Professor Emanuel “Ely” Sachs, inventor of binder jetting and co-founder of Desktop Metal, was awarded the 2019 SME Industry Achievement Award, announced during RAPID + TCT 2019 in Detroit. “SME’s Additive Manufacturing Community established the Industry Achievement Award more than a decade ago to recognize leaders who have made a significant impact in additive manufacturing,” […]
MIT glove with tactile sensors builds map that could help train robot manipulation
The STAG or scalable tactile glove out of MIT helps build a tactile map that can be used to train a neural network to improve object recognition, grasping, and manipulation by robots and prostheses.
Origami-Inspired Materials Could Soften the Blow for Reusable Spacecraft
Space vehicles like SpaceX’s Falcon 9 are designed to be reusable. But this means that, like Olympic gymnasts hoping for a gold medal, they have to stick their landings. Landing is stressful on a rocket’s legs because they must handle the force from the impact with the landing pad. One way to combat this is…
Engineered Bacteria Could Be Missing Link in Energy Storage
One of the big issues with sustainable energy systems is how to store electricity that’s generated from wind, solar and waves. At present, no existing technology provides large-scale storage and energy retrieval for sustainable energy at a low financial and environmental cost. Engineered electroactive microbes could be part of the solution; these microbes are capable…
ETH Zurich researcher works to build human-machine trust, one robotic hug at a time
In the spirit of Ada Lovelace, one female researcher and entrepreneur is working to build a robot that provides positive human-machine interaction but does not replace the need for people.
Bringing human-like reasoning to autonomous vehicles
With aims of bringing more human-like reasoning to autonomous vehicles, MIT researchers have created a system that uses only simple maps and visual data to enable driverless cars to navigate routes in new, complex environments. Human drivers are exceptionally good at navigating roads they haven’t driven on before, using observation and simple tools. We simply…
Robots need the cloud for coordination, says AWS’s Barga, Robotics Summit keynoter
At the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston, AWS’s Roger Barga will deliver a keynote about the role of the cloud in future of robotics. He gives a preview of his discussion about emerging technologies, the challenges of analysis and coordination, and how RoboMaker can help robot developers.
Army-Funded Research Boosts Memory of AI Systems
A project of the U.S. Army has developed a new framework for deep neural networks that allows artificial intelligence systems to better learn new tasks while forgetting less of what they have learned in previous tasks. The North Carolina State University researchers, funded by the Army, have also demonstrated that using the framework to learn…
5 reasons for robotics engineers to attend the Robotics Summit & Expo
If you’re a robotics engineer, there is still time to register for next month’s Robotics Summit & Expo. The event in Boston will provide opportunities to learn from technology and business leaders about the development and use of commercial robots and intelligent systems.
Webinar: Designing for HP 3D Jet Fusion – 10 Tips You Need to Know
This webinar was presented live on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. Click below to watch it on demand. Join HP’s experts as they share great tips for designing for HP Jet Fusion 3D printers. Whether you are a student working on a 3D design for a capstone project, or an engineering professional looking to…
Making Custom Lenses Without Costly Molds
Traditional lens manufacturing methods have required the use of costly metal molds, thus preventing lens makers from being able to easily tool a variety of lens shapes and sizes. Researchers from Washington State University and Ohio State University are trying to overcome this limitation using a liquid mold that allows greater flexibility and customization. The…
Solution for Remotely Monitoring Oil Wells Wins MIT $100k
The winner of Wednesday’s MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition was a startup helping oil well owners remotely monitor and control the pumping of their wells, increasing production while reducing equipment failures and cutting methane emissions. Acoustic Wells, a team including two MIT postdocs, was awarded the grand prize after eight finalist teams pitched their projects to…
ASCENT unveils 2020 Autodesk Courseware roadmap
In conjunction with the Autodesk 2020 software releases, ASCENT Center for Technical Knowledge has released its fundamental guides for the core software titles: AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Inventor and Revit. As an Autodesk Authorized Publisher, ASCENT has also published their 2020 Courseware Roadmap that includes over 60 titles planned for release throughout 2019. “While our […]
MIT and U.S. Air Force Sign Agreement to Launch AI Accelerator
MIT and the U.S. Air Force have signed an agreement to launch a new program designed to make fundamental advances in artificial intelligence that could improve Air Force operations while also addressing broader societal needs. The effort, known as the MIT-Air Force AI Accelerator, will leverage the expertise and resources of MIT and the Air…
Stanford Doggo robot acrobatically traverses tough terrain
Stanford University students have created a quadruped robot to navigate difficult terrain, and they’ve made the designs and source code open-source.
