Tag: engineering

MilliDelta robot surgeon is the size of a one cent coin

Another tiny robot is gearing up to join the ranks of microsurgeons , but this one is small enough to fit in your coin purse. Inspired by pop-up books and origami, the milliDelta bot measures mere millimetres when unfolded (roughly the size of a one cent coin). But, even at that scale, the miniature helper packs flexible joints and bending, piezoelectric actuators that allow it to work with force, precision, and high speed. Its creators (from Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) claim it can perform a range of microsurgery and manufacturing tasks in compact spaces. Unlike existing Delta robots, which scientists have been shrinking down for workspace use for years, the new bot is a swift operator. “Currently available Delta robots are only able to operate at a few hertz, ” said Hayley McClintock, a Harvard researcher who helped design the device. “So for our robot to be able to draw circles at frequencies up to 75 Hz is quite impressive.” Scientists developed the new bot using a technique known as pop-up microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), allowing them to create a complex structure from flat pieces of materials. The same approach was used to create the flying RoboBee . Next up for the milliDelta bot, the researchers plan to refine its specs in order to pin down its final design and add power and control electronics. Source: ScienceRobotics

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MilliDelta robot surgeon is the size of a one cent coin

Mars 2020 rover will observe the red planet with 23 eyes

The Mars 2020 rover will be able to show us more of the red planet than any of its predecessors ever did. NASA says the extraterrestrial vehicle will be equipped with 23 cameras , six more than Curiosity’s and all a lot more capable. Seven of those “eyes” are tasked with collecting data for scientific experiments, nine are engineering cameras that will keep an eye on its surroundings for navigation and the last seven will capture the rover’s descent and landing. Its main camera, however, is Mastcam-Z — an upgraded version of Curiosity’s Mastcam with a 3:1 zoom (hence, “Z”) lens the original didn’t have. Mastcam-Z will have the capability to take more 3D images than the first Mastcam and will give NASA scientists more info on the planet’s geological features. Meanwhile, the engineering/navigation cameras will be able to capture high-resolution, 20-megapixel colored images for the first time. Previous Navcams were only able to take one-megapixel black-and-white photos, so they have to capture several and stitch them together to be able to get a clear view of the surroundings. Since these new cameras have a wider field of view as well, they don’t have to waste time and processing power stitching photos together. The rover can spend that time collecting more samples and snapping more pictures instead. All those cameras will help the Mars 2020 rover achieve its goal to search for signs of past life on the red planet. Earlier this year, the agency picked three potential sites to drill, all of which have elements that could have supported life. Source: NASA

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Mars 2020 rover will observe the red planet with 23 eyes

Synthetic muscle breakthrough could lead to ‘lifelike’ robots

A breakthrough in soft robotics means scientists are now one step closer to creating lifelike machines. Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a 3D printed synthetic tissue that can act as active muscle. The material, which can push, pull, bend, and twist (thanks to its use of silicon rubber and ethanol-dispensing micro-bubbles) is also capable of carrying 1, 000 times its own weight. Not only could the invention result in super-strong machines (like a Terminator that works in manufacturing ), but it will also release soft robots from their current shackles. You see, synthetic muscle tech is presently reliant on tethered external compressors or high voltage equipment. But, robots fitted with this new tissue could theoretically be freed up to move around like humans, enabling them to better grip and pick up objects. Which is a big deal, because the plan is to eventually get these bots to help with non-invasive surgeries and to care for the elderly — among other tasks. The researchers are touting the material as the first synthetic muscle that can withstand both high-actuation stress and high strain. “We’ve been making great strides toward making robots minds, but robot bodies are still primitive, ” said lead scientist Hod Lipson. “This is a big piece of the puzzle and, like biology, the new actuator can be shaped and reshaped a thousand ways. We’ve overcome one of the final barriers to making lifelike robots.” After 3D printing it into the desired shape, the team electrically actuated the artificial muscle using a thin resistive wire and low-power (8V). They then tested it in a variety of robotic applications, where it demonstrated significant expansion-contraction ability. The researchers claim the synthetic tissue is also capable of expanding up to 900 percent when electrically heated to 80°C. Building on their initial findings, the team plans to incorporate conductive materials to replace the need for the connecting wire. Further down the line, they intend to combine it with artificial intelligence that can learn to control the muscle, resulting in (they hope) “natural” movement. Source: Columbia Engineering

