Skyrmions are ultra-stable atomic objects first discovered in real materials in 2009, which have more recently also been found also to exist at room temperatures. These unique objects have a number of desirable properties, including a substantially small threshold...
TECHXPLORE
An optically driven digital metasurface to bridge visible light and microwave communications
Coding, digital, and programmable metasurfaces are engineered surfaces that can be used to manipulate electromagnetic waves, first introduced by Prof. Tie … s colleagues in 2014. Due to their many advantageous characteristics, these artificial structures have recently...
OmniTact: A compact and high-resolution tactile sensor for robotics applications
In recent years, researchers worldwide have been trying to develop sensors that could replicate humans' sense of touch in robots and enhance their manipulation skills. While some of these sensors achieved remarkable results, most existing solutions have small...
An indoor MAV pose estimation system that leverages existing Wi-Fi infrastructure
Micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) could have numerous useful applications, for instance, assisting humans in completing warehouse inventories or search and rescue missions. While many companies worldwide have already started producing and using MAVs, some of these flying...
A framework for adaptive task allocation during multi-robot missions
In recent years, robots have become increasingly sophisticated, hence they are now able to complete a wide variety of tasks. While some robots are designed to work individually, for instance providing basic assistance in people's homes, others might be more efficient...
Neuromorphic controllers to enhance control during landing in micro air vehicles
Flying insects are able to navigate their environments efficiently, processing visual stimuli to avoid obstacles and land safely on a variety of surfaces. Over the past decade or so, research teams worldwide have been trying to replicate these capabilities in...
A human-like planner that allows robots to reach for objects in cluttered environments
While research in the field of robotics has led to significant advances over the past few years, there are still substantial differences in how humans and robots handle objects. In fact, even the most sophisticated robots developed so far struggle to match the object...
A strategy to achieve ultrahigh power and energy density in lithium-ion batteries
In recent years, lithium-based batteries have become widely used to power a wide range of electronic devices, including tablets, smart phones and portable computers. These batteries have different compartments, called cells, each of which contains a positive electrode...
A cyclic phosphate-based electrolyte for safe and high voltage lithium-ion batteries
In light of the ongoing shift toward renewable energy technologies and the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, researchers worldwide have been trying to develop batteries that can operate more efficiently and for longer periods of time. Lithium-ion...
A stretchable, compressible sensor for wearable electronics and soft robots
Recent technological advances have enabled the development of increasingly sophisticated electronics. Some of these new tools, particularly wearable devices and soft robots, require or can greatly benefit from flexible electronic components, including sensors,...