[ad_1] The system’s “catalytic artificial micro-muscle” is made with a nickel-titanium (NiTi) shape-memory alloy (SMA), a wire that shrinks and expands with temperature changes. That wire is coated with platinum, and when the platinum interacts with RoBeetle’s methanol fuel, a combustion reaction generates heat. The temperature changes cause a tiny vent to slide back and […]
Category: biomimicry
New 3D printing technique could make shapeshifting robots more practical
[ad_1] It just got a little easier to create soft robots that adapt to the world around them. Rice University researchers have developed a 3D printing technique (they call it “4D”) for material that automatically changes to an alternate shape when subjected to an electric current, changes in temperature or simple stress. The team produced […]
Scientists create a cyborg eye that mimics the real thing
[ad_1] This isn’t just about cosmetic similarity. In some ways, it’s close and even superior to organic eyes. Its responsivity is nearly the same across the visible light spectrum, while its response and recovery times are faster. The nanowires are even denser than the photoreceptors in a real eye. It’ll be a long while before […]
Scientists can 3D print insect-like robots in minutes
[ad_1] It might soon be relatively trivial to make soft robots — at least, if you have a 3D printer handy. UC San Diego researchers have devised a way to 3D-print insect-like flexible robots cheaply, quickly and without using exotic equipment. The trick was to print “flexoskeletons,” or rigid materials 3D-printed on to flexible and […]
Drones can navigate like bats using four mics and a speaker
[ad_1] The drone currently has to be stationary to get a feel for its environment, but the scientists hope to use the technology mid-flight. The team will also look at situations where the drone might be restricted. If this system is available worldwide, it could lead to far-reaching improvements. Drones wouldn’t be quite so reliant […]
Bird-inspired wings could help small drones fly four times longer
[ad_1] Where the leading edges of aircraft wings are typically smooth and focused on keeping airflow glued to the wing as much as possible, the scientists’ design has s a sharp leading edge (much like that of small birds and insects) with a completely flat wing, separating the airflow. That lessens the peak aerodynamic efficiency, […]
Researchers create bone-inspired 3D-printed building materials
[ad_1] “Bone is a building,” says Purdue University professor Pablo Zavattieri. “It has these columns that carry most of the load and beams connecting the columns. We can learn from these materials to create more robust 3D-printed materials for buildings and other structures.” The researchers discovered that the “beams” in bones provide more stiffness and […]
Watch a herd of MIT’s Mini Cheetah robots frolic in the fall leaves
[ad_1] Really, this illustrates how the Mini Cheetah project is moving forward. Now that the bot is proven to work, MIT is building a fleet to lend out examples for research projects. Demos like this are a step toward improvements in robot locomotion and other scientific pursuits. Whatever creepiness you see here could lead to […]
Robot bees can crash into walls without taking damage
[ad_1] The trick was to improve the power density through refined materials. The actuators are made with dielectric elastomers that deform under an electric field and have good insulating properties. Their upgraded electrode conductivity helps them operate at the same 500Hz as the stiff actuators found on other bots this size. They’re easy to assemble […]
Algorithms help robot dogs trot more like real animals
[ad_1] Cameras and LiDAR are also present to help robots avoid collisions. This doesn’t require dramatic changes to the bots themselves, at least. The test units are Ghost Robotics designs augmented with sensors to test the new algorithms. The initial work has proven fruitful, but there’s a lot of work left before you could see […]