News by Subject Technology & Engineering

If Star Wars' R2-D2 is your idea of a robot, think again. Researchers led by a University of Houston engineer have reported a new class of soft robot, composed of ultrathin sensing, actuating electronics and temperature-sensitive artificial muscle that can adapt to the environment and crawl, similar to the movement of an inchworm or caterpillar.

Engineers discovered that tiny crystal lattices called 'self-assembling molecular nanosheets' expand when exposed to light. The advancement could form the backbone of new light-powered actuators, oscillators and other microscopic electronic components useful in the development of artificial muscles and other soft robotic systems.

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, have developed a robot that can autonomously assemble IKEA's Stefan chair in 8 minutes and 55 seconds.

MIT CSAIL's 'RoadTracer' system could reduce workload for developers of apps like Google Maps

To overcome the material rigidity and actuation limitations in current robotic systems, a joint US Army Research Laboratory and University of Minnesota research project sought inspiration from invertebrates.

Combining artificial intelligence with experimentation sped up the discovery of metallic glass by 200 times. The new material's glassy nature makes it stronger, lighter and more corrosion-resistant than today's best steel.

Blend two or three metals together and you get an alloy that usually looks and acts like a metal, with its atoms arranged in rigid geometric patterns. But once in a while, under just the right conditions, you get something entirely new: a futuristic alloy called metallic glass. Now new research reports a shortcut for discovering and improving metallic glass -- and, by extension, other elusive materials -- at a fraction of the time and cost.