Author: Dan Newman
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$3.1M to transform post-stroke mobility treatment
A new tool to measure essential properties of the ankle joint—and an exploration of whether botulinum toxin injections are helpful—could help survivors walk better.
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How evolution overshot the optimum bone structure in hopping rodents
Bones that are separate in small jerboas are fully fused in large ones, but the bone structures that are best at dissipating the stresses of jumping are only partially fused.
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Exoskeletons with personalize-your-own settings
Users who could adjust the timing, torque of an ankle exoskeleton typically found comfortable settings in under two minutes.
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U-M, Humotech partner to bring open-source bionic leg to research labs
The partnership will expand the capabilities of other labs, and enable them to conduct high-impact research.
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U-M founds first robotics department among top 10 engineering schools
The new department will meet demand from industry and students—and define the emerging discipline
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$1.7M to build everyday exoskeletons to assist with lifting, walking and climbing stairs
The modular exoskeleton system will help workers and the elderly, boosting ankle, knee and/or hip joints by mounting new motors to off-the-shelf orthotics.
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Faster path planning for rubble-roving robots
Splitting the path into difficult and easy terrain speeds up path planning for robots that use “hands” to maintain balance on uneven ground.
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Helping robots learn what they can and can’t do in new situations
What should a robot do when it cannot trust the model it was trained on?
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Open-source bionic leg: First-of-its-kind platform aims to rapidly advance prosthetics
‘This represents the future of research—rapid prototyping of open source robotic hardware and embedded systems with shared code.’
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Harvesting clean hydrogen fuel through artificial photosynthesis
New device doubles previous efficiency, opens path to commercial viability.
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Organic solar cells reach record efficiency, benchmark for commercialization
The multi-layered organic solar cells will be able to curve in clothing or be transparently built into windows.