Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a robot gripper inspired by the childhood habit of unspooling measuring tape to see how far it will extend before bending. According to the researchers, the gripper would be a particularly good fit for agricultural applications, as its extremities are soft enough to grab fragile fruits and vegetables. The … [Read more...] about New robotic gripper based on measuring tape could be used for fruit picking
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Miniature rolling robot can take virtual biopsies from inside the body
Researchers at the Universities of Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh have developed a tiny magnetic robot that can take 3D scans from deep within the body, potentially revolutionising early cancer detection. According to the team, this is the first time high-resolution three-dimensional ultrasound images taken from a probe deep inside the gastrointestinal tract have been … [Read more...] about Miniature rolling robot can take virtual biopsies from inside the body
Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring
Inspired by the way in which a starfish flips itself over – shrinking one of its arms and using the others in a coordinated motion to right itself – a team of researchers from the University of Missouri’s College of Engineering and collaborators have created a starfish-shaped wearable device that tracks heart health in real time. When we move, it’s more difficult for … [Read more...] about Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring
Researchers develop new design and fabrication method to make lightsails for interstellar travel
In a potential step towards sending small spacecraft to visit other stars, researchers at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands have developed an ultra-thin, ultra-reflective membrane designed to ride a column of laser light to incredible speeds. Since its launch in 1977, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has … [Read more...] about Researchers develop new design and fabrication method to make lightsails for interstellar travel
New finding could improve supersonic vehicle design
An innovative new study into the air flow around high-speed shapes by researchers in the Department of Aerospace Engineering in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has revealed surprising turbulence. The findings could inform the design of future high-speed vehicles. At hypersonic speeds, complexities occur when the gases … [Read more...] about New finding could improve supersonic vehicle design