Robotics | Penn Today

Graphic shows how nanoparticle-based microrobots can remove dental plaque from teeth with their motion and the activity of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to kill microbes

Shapeshifting microrobots can brush and floss teeth

In a proof-of-concept study, researchers from the School of Dental Medicine and School of Engineering and Applied Science shows that a hands-free system could effectively automate the treatment and removal of tooth-decay-causing bacteria and dental plaque.

Gloved hands in a car factory working on an electric vehicle motor.

Can electric vehicles revitalize American manufacturing?

Hyundai's investment in high-tech production facilities in the U.S. could fuel innovation and employment growth, says Wharton's Lynn Wu.

Two pieces of rotini and a twisted liquid crystal elastomer ribbon.

Soft ‘rotini’ robots navigate with a snap

Researchers at Penn Engineering have developed soft robots that are capable of navigating complex environments, such as mazes, without input from humans or computer software.

Philly hosts a robot lollapalooza, attracting 4,500 roboticists and showing off devices that fly, swim, and enter the body

Vijay Kumar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science is quoted on the International Conference on Robotics and Automation and how robotics has become a fundamental discipline in engineering education.

What can Philly do to make a home for robotics to flourish? Scenes from ICRA 2022’s mad dash

Dean Vijay Kumar and Avik De of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Laurie Actman of the Penn Center for Innovation are quoted on their participation in the International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

Watch this noodle-shaped robot autonomously escape a maze

Researchers at Penn and North Carolina State University have created a rotini-shaped robot that can tumble through a maze without any help or guidance from a computer or human being.

Celebrating five years of innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity

Penn Today marks the anniversary of Pennovation Works, the University’s business incubator and laboratory space, with a look at the evolution of the site, its research and commercialization achievements, and a glimpse into the future.

Film still of a small wheeled robot traveling a path between yellow tape.

Even without a brain, metal-eating robots can search for food

SEAS engineers are developing robot-powered technology with energy sources that are harvested in the robot’s environment.

portraits of from top left clockwise Ishmail Abdus-Saboor, Bo Zhen, Marc Miskin, Ziyue Gao, and Bhaswar B. Bhattacharya

Five Penn faculty named 2021 Sloan Research Fellows

The fellowship recognizes extraordinary U.S. and Canadian researchers whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of scientific leaders.

A robot made of blocks of ice on a table.

GRASP Lab’s coolest robot yet

The Lab’s latest GRASP Lab’s latest modular robotic system is a series of units made out of blocks of ice. These robots could be deployed to research in the Antarctic, or even an extraterrestrial planet.

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