Collaborate Disseminate
We’ve been following the exploits of Harvard’s tiny Robobee for a few years now, from its first controlled flight, then learning to swim and perch, and rising out of the water with style. Until recently, it’s been powered via a wire tether, b… Continue reading Solar-powered Robobee flies without a tether
While we’ve already seen that large-scale wind turbine blades which are shaped like humpback whale fins can be more efficient, what works for big turbines doesn’t necessarily work for little ones. In fact, a new study suggests that for small-… Continue reading Seagull-inspired blades could give small-scale wind turbines a power boost
We’ve already heard about water-repellant materials that copy the structure of the lotus leaf. Now, however, scientists have created a flexible optical plastic that wards off liquids even better, and it was inspired by something else – the hu… Continue reading Mushroom-inspired material gives liquids the slip
For years now, scientists have marvelled at the insulating qualities of polar bear fur, suggesting that it could inspire manmade heat-retaining materials. Well, Chinese researchers have now developed just such a substance, which reportedly ou… Continue reading Polar bear fur-inspired insulation is even better than the real thing
“Solar steaming” is an eco-friendly form of water purification in which sunlight is used to heat tainted water, turning it to steam which condenses back into liquid. That clean liquid is then collected as drinking water. A new system offers i… Continue reading Rosy tech offers better, cheaper water purification
Because sloths move very slowly – when they move at all – they burn relatively few calories, thus requiring little food. Scientists have now applied that principle to a sluggish but energy-efficient robot, known appropriately enough as the Sl… Continue reading Sloth-inspired robot saves power by taking things slow
We have heard bipedal walking referred to as a series of controlled falls, or one continuous fall where we repeatedly catch ourselves, and it is a long way to fall at 9.8m/s2. Some of us are more graceful than others, but most grade-schoolers have gained superior proficiency in comparison to our most advanced bipedal robots. Legs involve all kinds of tricky joints which bend and twist and don’t get us started on knees. Folks at the Keio University and the University of Tokyo steered toward a robot which does not ride on wheels, treads, walk or tumble. The …read more
In a recent paper in Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, researchers at Florida Atlantic University describe the process of building and testing five free-swimming soft robotic jellyfish. The paper contains build details and data on how three different variables – tentacle stiffness, stroke frequency, and stroke amplitude – affect the swimming characteristics of each bot. For a more in-depth build log, we found the original masters thesis by Jennifer Frame to be very thorough, including processes, schematics, parts lists, and even some Arduino code.
Though a landlubber may say the robots look more like a stumpy octopus than a jellyfish, according …read more
Continue reading Soft Robotic Jellyfish Get Pumped in the Atlantic
Modeling machines off of biological patterns is the dry definition of biomimicry. For most people, this means the structure of robots and how they move, but Christine Sunu makes the argument that we should be thinking a lot more about how biomimicry has the power to make us feel something. Her talk at the 2017 Hackaday Superconference looks at what makes robots more than cold metal automatons. There is great power in designing to complement natural emotional reactions in humans — to make machines that feel alive.
We live in a world that is being filled with robots and increasingly …read more
Continue reading Christine Sunu Proves the Effect of Being Alive on Hardware Design
“Human relationships can be hard to define.” Continue reading I Talked to Four Humanoid Robots and They’re Mostly Dumb as Doornails