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Synthetic muscle breakthrough could lead to ‘lifelike’ robots

Researchers create temperature sensor that runs on almost no power

Researchers at UC San Diego have developed a temperature sensor that runs on tiny amounts of power — just 113 picowatts, around 10 billion times less power than a watt. The sensor was described in a study recently published in Scientific Reports . “We’re building systems that have such low power requirements that they could potentially run for years on just a tiny battery, ” Hui Wang, an author of the study, said in a statement . The team created the device by reducing power in two areas. The first was the current source. To do that, they made use of a phenomenon that many researchers in their field are actually trying to get rid of. Transistors often have a gate with which they can stop the flow of electrons in a circuit, but transistors keep getting tinier and tinier. The smaller they get , the thinner the gate material becomes and electrons start to leak through it — a problem called “gate leakage.” Here, the leaked electrons are what’s powering the sensor. “Many researchers are trying to get rid of leakage current, but we are exploiting it to build an ultra-low power current source, ” said Hui. The researchers also reduced power in the way the sensor converts temperature to a digital readout. The result is a temperature sensor that uses 628 times less power than the current state-of-the-art sensors. The near-zero-power sensor has a temperature range of -4 to 104 degrees fahrenheit and could potentially be used in wearables and both environmental and home monitoring systems. One power tradeoff is that it gives readouts slightly slower than currently used sensors, at around one temperature read per second. But the researchers said that shouldn’t be a problem when giving reads on things like the human body where temperatures don’t change too quickly. They’re now working on optimizing the design and improving its accuracy. [Image: UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering] Via: UCSD Source: Scientific Reports

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Researchers create temperature sensor that runs on almost no power

Tiny liquid battery cools chips while powering them

Scientists from IBM and ETH Zurich university have built a tiny “flow” battery that has the dual benefit of supplying power to chips and cooling them at the same time. Even taking pumping into account, it produces enough energy to power a chip while dissipating much more heat than it generates. The result could be smaller, more efficient chips, solar cells that store their own energy or devices used for remote monitoring that don’t require external power sources. “Redox flow” batteries that use liquid electrolytes are normally used on a large scale to store energy. For instance, Harvard Researchers recently created one that can last over ten years with very little degradation, making it ideal to store solar or wind energy. Building them on a scale tiny enough for chips is another matter, however. The team from ETH Zurich and IBM managed to find two liquids that are suitable both as flow-battery electrolytes and cooling agents that can dissipate heat from chips in the same circuit. “We are the first scientists to build such a small flow battery so as to combine energy supply and cooling, ” says doctoral student Julian Marschewski. Using 3D printing, the team developed a wedge-shaped micro-channel system that supplies the system with electrolytes using very little pumping power. The resulting electrodes press liquid into the membrane layer where ions can flow, generating power. The result is a system that generates 1.4 watts per square centimeter, with 1 watt left over to power the battery after taking pumping into account. Moreover, it gets rid of a lot more heat than it makes, pulling off the neat trick of powering and cooling chips at the same time. The battery needs to generate more electricity than it does right now, so the idea now needs to shift from the research into the engineering stages. However, the team thinks that it has a lot of potential for not just chips, but also lasers that require internal cooling, solar cells that store electricity directly in the battery cell and even large flow batteries optimized with liquid cooling channels. Source: Eth Zurich

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Tiny liquid battery cools chips while powering them

