Engineering news
Robotics
Tailing new ideas: Cheetah-inspired design enables better robot movement
From lizards to kangaroos, many animals with tails possess an agility that allows them to turn or self-right after a foot slip. Cheetahs demonstrate tremendous precision and maneuverability at high speeds due, in part, to ...
22 hours ago
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Engineering
Researcher uses bat-inspired design to develop new approach to sound location
Inspired by the workings of a bat's ear, Rolf Mueller, a professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, has created bio-inspired technology that determines the location of a sound's origin.
Apr 15, 2021
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Engineering
Stretching the boundaries of medical tech with wearable antennae
Current research on flexible electronics is paving the way for wireless sensors that can be worn on the body and collect a variety of medical data. But where do the data go? Without a similar flexible transmitting device, ...
Apr 15, 2021
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Engineering
Counting pedestrians to make pedestrians count
A key portion of MIT's campus overlaps with Kendall Square, the bustling area in East Cambridge where students, residents, and tech employees scurry around in between classes, meetings, and meals. Where are they all going? ...
Apr 15, 2021
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Engineering
Road building won't cut congestion or boost the economy
British politicians, national and local, tend to like investing in roads. The Treasury believes that the Department for Transport's approach to economic analysis is sound, and so is willing to award substantial funds. The ...
Apr 15, 2021
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Robotics
Biorobotics lab builds submersible robot snake
Carnegie Mellon University's acclaimed snake-like robot can now slither its way underwater, allowing the modular robotics platform to inspect ships, submarines and infrastructure for damage.
Apr 14, 2021
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Engineering
Membrane design prevents crossover in polysulfide redox flow batteries
Two researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have developed a new membrane design that prevents crossover in polysulfide redox flow batteries. In their paper published in the journal Nature Energy, Zhejun Li and ...
Apr 14, 2021 report
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Engineering
Astronauts need a fridge; engineers are building one that works in zero gravity
For astronauts to go on long missions to the moon or Mars, they need a refrigerator. But today's fridges aren't designed to work in zero gravity—or upside down if oriented that way when a spacecraft lands on another planet.
Apr 14, 2021
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Engineering
Physicists print magnets with a 3D printer
Physicists at the Ural Federal University (UrFU, Ekaterinburg, Russia) will print unique magnets, magnetic systems, soft magnetic elements with a 3D printer. Samples made with this printer can be useful in almost any field ...
Apr 13, 2021
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Engineering
New materials to make ships more sustainable and less noisy for marine life
Ships have a significant environmental impact during building, operation and when they're scrapped, but new approaches and composite materials to replace steel—still popular due to its strength and low cost—could make ...
Apr 13, 2021
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Engineering
A single spin-orbit torque device to sense 3D magnetic fields
Sensors that can detect magnetic fields have many potential applications, for instance, in the development of sophisticated medical devices and transportation systems. Most approaches for detecting 3D magnetic fields developed ...
Apr 09, 2021 feature
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Robotics
Robo-starfish aims to enable closer study of aquatic life
Biologists have long experienced the challenges of documenting ocean life, with many species of fish proving quite sensitive to the underwater movements of humans.
Apr 09, 2021
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Engineering
A better nasal swab for COVID-19 testing
Over nearly seven years researching 3D printing systems in MIT's Media Lab, Jifei Ou began to suspect the work could lead to better products. He never could have imagined it would help address supply shortages caused by a ...
Apr 08, 2021
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