Engineering news

Robotics

Artificial muscle flexes in multiple directions, offering a path to soft, wiggly robots

We move thanks to coordination among many skeletal muscle fibers, all twitching and pulling in sync. While some muscles align in one direction, others form intricate patterns, helping parts of the body move in multiple ways.

Engineering

Scientists develop high-performance permanent magnet without expensive heavy rare earth elements

The Nano Materials Research Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), led by Dr. Tae-Hoon Kim and Dr. Jung-Goo Lee has successfully developed a grain boundary diffusion process that enables the fabrication ...

Engineering

Reusing old oil and gas wells may offer green energy storage solution

Moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources like wind and solar will require better ways to store energy for use when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing. A new study by researchers at Penn State has ...

Engineering

Developing an ontology for smart city infrastructure threats, cybercrime and digital investigation

With technological advancements and a growing awareness about the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), interconnected systems within cities that capture real-time data indicators reflecting chosen SDGs ...

Engineering

Study reveals barriers to AI integration in manufacturing design

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into manufacturing processes has huge potential for improving productivity, efficiency, and safety. Machine learning models are already used to monitor equipment health and ...

Engineering

Nature-inspired 3D-printing method shoots up faster than bamboo

Charging forward at top speed, a garden snail slimes up 1 millimeter of pavement per second. By this logic, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology researchers' new 3D printing process speeds past existing methods—at ...

Engineering

AI in engineering: Researchers discuss synergy between fields

A review explores the role of AI in engineering, assessing the benefits and challenges of the synergy between the two fields. A 2004 DARPA contest pitted AI vehicles against one another in a race on 150 miles of dirt roads. ...

Engineering

Erythritol slurry and its potential for waste heat recovery

Energy efficiency is crucial for sustainability, yet vast amounts of low-temperature waste heat remain unused in industrial processes. Now, researchers from Japan have investigated erythritol slurry as a promising heat transfer ...

Robotics

Silk-inspired in situ web spinning for situated robots

Researchers at the Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, present a robotics concept in which temporary robot embodiments and movement pathways are spun in situ from a polymer solution. They demonstrate an ad hoc gripper ...

Engineering

New shirt offers better protection for wildland firefighters

A new protective shirt geared to the needs of wildland firefighters has been developed by University of Alberta researchers. The prototype garment offers more protection than the current version commonly worn by workers who ...

Engineering

NASA tunnel generates decades of icy aircraft safety data

On Sept. 13, 1944, researchers subjected a Bell P-39L Airacobra to frigid temperatures and a freezing water spray in the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)'s new Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) to study inflight ...

Engineering

Revolutionizing 3D printing through microwave technology

In the rapidly evolving world of 3D printing, the pursuit of faster, more efficient and versatile production methods is never-ending. Traditional 3D printing techniques, while groundbreaking, are often time-consuming and ...

Engineering

Aurora borealis can light up the sky and shut down the grid

During a thunderstorm, you can feel rain pouring, see lightning flashing and hear wind howling. Unlike these phenomena, the Aurora Borealis cannot be heard or felt because it occurs through the earth's magnetic field's invisible ...

Engineering

Double-helical design boosts concrete crack resistance

Taking inspiration from nature, researchers from Princeton Engineering have improved crack resistance in concrete components by coupling architected designs with additive manufacturing processes and industrial robots that ...