HP’s tiny Xeon-powered PC puts the Mac Mini to shame

HP has unveiled the Z2 Mini , a mini PC that packs workstation-class parts, including an Intel Xeon CPU, NVIDIA Quadro mobile M620 graphics and M.2 SSD tech. By using powerful notebook-sized parts, it squeezed that power into a 2.3-inch-high case that’s “90 percent smaller than a traditional business-class tower, ” HP wrote. In its top configuration, the device is twice as powerful as any mini PC on the market, letting it run up to six displays in a stock configuration. The Z2 Mini is 63 percent quieter than HP’s business-class mini PCs, thanks to a custom cooling system. The PC maker hyperbolically describes the engineering, saying “the octagon form of the Z2 Mini is the most uniquely designed workstation in HP’s 35 years of workstation history.” HP is targeting CAD, design, graphics and 3D users, though it could make a decent gaming rig in some configurations. Spec-wise, it comes with up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM and an HP Z Turbo Drive , with M.2 SSD read speeds over 1GB/s and a capacity up to 1.5TB. You can get one with an Intel Core i7, i5, or i3 CPU, or pay more (presumably a lot more) for Intel’s Xeon E3-1200v5 family, normally used in workstations and servers. Another option is NVIDIA’s mobile M620 Quadro GPU with 2GB of VRAM, also geared toward workstations and officially approved for pro apps like Autocad and 3DS max. However, it doesn’t meet NVIDIA’s “VR Ready” criteria, so it’s not certified with the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, and would probably allow middling gaming performance, at best. The Z2 Mini is missing a few other features, too. While USB-C is available, it doesn’t have a Thunderbolt 3 port, limiting drive options for video editors. And while it has three DisplayPort slots, it lacks an HDMI port (though USB-C can be adapted for that purpose). As for the price, the compact PC starts at $699, which probably gets you an Intel Core i3 configuration without discreet graphics. Intel hasn’t said how much a stouter setup will cost, but it probably runs over double that with workstation components. If you’re in the market for a small, powerful PC and are tired of waiting for the next Mac Mini, however, it may be your best option. HP said it should arrive to market in December — hopefully we’ll get a better look at it before then. Source: HP

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HP’s tiny Xeon-powered PC puts the Mac Mini to shame

The people who reportedly never sleep. Ever.

Vietnamese gentleman Thái Ngọc claims that ever since he suffered a terrible fever in 1973, he hasn’t slept a wink. There’s also Ines Fernandez who says she’s been awake for decades. Of course, these curious individuals and others with similar stories may actually be suffering from a very strange sleep disorder called sleep state misperception (SSM) in which the individuals think they were up all night but actually slept just fine. At Mysterious Universe, Martin J. Clemens looks at SSM and the very scary rare disease called Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI), presented as total insomnia that can last the rest of the person’s life, which is usually only 18 months or so after the onset of symptoms. From Mysterious Universe : FFI is a neurological condition caused by a misfolded protein in the DNA of the afflicted, of which there have been only about 100 cases. That protein, called a prion protein, is known as PrPSc (PrPC in non-FFI subjects). Essentially, the prion form of the protein causes a change in certain amino acids – due to the protein strand folding incorrectly – which, when combined with other genetic markers, then affects the brain’s sleep centers. FFI is genetic, and therefore hereditary, but there is an even rarer form known as Sporadic Fatal Insomnia (sFI) that occurs spontaneously, the cause of which is not understood. You may wish to know that PrPSc is the same protein that’s responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as Mad Cow Disease. ” The Woman Who Stayed Awake for 30 Years…Or Did She? ”

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The people who reportedly never sleep. Ever.

Christmas Lights Might Slow Down Your Wi-Fi

Did your Netflix stream grind to a halt as your loved one set up the Christmas decorations? According to British telecoms watchdog Ofcom, it could be the fairy lights that slow down your Wi-Fi network at this time of year. Read more…

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Christmas Lights Might Slow Down Your Wi-Fi

Huawei’s Researhers Can Charge a 3,000mAh Battery to 48% in 5 Minutes

Battery life is one of the biggest headaches in tech—but while capacity remains a problem, manufacturers are at least making big improvements to charge times. Like Huawei, whose new experimental set-up can take a dead battery to 48 percent change in about five minutes. Read more…

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Huawei’s Researhers Can Charge a 3,000mAh Battery to 48% in 5 Minutes