Robotics & Automation

Purdue researchers have developed a mussel-mimicking adhesive polymer that is non-toxic to living cells. The synthetic material can be used in surgical and biomedical applications.

University of Twente engineers have developed the A-Gear: a robotic arm that supports the daily activities of people suffering from the muscular disease Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The first prototype, a body-connected support aid, can be worn under the clothing and support independent operation of the arm.

Missouri University of Science and Technology researchers have created a lightweight but very strong structural metal that could improve energy efficiency in biomedical applications. The team mixed silicon carbide into a molten magnesium-zinc alloy that uniformly dispersed and stabilized the...

The ability to integrate disparate materials and properties within printed objects is the next frontier in 3D printing. Harvard University researchers have designed new multimaterial printheads that mix and print concentrated viscoelastic inks, enabling simultaneous control of composition and...

Current lithium-ion batteries normally use graphite anodes. University of Waterloo researchers have created lighter, long-lasting batteries from silicon. The silicon anode materials have a much higher capacity for lithium and are capable of producing batteries with almost 10 times more energy.

Drawing inspiration from an insect's multi-faceted eye, University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers have created tiny lenses with vast range of vision. An array of the miniature lenses — each no bigger than the head of a pin — can capture a panorama image covering a 170-degree field of view.

An improved blood cleansing device from Harvard University's Wyss Institute mimics the actions of the spleen. The sepsis treatment technology cleanses pathogens and toxins from blood circulating through a dialysis-like circuit.

A stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscope currently being tested at the University of Michigan allows surgeons to quickly spot the difference between tumor tissue and normal brain tissue. Since June, the SRS microscope has imaged more than 60 patient samples from the operating room.

A new surface coating developed by researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences make steel stronger, safer, and more durable. The new anti-corrosive and anti-fouling surface material, made from rough nanoporous tungsten oxide, repels any kind of liquid, even after...

New research from Penn Medicine infection control specialists found that ultraviolet (UV) robots helped reduce the rates of transmission of the common bacterial infection known as Clostridium difficile. The robots flash UV lights across a hospital room to lock onto DNA of organisms and kill them.

Researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) have developed virtual models that can be used in angiography rooms to address aortic aneurysms and help medical professionals visualize the area being treated. To provide more personalized treatments, the new software...

VeloX, a prosthetic heart valve developed by National University of Singapore researchers, can be implanted through a small incision for the treatment of a serious heart valve disorder called mitral regurgitation. The device is particularly beneficial to patients who are of high surgical risk or are...

University of Texas at Dallas researchers have made electrically conducting fibers that can be reversibly stretched to over 14 times their initial length. Electrical conductivity of the fibers increases 200-fold when stretched.

A tiny mechanical wrist from a team of engineers and doctors at Vanderbilt University’s Medical Engineering and Discovery Laboratory will be used on needle-sized surgical robots. The wrist is less than 1/16th of an inch (2 mm) thick.

A new research robot from Uppsala University engineers finds optimal treatment combinations for cancer treatments. The robotic system plans and conducts experiments with many substances, and draws its own conclusions from the results, according to Dr Claes Andersson, leading scientist in the...

An ultrasonic technology developed by researchers from the University of Southampton removes contaminants from surgical steel. The StarStream device creates tiny bubbles which automatically scrub surfaces.

Researchers from Penn State University have worked with University of Texas at Dallas engineers to induce different two-dimensional materials to form directly on top of one another. The stacking approach achieves clean interfaces between layers — an important factor for novel nanoelectronic circuits.

A mold developed by Cornell University researchers can shape liquid silicon out of organic polymer materials. The self-assembling organic polymers create a template dotted with precisely sized and shaped nanopores. The development could lead to exact single-crystal silicon nanostructures.

To produce electricity, thermoelectric materials capture waste heat from sources such as automobile exhausts or industrial processes. Improving the materials' efficiency will require further reduction of thermal conductivity. A new article from a Georgia Institute of Technology professor clarifies...

Engineers from Iowa State University developed micro-tentacles that enable robots to handle delicate objects. “Most robots use two fingers. To pick things up, they have to squeeze,” said Jaeyoun (Jay) Kim, an Iowa State University associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and...

A laser created by a team at the University of Warsaw generates ultrashort pulses of light, even under extremely difficult external conditions like large temperature gradients of more than 120 degrees Celsius. The process of generating femtosecond laser pulses takes place within a specially...

A simple robotic gripper created by engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) can adjust its hold using the environment. The team's model predicts the force with which a gripper must push against surrounding fixtures in order to adjust its grasp. The new approach allows...