IEEE Spectrum September 11, 2018 Insects are quite good at not running into things, and just as good at running into things and surviving, but targeted, accurate precision flight is much more difficult for them. Reliable and not taking much to execute is one way to summarize the focus of the next generation of practical robotics. Researchers at the University of Maryland has developed a system that allows a drone to fly through very small and completely unknown gaps using a single camera and onboard processing. The drone has no information about the location or size of the gap in […]
Tag Archives: Biomimetics
Researchers invent tiny, resealable packets to deliver materials on cue
Phys.org May 10, 2018 Tiny capsules deliver signaling molecules from place to place in the body. Using this concept, a team of researchers in the US (UMass Amherst, University of Chicago) designed a hollow synthetic packet made of a double layer of two polymers: The outer rind is water-soluble, while the inner layer is a glassy material that forms a rigid wall. The two polymers are linked by a single molecule that responds to light by changing its shape. When you shine light on the packet, the linking molecules change shape, softening the glassy material that sits below and allowing […]
Honeybees may unlock the secrets of how the human brain works
Science Daily March 27, 2018 An international team of researchers (UK, Italy) studied a theoretical model of how honeybees decide where to build their nest and viewed the bee colony as a single superorganism which displays a coordinated response to external stimuli — similar to the human brain. Such behavior, suggests that these laws arise from fundamental mechanisms of information processing and decision-making. Studying superorganisms such as bee colonies is much simpler than watching brain neurons in action when a decision is being made…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Microengineered slippery rough surface for water harvesting in air
Nanowerk March 30, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (Pennsylvania State University, UT Dallas) developed a pitcher plant-inspired slippery surface with hydrophilic chemistry. They added the directional grooves and gave the new surface a microscale roughness that increased the surface area. The rate of water and fog harvesting are directly proportional to the amount of surface area on which droplets can form. The rice leaves-inspired grooves whisk the water droplets away through capillary action or gravity. If the slippery rough surface (SRS) material is produced at scale, they estimate that over 120 liters of water can be collected […]
Generating energy from fluctuations of light
Phys.org March 27, 2018 Researchers in Sweden have developed a method and a material that generates an electrical impulse when the light fluctuates from sunshine to shade and vice versa. They created a tiny optical generator by combining the small antennas consisting gold nanodiscs placed on a substrate and coated with a polymeric film to create the pyroelectric properties. The antennas generate heat that is then converted to electricity with the aid of the polymer. The degree of polarisation of the polymer affects the magnitude of the generated power, while the thickness not to have any effect at all. Applications […]
Inspired by insects: New anti-collision technology could help create safer driverless cars
Eurekalert March 15, 2018 An international team of researchers (UK, Germany, China, Japan, Malaysia, South America) is working on a EU sponsored project called ULTRACEPT (Ultra-layered perception) with brain-inspired information processing for vehicle collision avoidance. It was inspired by the rapid reactions of insects, incorporating near-range collision detection technology, long-range hazard perception, and thermal-based collision detection tools. This will ensure that it works day and night and can quickly adapt to unexpected hazards and different conditions – for example sudden weather changes or driving in and out of tunnels… read more.