Teaching Robots to Recover After Losing Their Position
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...
Like an Arcade Game—But on the Battlefield
As unmanned aircraft become central to modern combat, another challenge is emerging: what happens after a drone goes down. Crashed systems can contain sensitive...
3D-Printed Titanium From Scrap Takes to the Skies
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...
Inspired by Flies, This Robot Eye Sees 180 Degrees
Small drones and mobile robots increasingly operate in tight, cluttered environments where awareness must be both wide and fast. Conventional camera systems can capture...
No Longer Just on TV: A Robotic Hand That Expands Access...
One of the persistent limitations of robotic manipulation is reach. Even highly dexterous robotic arms are constrained by their fixed mounting points, forcing complex...
The Hypersonic Vehicle Built Almost Entirely by Printer
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...
This Metal Can Let Aircraft Wings Change Shape in Mid-Flight
Aircraft designers have long pursued wings that can adapt to changing flight conditions. Fixed surfaces are always a compromise: a wing shape optimized for...
One Pull, Full Structure: A New Way to Deploy in the...
Rapid deployment is a recurring challenge in emergency response and field operations. Whether setting up medical facilities after a natural disaster or assembling equipment...
How Grasshopper Wings Might Shape the Next Generation of Silent Drones
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...
When Robots Start Listening, Missions Get Safer
Robots have long struggled outside carefully controlled environments. While factory automation excels at repetitive, predefined tasks, even small changes in lighting, object position, or...
Forget Contractors: These Drones Are Built by Airmen Themselves
Modern air forces are under growing pressure to adapt quickly to a battlefield where unmanned systems evolve faster than traditional procurement cycles. Commercial drones...
A New Motor Test Pushes Battlefield Propulsion Ahead
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...
The Robot That Turns Orders Into Objects
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...
The Hybrid Rover That Drifts Like a Weed and Navigates Like...
Robots designed for ground exploration often struggle with two conflicting demands: they need to travel long distances efficiently, yet also maneuver through cluttered or...
A New Kind of Jet Could Change Air Superiority
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...
Mobile 3D Printing Platform Brings On-Demand Manufacturing to the Field
Supplying troops or rescue teams with the exact parts they need, exactly when they need them, has long been a logistical challenge. Damaged components,...
Smarter Mapping for Search-and-Rescue Robots
Researchers have developed a new approach to robotic mapping that could help autonomous systems operate in unstable or cluttered environments, such as collapsed buildings...
The Hidden Trail Behind 3D-Printed Weapons
3D printing is often celebrated for its ability to produce toys, tools, and prototypes quickly, but the technology can also be exploited for illegal...
A New Twist on Crash Protection: 3D-Printed Metal That Adapts on...
A new 3D-printed metal material designed to twist on impact could pave the way for next-generation crash protection in vehicles and aircraft. The innovation,...
3D-Printed Antennas Bend Without Breaking the Signal
A new type of 3D-printed antenna could transform how vehicles, drones, and wearable devices maintain wireless communication while in motion. Developed by researchers at...
Magnetic Origami Bots Take a Step Toward Smart Medicine
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new type of magnetic actuator that is thinner, more flexible, and more efficient than previous...
Print Smarter, Not Harder: Open-Source Multi-Material 3D Printing
A new open-source software package is opening up advanced multi-material 3D printing to a wider range of users. Developed by researchers at the University...
Latest
A New Flight Simulation System Models the Chaos of Wildfires
Training helicopter pilots for wildfire missions is particularly difficult because the environment itself is constantly changing. Smoke, shifting winds, rising heat, and the interaction...
