Manufacturing
Robotic instruments provide real-time data on Maine red tide
May 8, 2013 12:36 pm | News | Comments
A robotic sensor that won an R&D 100 Award in 2009 has been put to use by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Gulf of Maine coastal waters to monitor the way red tides behave. These harmful algal blooms, which generate a potentially fatal toxin, can be a challenge to track or predict. The Environmental Sample Processors have been remotely deployed and should simplify and enhance this effort.
Inkjet-printed graphene may open doors to foldable electronics
May 20, 2013 3:15 pm | News | Comments
Northwestern University researchers have recently developed a graphene-based ink that...
Silicon Valley-area hub becomes factory town
May 20, 2013 7:33 am | by Martha Mendoza, AP National Writer | News | Comments
Something unique is happening in Fremont, California, a nondescript suburb of 217,000...
DNA-guided assembly yields ribbon-like nanostructures
May 16, 2013 12:20 pm | News | Comments
Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered that DNA "linker" strands...
New technique helps robotic vehicles find their way
May 14, 2013 5:02 pm | News | CommentsA Wayne State University researcher understands that the three most important things about real estate also apply to small ground robotic vehicles: location, location, location. A recently published paper describes the development of a technique called LOBOT that provides accurate, real-time, 3D positions in both indoor and outdoor environments.
"Makers" 3D print shapes created using new design tool, bare hands
May 14, 2013 4:38 pm | News | CommentsA new design tool interprets hand gestures, enabling designers and artists to create and modify 3D shapes using only their hands as a "natural user interface" instead of keyboard and mouse. The tool, called Shape-It-Up, uses specialized computer algorithms and a depth-sensing camera to observe and interpret hand movements and gestures.
Navy to launch unmanned aircraft from carrier
May 14, 2013 11:38 am | by BROCK VERGAKIS - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Navy will make its first attempt to launch an unmanned aircraft the size of a fighter jet from an aircraft carrier on Tuesday, marking a significant step toward the possibility of expanded drone use in future conflicts. The X-47B can reach an altitude of more than 40,000 feet, has a range of more than 2,100 nautical miles and can reach high subsonic speeds.
A silky spin on protective armor
May 13, 2013 8:15 am | News | CommentsAt seven times the toughness of Kevlar, a silk produced by the Caerostris darwini spider of Madagascar is more robust than any other material—synthetic or natural. Most spider silks are about two times tougher than Kevlar, and have long been considered an intriguing alternative for bulletproof vests and other protective gear. There’s only one problem: producing spider silk on demand is a tricky task.
Building protocells from inorganic nanoparticles
May 10, 2013 1:05 pm | News | CommentsResearchers at the University of Bristol in the U.K. have led a new enquiry into how extremely small particles of silica (sand) can be used to design and construct artificial protocells in the laboratory. By attaching a thin polymer layer to the external surface of an artificial inorganic protocell built from silica nanoparticles, the scientists have potentially the problem of controlling membrane permeability.
Wearable robots getting lighter, more portable
May 9, 2013 3:26 am | by CARLA K. JOHNSON - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsWhen Michael Gore stands, it's a triumph of science and engineering. Eleven years ago, Gore was paralyzed from the waist down in a workplace accident, yet he rises from his wheelchair and walks across the room with help from a lightweight wearable robot.
One order of steel; hold the greenhouse gases
May 8, 2013 2:52 pm | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsAnyone who has seen pictures of the giant, red-hot cauldrons in which steel is made—fed by vast amounts of carbon, and belching flame and smoke—would not be surprised to learn that steelmaking is one of the world’s leading industrial sources of greenhouse gases. But remarkably, a new process developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers could change all that.
New technique to improve quality control of lithium-ion batteries
May 8, 2013 7:56 am | News | CommentsResearchers have created a new tool to detect flaws in lithium-ion batteries as they are being manufactured, a step toward reducing defects and inconsistencies in the thickness of electrodes that affect battery life and reliability. The Purdue researchers have developed a system that uses a flashbulb-like heat source and a thermal camera to read how heat travels through the electrodes.
Do-it-yourself invisibility with 3D printing
May 6, 2013 11:51 am | News | CommentsSeven years ago, Duke University engineers demonstrated the first working invisibility cloak in complex laboratory experiments. Now it appears creating a simple cloak has become a lot simpler through 3D printing. Producing a cloak through this method is inexpensive and easy; and the small one the team made looks like a Frisbee disc made out of Swiss cheese.
New research could let vehicles, robots collaborate with humans
May 3, 2013 7:39 am | by Helen Knight, MIT News correspondent | News | CommentsYou get into your car and ask it to get you home in time for the start of the big game, stopping off at your favorite Chinese restaurant on the way for takeout. But the car informs you that the road past the Chinese restaurant is closed for repairs, and you will have to choose a different place. You select a nearby Korean restaurant from the options the car suggests. Autonomous devices could soon collaborate with humans in this way.
Navy unveils squadron of manned, unmanned craft
May 2, 2013 4:59 pm | by JULIE WATSON - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Navy on Thursday inaugurated its first squadron with both manned and unmanned aircraft. Military officials launched the effort by reactivating the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 35, known as the "Magicians" or HSL-35, which served for 19 years before being deactivated in 1992.
Researchers propose new old way to purify carbon nanotubes
May 1, 2013 11:46 am | News | CommentsAn old, somewhat passé, trick used to purify protein samples based on their affinity for water has found new fans at NIST, where materials scientists are using it to divvy up solutions of carbon nanotubes, separating the metallic nanotubes from semiconductors. They say it's a fast, easy, and cheap way to produce high-purity samples of carbon nanotubes for use in nanoscale electronics and many other applications.