3D-Printed Habitat Team Has Breakthrough in NASA Challenge
When the results of the third phase of NASA’s 3D-Printed Mars Habitat Challenge were revealed in Peoria, Illinois, in early May, Penn State fell just short of besting its friendly rival AI SpaceFactory. But in the process, the team engineered a breakthrough that moves forward 3D-printing construction research and pushes the team closer to the…
Students Touch Space with Microgravity Experiment
It took only 10 minutes and a ride aboard the Blue Origin New Shepard reusable rocket for 11 students in the Bruin Spacecraft Group to make history. At 6:32 a.m. on May 2, their experimental pump designed for use in zero-gravity environments, named “Blue Dawn,” completed its flight into a low-Earth orbit and freefall — thereby becoming…
Anki shutdown reinforces difficulties of robot toy market
The shock ripped through the industry, on almost every social media platform techies were bemoaning the loss of Anki. As a former robo-toy maker, I read the epitaph months earlier in the title of Lara Sorokanich’s Medium post, “Anki’s AI Robot Is a Delightful (and Expensive) Desk Toy.” When asked this week to comment, I…
Study: Glassy Menagerie of Particles in Beach Sands Near Hiroshima Is Fallout Debris
Mario Wannier, a career geologist with expertise in studying tiny marine life, was methodically sorting through particles in samples of beach sand from Japan’s Motoujina Peninsula when he spotted something unexpected: a number of tiny, glassy spheres and other unusual objects. Wannier, who is now retired, had been comparing biological debris in beach sands from…
Get ready for engineers who earn their degrees online
Teschler on Topic Leland Teschler • Executive Editor [email protected] On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler Long ago, the engineering magazine that employed me explored the idea of working with local universities on an educational program. Our concept involved instructing engineers on newly emerging technologies, but without requiring them to actually sit in a classroom. This was long…
Electronic Tongue Designed to Test Spicy Foods for Us
Those who have a high tolerance for spicy foods may be able to win their local chili-eating contest, but eating spicy foods wears out our taste buds. This can be a hurdle for people who make and sell spicy foods to individuals who want a little kick to their meal. Now, Washington State University has…
Better Microring Sensors for Optical Applications
Tweaking the design of microring sensors enhances their sensitivity without adding more implementation complexity. Optical sensing is one of the most important applications of light science. It plays crucial roles in astronomy, environmental science, industry and medical diagnoses. Despite the variety of schemes used for optical sensing, they all share the same principle: The quantity to…
Wall-climbing robot inspired by the soft body of a leech
An international team of researchers has developed a climbing robot inspired by land leeches. The soft, flexible robots could be useful for infrastructure inspection and search-and-rescue applications.
Beanie Babies, the Invention of CubeSat, and Student-Designed and Built Satellites
The democratization of space began 20 years ago with Beanie Babies – or, more accurately, the clear acrylic box that brought them home. These 4-inch (10-cm) cubes inspired space engineer Bob Twiggs to create CubeSat, the first satellite with a standard design. From 1957 when the first human-made satellite, Sputnik-1, was launched until 1999 when Twiggs proposed CubeSat, satellites came in…
No Ink Needed for These Graphene Artworks
When you read about electrifying art, “electrifying” isn’t usually a verb. But an artist working with a Rice University lab is in fact making artwork that can deliver a jolt. The Rice lab of chemist James Tour introduced laser-induced graphene (LIG) to the world in 2014, and now the researchers are making art with the…