3D printing

Soft robots are often seen as a promising solution for operating in delicate or constrained environments, but they come with a key limitation: movement....

The rise of 3D-printed firearms has created a growing challenge for law enforcement. Blueprints for these weapons are widely available online, and with a...

Operating drones on the battlefield often requires soldiers to expose themselves outside armored vehicles, even in high-risk environments. While drones provide critical situational awareness,...

Robotic systems designed for remote or extreme environments face a consistent limitation: power. Movement alone can consume a significant portion of a robot’s energy,...

Small tactical drones have become essential tools on the modern battlefield, but they often come with trade-offs. Many systems are either too expensive to...

For mobile robots operating in the real world, knowing their exact position is not optional. Autonomous navigation depends on continuous, accurate localization. Yet satellite-based...

As unmanned aircraft become central to modern combat, another challenge is emerging: what happens after a drone goes down. Crashed systems can contain sensitive...

Aerospace manufacturers rely heavily on titanium for critical components, thanks to its strength-to-weight ratio and resistance to corrosion. However, aerospace-grade titanium is expensive, energy-intensive...

Small drones and mobile robots increasingly operate in tight, cluttered environments where awareness must be both wide and fast. Conventional camera systems can capture...

One of the persistent limitations of robotic manipulation is reach. Even highly dexterous robotic arms are constrained by their fixed mounting points, forcing complex...

Developing vehicles that can travel at hypersonic speeds—Mach 5 and above—poses extreme engineering challenges. At such velocities, airframes are subjected to intense vibration, aerodynamic...

Aircraft designers have long pursued wings that can adapt to changing flight conditions. Fixed surfaces are always a compromise: a wing shape optimized for...

Rapid deployment is a recurring challenge in emergency response and field operations. Whether setting up medical facilities after a natural disaster or assembling equipment...

Small flying robots face a persistent tradeoff between endurance and complexity. Flapping-wing designs can generate thrust but consume energy quickly, while fixed-wing platforms struggle...

Robots have long struggled outside carefully controlled environments. While factory automation excels at repetitive, predefined tasks, even small changes in lighting, object position, or...

Modern air forces are under growing pressure to adapt quickly to a battlefield where unmanned systems evolve faster than traditional procurement cycles. Commercial drones...

Solid rocket motors remain essential for missiles, target vehicles, and space-launch systems, but their development cycles are often long, expensive, and constrained by legacy...

Robotic fabrication has traditionally required specialized skills, detailed digital designs, and lengthy production times. In most environments—industrial, commercial, or operational—this limits how quickly custom...

Robots designed for ground exploration often struggle with two conflicting demands: they need to travel long distances efficiently, yet also maneuver through cluttered or...

Building an aircraft that can fly several times faster than sound has always been one of aviation’s hardest engineering challenges. At hypersonic speeds, temperatures...

Supplying troops or rescue teams with the exact parts they need, exactly when they need them, has long been a logistical challenge. Damaged components,...

Researchers have developed a new approach to robotic mapping that could help autonomous systems operate in unstable or cluttered environments, such as collapsed buildings...