Robots able to reach through clutter with whole-arm tactile sensing
April 30, 2013 9:57 am | News | CommentsWhether reaching for a book out of a cluttered cabinet or pruning a bush in the backyard, a person’s arm frequently makes contact with objects during everyday tasks. Animals do it too, when foraging for food, for example. Much in the same way, robots are now able to intelligently maneuver within clutter, gently making contact with objects while accomplishing a task. This new control method has wide applications.
Virgin Galactic spaceship makes first powered flight
April 29, 2013 11:00 pm | by Raquel Maria Dillon, Associated Press | News | CommentsIn a major step for Virgin Galactic’s bid to create the first space tourism company, the SpaceShipTwo made its first powered flight Monday, breaking the sound barrier in a test over the Mojave Desert. It then glided to a safe landing. The successful flight moves the company closer to its goal of flying paying passengers on brief hops into space.
Researchers design nanometer-scale material that can speed up, squeeze light
April 29, 2013 10:03 am | News | CommentsIn a process comparable to squeezing an elephant through a pinhole, researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology have designed a way to engineer atoms capable of funneling light through ultrasmall channels. Their research is the latest in a series of recent findings related to how light and matter interact at the atomic scale.
Unmanned aircraft system proposal takes flight
April 26, 2013 8:59 am | News | CommentsA consortium of Washington-based organizations will soon submit the final section of a proposal to site an unmanned aircraft system research and testing facility in central Washington. If successful, the proposal to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will result in the FAA naming the Pacific Northwest Unmanned Aerial Systems Flight Center as one of six U.S. testing facilities later this year.
Researchers synthesize world’s first supramolecular thiophene nanosheets
April 25, 2013 9:36 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers from Japan and Germany have recently developed the world’s first 2D organic sheets from the heterocyclic compound thiophene, resulting in a 3.5-nm thick surfaces that are much more easily controlled in terms of size than similar graphene sheets. The sheets, which have been assembled for the first time in a simple, low-cost method, can also be chemically functionalized.
A blueprint for reversible wrinkling in composite materials
April 24, 2013 7:40 am | by Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office | News | CommentsMany natural composite materials have evolved to wrinkle in response to certain stimuli; and scientists say that understanding the mechanisms by which materials internally wrinkle could help in creating new, responsive materials. Now researchers have identified the mechanics involved in the wrinkling of thin interfacial layers within soft composite materials, and developed a model based on material properties and geometry.
Robot to wash high-rise windows
April 23, 2013 8:03 am | News | CommentsAs long as buildings have windows, engineers will fret about how best to keep them clean. Rice University engineering students are no exception and are working on better ways to keep skyscrapers shiny. The WashBOT team of seniors based at Rice’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen is part of a multiyear robotics project to automate the process of cleaning recessed windows in buildings.
Germanium made compatible with lasers
April 22, 2013 9:27 am | News | CommentsBy introducing high tensile strain, a research group in Switzerland has rendered germanium, which is normally unsuitable for lasers, capable of emitting 25 times more photons than in its relaxed state. This change alters the optical properties of the material and is enough to allow the construction of lasers from this material. This is valuable because germanium is highly compatible with silicon.
Israeli official says drones could replace planes
April 21, 2013 1:57 pm | by DANIEL ESTRIN - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsIsrael's air force is on track to developing drones that within four to five decades would carry out nearly every battlefield operation executed today by piloted aircraft, a high-ranking Israeli officer told The Associated Press Sunday. The officer, who works in the field of unmanned aerial vehicle intelligence, said Israel is speeding up research and development of such unmanned technologies for air, ground, and naval forces.
Overcoming barriers to medical use of microrockets and micromotors
April 11, 2013 2:13 am | News | CommentsAn advance in micromotor technology akin to the invention of cars that fuel themselves from the pavement or air, rather than gasoline or batteries, is opening the door to broad new medical and industrial uses for these tiny devices, scientists said here today. Their update on development of the motors—so small that thousands would fit inside this "o"—was part of the American Chemical Society national meeting.
Pratt & Whitney Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center opens at UConn
April 10, 2013 4:39 am | News | CommentsThe University of Connecticut and Pratt & Whitney this week celebrated the opening of a new Pratt & Whitney Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center at UConn, one of the most advanced additive manufacturing laboratories in the nation. Located on UConn’s Depot Campus in Storrs, the center features the latest in 3D manufacturing equipment and rapid prototyping technologies.
Robot hot among surgeons but US taking fresh look
April 9, 2013 2:02 pm | by LINDSEY TANNER - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe biggest thing in operating rooms these days is a million-dollar, multi-armed robot named da Vinci, used in nearly 400,000 surgeries in America last year—triple the number just four years earlier. But now the high-tech helper is under scrutiny over reports of problems, including several deaths that may be linked with it, and the high cost of using the robotic system.
Camera system creates high-resolution 3D images from up to a kilometer away
April 4, 2013 12:35 pm | News | CommentsA standard camera takes flat, 2D pictures. To get 3D information, such as the distance to a far-away object, scientists can bounce a laser beam off the object and measure how long it takes the light to travel back to a detector. The technique, called time-of-flight (ToF) has a relatively short range and struggles to image objects that do not reflect laser light well. A team of Scotland-based physicists has recently tackled these limitations.
