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Robotics
An army of microrobots can wipe out dental plaque
A swarm of microrobots, directed by magnets, can break apart and remove dental biofilm, or plaque, from a tooth, thanks to a partnership led by Dental Medicine’s Hyun (Michel) Koo and Engineering’s Edward Steager.
The Power of Penn at the Met
One year into the Power of Penn campaign, President Amy Gutmann hosted a panel discussion with three professors to usher in another year of inclusion, innovation, and impact on a local and global scale.
Penn Medicine surgeons perform world’s first robotic breast reconstruction
A team of surgeons from the Perelman School of Medicine are the first in the world to use a surgical robot to assist with a bilateral free flap breast reconstruction, allowing for a minimally invasive procedure that enhances recovery and eliminates narcotics.
Designing autonomous robots that change shape to adapt to challenging environments
Researchers at Penn’s ModLab have developed SMORES-EP, a robotic system capable of giving machines increasing autonomy. A recent paper details their work.
Making fossils move to build better robots
Aja Carter, a Ph.D. candidate in paleontology, builds robots based on fossilized animals that crawled out of the sea about 300 million years ago. She’s pioneering a new field that she calls paleo-bio-inspired robotics.
Teachers become students to become better teachers at GRASP Lab’s RET program
The Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program run by the GRASP Lab in the School of Engineering and Applied Science is part of a larger National Science Foundation effort to get students interested in science and engineering at an early age. This summer, one cohort of students worked with robots in the Rehabilitation Robotics Lab at the Perelman School of Medicine.
Mapping the ocean with marine robots
M. Ani Hsieh’s robotics lab investigates how to use ocean currents as a natural energy source for marine robots, which would enable widespread exploration.
Guinness recognizes Piccolissimo as world’s smallest self-powered flying robot
Created in professor Mark Yim’s ModLab, with graduate student Matt Piccoli, the world’s smallest flying robot can carry the weight of a small camera or sensor, with just two moving parts achieving directional control.
New GRASP project aims to leverage ‘embodied intelligence’ via a robotic squirrel
A team of engineers from Penn's GRASP lab has designed a mechanical squirrel with "embodied intelligence," capable of pulling off parkour feats using multi-sensory adaptation to interact with its surroundings.
ModLab’s ‘SMORES’ are expanding robot autonomy
A self-assembling modular robot for extreme shapeshifting (SMORES) is designed to experience environmental features and modify its movement and function in response, bringing a new level of autonomy to the world of robotics.
In the News
A sculptural foam installation demonstrates the promise of a new technology-focused degree at Penn
Graduate students in a new robotics and fabrication program at the Weitzman School of Design, under the guidance of Andrew Saunders, have installed a large-scale sculptural wall in the atrium of the Middletown, Pennsylvania, Free Library.
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These Philly profs working on VR education, deepfake spotters, and tiny robots make predictions for next-gen tech
Mark Miskin of the School of Engineering and Applied Science is using tools from the semiconductor industry to develop nanotechnologies for microscopic robots.
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Artists and Penn Ph.D.s collabed to explore the intersection of art and engineering. Check out their exhibit
In the culminating project of Penn’s Robotics Art Residency, three artists hosted at the Pennovation Center developed collaborative exhibits with Ph.D. students at the GRASP Lab of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Weitzman School of Design.
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Liquid crystals bring robotics to the microscale
In collaboration with the University of Ljubljana, Kathleen Stebe of the School of Engineering and Applied Science has built a swimming microrobot that paddles by rotating liquid crystal molecules.
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The long road to driverless trucks
Steve Viscelli of the School of Arts & Sciences comments on the complexities and uncertainties of the emerging self-driving truck industry.
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Drone swarm that 3D prints cement structures could construct buildings
Robert Stuart-Smith of the Weitzman School of Design and colleagues demonstrate how 3D-printing drones can create large structures made of foam or cement, paving the way for future construction efforts.
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