Although micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) could be very useful in search and rescue, exploration and environmental monitoring missions, due to their small size they still lack maneuverability. Johns Hopkins University (JHU) engineers are using high-speed video cameras to figure out how butterflies manage to fly with amazing grace and agility in order to improve maneuvering ... »
Since almost all of the body’s own regeneration mechanisms in the heart have become deactivated, a heart attack or other heart damage is serious for patients since the dead cardiac cells are irretrievably lost and scar tissue grows in place of the damaged muscle cells. Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad ... »
Arizona State University researchers are using their automation, sensors, biotechnology, and systems expertise to develop Sensorbots – spherical robots equipped with biogeochemical sensors that are affordable enough to be deployed by the hundreds. Sensorbots will be used to monitor the ocean in the National Science Foundation’s Ocean Observatories Initiative named Regional Scale Nodes (RSN) project. ... »
In order to check their glucose levels, diabetics usually have to draw blood. In order to eliminate the need for this invasive way of glucose level control, engineers at Brown University have designed a biological device that can measure glucose concentrations in human saliva. The technique takes advantage of a convergence of nanotechnology and surface ... »
There are numerous examples in nature where ‘active touch’ plays a primary role in how an animal finds its way around and how it behaves. Inspired by the Etruscan shrew, one of the world’s tiniest mammals, researchers at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) developed Shrewbot – the newest generation of a robots that use sophisticated ... »
All-terrain robots for search-and-rescue missions must be flexible enough to move over uneven surfaces, and be able to squeeze themselves into tight spaces. Many engineers and researchers have been inspired by nature’s way to solve this problem and the develop snake like robots that could be up to the challenge. Georgia Tech researchers have designed ... »
The New Monte Rosa Hut represents one of the best uses of green architectural principles in harsh conditions of Monte Rosa in south Switzerland. The project proves that sustainable construction can be achieved in any setting, since it is nearly self-sufficient while being isolated, and it was built to withstand extreme climatic conditions. New Monte ... »
