actuators

Most animals can quickly transition from walking to jumping to crawling to swimming if needed without reconfiguring or making major adjustments. Most robots cannot. But researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have created soft robots that…

Electrostatic actuators are simple and lightweight devices that emulate human muscles. However, their usage has primarily been restricted to moving small devices since they need high voltages to generate significant forces. Now, however, it…

Shape-memory metals, which can revert from one shape to a different one simply by being warmed or otherwise triggered, have been useful in a variety of applications, as actuators that can control the movement of various devices. Now, the…

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Inflatable soft actuators that can change shape with a simple increase in pressure can be powerful, lightweight, and flexible components for soft robotic systems. But there's a problem: These actuators always deform in the same way upon…

Every 30 seconds, a leg is amputated somewhere in the world due to diabetes. These patients often suffer from neuropathy, a loss of sensation in the lower extremities, and are therefore unable to detect damage resulting from an ill-fitting…