Skip to Content Skip to Content

Robotics

The supply chain broke. Robots are supposed to help fix it
The New York Times

The supply chain broke. Robots are supposed to help fix it

Steve Viscelli of the School of Arts & Sciences says that labor shortage claims are industry-lobbying rhetoric meant to reframe the issue as a scarcity of workers rather than a lack of decent jobs.

A swarm of tiny robots could soon brush and floss your teeth for you
Interesting Engineering

A swarm of tiny robots could soon brush and floss your teeth for you

A multidisciplinary Penn team including Michael Koo of the School of Dental Medicine and Edward Steager of the School of Engineering and Applied Science has created an automated way to brush and floss through robotics, a potentially useful development for those unable to clean their teeth themselves.

Deploying microrobotics for dental treatments and diagnostics
A dental model of teeth.

nocred

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.

From Penn Dental Medicine

Shapeshifting microrobots can brush and floss teeth
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.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Can electric vehicles revitalize American manufacturing?
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.

From Knowledge at Wharton

Soft ‘rotini’ robots navigate with a snap
Two pieces of rotini and a twisted liquid crystal elastomer ribbon.

Image: Courtesy of North Carolina State University

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.

From Penn Engineering Today

Watch this noodle-shaped robot autonomously escape a maze 
Daily Beast

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.