Motion Control/​Automation

An Algorithmic Planner Helps Delegate Tasks to Human-Robot Teams

The technology could be useful in manufacturing and assembly plants for sorting packages, or in any environment where humans and robots collaborate.

Improving Autonomous Robotic Systems

A new general-purpose optimizer can speed up the design of walking robots, self-driving vehicles, and other autonomous systems.

Anti-Phase Noise Suppression Rotor Technologies

Acoustic optimization for anti-phase asymmetric rotor.

Testing and Validating 3D-Printed Parts for Oil and Gas

Keeping oil and gas production facilities running smoothly is among the toughest challenges in any industry.

Ginning Up a Modern Automation Platform

Although the basic function of cotton gins is quite old, today’s versions can benefit further from modernized control systems.

A New Method to Improve Motion Planning for Robots

Interactive program aids motion planning for environments with obstacles.

Single-Step 3D-Printing Process to Build Robots

The piezoelectric “meta-bot” is capable of propulsion, movement, sensing, and decision-making.

Insect-Scale Robots Take Flight

Researchers built electroluminescent soft artificial muscles for flying, insect-scale robots.

AI-Powered Machines for Hazardous Environments

The robots will be challenged to carry out work too dangerous for humans.

Q&A: Artificial Skin Could Lead to a New Generation of Touch-Sensitive Robots

A team of engineers from the University of Glasgow led by Professor Ravinder Dahiya developed an artificial skin with a new type of processing system based on...

Boosting Operational Intelligence with AI

Although industrial factories and processing plants have long been automated, it remains vital for human decision-making to be involved in operations, sometimes to a great extent. Automation in...

Improved Fixed-Wing Gust Load Alleviation Device

Gust load alleviation is an increasing concern for the design of fixed-wing aircraft with ultra-high aspect wings.

Outer Aileron Yaw Damper

A lightweight alternative to rudders for aircraft with spanwise adaptive wings.

Low Separation Force Quick Disconnect Device

A self-aligning, self-healing system for pneumatics and cryogenics with applications in aerospace.

Artificial Intelligence: Meet Human Intelligence

A designer’s job gets much more complicated when artificial intelligence is part of the system.

Charting a Safe Course Through a Highly Uncertain Environment

An autonomous spacecraft exploring the far-flung regions of the universe descends through the atmosphere of a remote exoplanet. The vehicle, and the researchers who programmed...

Nanostructured Fibers Can Impersonate Human Muscles

Mimicking the human body, specifically the actuators that control muscle movement, is of immense interest around the globe. In recent years, it has led to many innovations to improve...

An Engineer Uses an Ancient Art to Solve a Very Modern Problem

If you’ve ever made an origami paper crane, using folds and creases to transform a square piece of craft paper into the delicate long-necked bird, it may seem odd that...

Making Robotic Assistive Walking More Natural

A new method of generating gaits for robotic assistive devices aims to guarantee stability and achieve more natural locomotion for different users. The method is being developed by a team at...

Roboticists Go Off Road to Compile Data That Could Train Self-Driving ATVs

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University took an all-terrain vehicle on wild rides through tall grass, loose gravel, and mud to gather data about how the ATV...

Tiny Robotic Crab Is Smallest-Ever Remote-Controlled Walking Robot

Northwestern University engineers have developed the smallest-ever remote-controlled walking robot — and it comes in the form of a tiny peekytoe crab.

Twisted Soft Robots Navigate Mazes Without Human or Computer Guidance

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Pennsylvania have developed soft robots that are capable of navigating complex environments,...