Measurements on All Types of Targets

A relatively new technique is the confocal chromatic technology, which is suitable for submicron displacement measurement and even one-sided thickness...

INSIDER: Unmanned Systems

Researchers from UCLA and the United States Army Research Laboratory have laid out a new approach for enhancing artificial intelligence-powered computer vision technologies by...

Feature Image
INSIDER: Green Design & Manufacturing

Aerospace engineers designed a 1-megawatt electrical motor that is a stepping stone toward electrifying the largest aircraft.

Feature Image

Videos