Engineering news
Flight of fancy: MIT autonomous mini-helicopter solves one tough challenge
Dec 03, 2009 |
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In its first 18 years, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s annual aerial-robotics competition posed four successive challenges, which robotics researchers had to meet using entirely ...
Shape shifters: Researchers create new breed of antennas
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Antennas aren't just for listening to the radio anymore. They're used in everything from cell phones to GPS devices. Research from North Carolina State University is revolutionizing the field ...
Motorized knee can make you run faster
Dec 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the Tsukuba University in Japan have come up with a motorized knee you can attach to your leg to make you run faster and use less muscle power.
Smarter cars are gaining traction (w/ Video)
Dec 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Lives can depend on a vehicle's moment-by-moment traction. New European technology promises to make cars as good as experienced, alert drivers at sensing and adjusting to wet, snowy or icy ...
Modern tests demonstrate soundness of old iron bridge
Dec 21, 2009 |
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An unusual bowstring truss iron bridge that carried traffic across Roaring Run in Bedford County, Va. for almost 100 years is now a picturesque footbridge at the I-81 Ironto, Va. rest stop. Built in 1878, ...
China Building 30-Mile Bridge Connecting Hong Kong to Guangdong Province
Dec 18, 2009 |
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China Daily reports the commencement of the 30-mile Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the longest sea bridge under construction world-wide. The six-lane expressway will cut travel time from three-hours to around ...
Biking 2.0: MIT's big wheel in Copenhagen (w/ Video)
Dec 16, 2009 |
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Yesterday, Dec. 15, at the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change, MIT researchers debuted the Copenhagen Wheel -- a revolutionary new bicycle wheel that not only boosts power, but can keep track of friends, ...
Scientists study hummingbirds flight to develop self-propelled surveillance devices
Dec 16, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (5) |
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The secret to the flight of the hummingbird and other tiny birds and insects lies in the looping, swirling flow of air, called a vortex, that their flapping wings create.
Micromachined piezoelectric harvester drives fully autonomous wireless sensor
Dec 15, 2009 |
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For the first time, a piezoelectric harvesting device fabricated by MEMS technology generates a record of 85μW electrical power from vibrations. A wafer level packaging method was developed for robustness. ...
Virtual testing gives lightweight planes lift-off
Dec 14, 2009 |
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Monash University aeronautical engineers are working with the world's leading aerospace company to fast-track the design and construction of a new generation of super lightweight and efficient passenger airplanes.
Microscopic gyroscopes, the key for motion sensing
Dec 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Tiny devices made possible by combining the latest advances in mechanical and electronics technology could be at the heart of next-generation personal navigation and vehicle stabilisation ...
New laser -- it's a gas, gas, gas... sensor
Dec 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new generation of optical sensors is enabling the development of robust, long-lasting, lighting-fast trace gas detectors for use in a wide range of industrial, security and domestic applications.
Electromagnetic fields as cutting tools
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The bodywork on motor vehicles must be sufficiently stable, but processing the high-strength steels involved -- for example punching holes in them -- can prove something of a challenge. A new steel-cutting ...
Dutch PhD student develops device to combat noise
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Johan Wesselink of the University of Twente, The Netherlands, has developed a device to actively combat noise nuisance. This invention curtails sound waves and vibrations by producing anti-noise. The researcher is confident ...
Pickin' Up Good Vibrations to Produce Green Electricity
Nov 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Vibrations from the environments we live and work in could be much more widely harnessed as a clean source of electricity, due to cutting-edge UK research.
