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Robotics
Soft robots gain new strength
Penn Engineers have developed a clutch 63 times stronger than current electroadhesive clutches, making soft robots stronger and safer and making virtual reality gloves feel more real.
A relief wall that’s a window onto architecture’s future
A public library relief wall is a novel approach to architectural design and robotic fabrication from the Weitzman School and the Robotics Lab.
People and places at Penn: Research
From Charles Addams Fine Arts Hall to the Schuylkill River, four researchers share their science and their spaces.
Tiny swimming robots can restructure materials on a microscopic level
Penn Engineers are working to make controlling microscopic processes, such as transporting drugs to tumors for precise therapies, faster, safer, and more reliable through the use of microrobots.
A robot made of sticks
Devin Carroll, a doctoral candidate in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, is designing a modular robot called StickBot, which may be adapted for rehabilitation use in global public health settings.
3D printing drones work like bees to build and repair structures while flying
Researchers including Weitzman’s Robert Stuart-Smith have made a swarm of bee-inspired drones that can collectively 3D print material while in flight, allowing unbounded manufacturing for building and repairing structures.
Deploying microrobotics for dental treatments and diagnostics
Penn Dental Medicine and its Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry show that microrobots can access the difficult to reach surfaces of the root canal with controlled precision.
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.
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.
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.
In the News
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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University of Pennsylvania researchers develop microrobots that can brush, floss your teeth
Hun Michel Koo of the School of Dental Medicine, Edward Steager of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and colleagues have created automated shapeshifting microrobots with the ability to brush, floss, and rinse teeth.
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