Motion Control/​Automation

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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.

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Application Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
A pilot project between ABB Robotics and US non-profit organization Junglekeepers demonstrated the role cloud technology can play in making reforestation faster, more efficient, and scalable.
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Application Briefs: Motion Control
Like other small and medium-sized enterprises, HWL Löttechnik GmbH faces the realities of labor shortages, the ongoing energy crisis, and the intricate nature of production processes. To overcome these challenges, HWL adopted state-of-the-art technologies and the optimization of operational processes.
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Briefs: Power
Cornell researchers have combined soft microactuators with high-energy-density chemical fuel to create an insect-scale quadrupedal robot that is powered by combustion and can outrace, outlift, outflex, and outleap its electric-driven competitors.
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Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
MIT researchers have developed a camera-based touch sensor that is long, curved, and shaped like a human finger. Their device provides high-resolution tactile sensing over a large area. The sensor, called the GelSight Svelte, uses two mirrors to reflect and refract light.
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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Dr. Song Kahye along with Professor Lee, Dae-Young have jointly developed a soft gripper with a woven structure that can grip objects weighing more than 100 kg with 130 g of material. To increase the loading capacity of the soft robot gripper, the team applied a new structure inspired by textiles.
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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
A new soft sensor developed by UBC and Honda researchers opens the door to a wide range of applications in robotics and prosthetics. When applied to the surface of a prosthetic arm or a robotic limb, the sensor skin provides touch sensitivity and dexterity, enabling tasks that can be difficult for machines such as picking up a piece of soft fruit.
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Briefs: Power
Moving robots demands a lot of energy, and batteries, the typical power source, limit lifetime and raise environmental concerns. Researchers at the University of Washington have now created MilliMobile, a tiny, self-driving robot powered only by surrounding light or radio waves.
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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Centimeter-scale walking and crawling robots are in demand both for their ability to explore tight or cluttered environments and for their low fabrication costs. Pulling from origami-inspired construction, researchers have crafted a more simplified approach to the design and fabrication of these robots.
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Briefs: Transportation
Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed new software to aid in the development, evaluation, and demonstration of safer autonomous, or driverless, vehicles. Called the Vehicle-in-Virtual-Environment (VVE) method, it allows the testing of driverless cars in a perfectly safe environment.
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Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A Software Model Makes Transport Robots Smarter
Imagine a team of humans and robots working together to process online orders — real-life workers strategically positioned among their automated coworkers who are moving intelligently back and forth in a warehouse space. This could become a reality sooner than later, thanks to researchers at the University of Missouri.
White Papers: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
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Unleashing the Capabilities of the Linear Servo Press

This whitepaper, sponsored by Tolomatic, reveals how a new generation of high-force Linear Servo Press technologies are replacing high-maintenance hydraulics – offering significant...

Blog: Materials
For the first time, researchers have succeeded in printing a robotic hand with bones, ligaments, and tendons made of different polymers using a new laser scanning technique.
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Special Reports: Robotics, Automation & Control
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Space Technology - November 2023

Read about NASA's plans for future Mars exploration, ultrafast laser-based space communications, new strategies for cleaning up orbital debris, and much more in this compendium of recent articles from the...

INSIDER: Motion Control

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are building computational tools using artificial intelligence (AI) that can help optimize airfoil design for...

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INSIDER: Design

Flow-driven turbines lie at the heart of many machines that have shaped our societies, from windmills to airplanes. Even life itself depends critically on turbines for fundamental...

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INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Anyone who has ever tried to pack a family-sized amount of luggage into a sedan-sized trunk knows this is a hard problem. Robots struggle with dense packing tasks, too.

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Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
NeuroPair’s Fibermag treatment — which aims to help patients of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) recover — took home the distinguished honor on Friday, November 10 in the heart of New York City.
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White Papers: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
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Modern Edge Computing Accelerates Smart Manufacturing Initiatives for Discrete Manufacturers

Want to enhance productivity and drive reliable, efficient operations with less cost and less risk? Learn how to overcome the challenges of...

Blog: Medical
Robotic prosthetic ankles that are controlled by nerve impulses allow amputees to move more “naturally,” improving their stability.
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INSIDER: Unmanned Systems

Someday, when quakes, fires, and floods strike, the first responders might be packs of robotic rescue dogs rushing in to help stranded souls. These battery-powered quadrupeds would use...

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INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Imagine grasping a heavy object, like a pipe wrench, with one hand. You would likely grab the wrench using your entire fingers, not just your fingertips. Sensory receptors in your skin,...

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INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

A team led by Northwestern University researchers has developed the first artificial intelligence (AI) to date that can intelligently design robots from scratch.

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Blog: Medical
Taking inspiration from music-streaming services, engineers have designed the simplest way for users to program their own exoskeleton assistance settings.
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White Papers: Packaging & Sterilization
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Get more from multi-axis electric motion systems.

Advances in smart technology allow manufacturers to connect pneumatic systems to the internet, facilitating automation and transmitting data in real time. Explore an introduction to how...

Articles: Materials
The Create the Future Design Contest, launched in 2002 by SAE Media Group, recognizes and rewards engineering innovations that benefit humanity, the environment, and the economy. The annual contest draws product designs from engineers, students, and entrepreneurs worldwide.
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Videos of the Month: Manufacturing & Prototyping
See the videos of the month, including one on a 3D-printed heart, one on a gripper that grasps by reflex, one on an intelligent soft robot that can self-escape from challenging mazes, and one on microfliers.
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Articles: Design
See the 2023 Create the Future Design Contest's Aerospace & Defense Finalist: Zulu Pods, self-contained, sealed, oil tanks and pumps that can be installed into existing low-cost expendable jet engines.
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Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
See the 2023 Create the Future Design Contest's Robotics & Automation Finalist: Patchflow, robotics for in-pipe leak repair.
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Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Learn about the 2023 Create the Future Design Contest's Sustainable Technology Finalist: Maui Innovation Group Inc.'s leakproof valve.
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Webcasts

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On-Demand Webinars: Defense

From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

April Battery & Electrification Summit

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Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024

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Upcoming Webinars: Materials

Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...

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Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement

Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

The Moon and Beyond from a Thermal Perspective

Videos