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Helping robotic arms solve problems using tools
Three students working on a robotic arm in the GRASP lab

Image: Sylvia Zhang

Helping robotic arms solve problems using tools

Penn engineers have developed VLMgineer, an AI framework that can design, adapt, and deploy tools in the real world.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

Tiny, knotted robots jump, fly, and plant seeds
Jiarui Wang holds up one of these programmable knot robots

Jiarui Wang, a member of the Yang Lab, holds up one of these programmable knot robots with forceps showing how something not much bigger than a grain of rice can pack a serious punch in the world of soft, automated robotics.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering)

Tiny, knotted robots jump, fly, and plant seeds

Researchers at Penn Engineering have developed a tiny, soft robot using opposable materials that are capable of leaping meters into the air with flexibility, responsiveness, and programmability.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

Enabling robots to chart a better course
Shadow of a drone over a map of housing units.

Image: Francesco Scatena via Getty Images

Enabling robots to chart a better course

A novel, open-source system has the ability to streamline disaster recovery and parcel delivery by rapidly generating a smooth path plan that cuts travel time and avoids obstacles.

From Penn Engineering

2 min. read

An AI tool to speed antibiotic discovery
Jacob R. Gardner, César de la Fuente and Marcelo Torres, holding a 3D-printed example of the kind of antibiotic peptide they generated

(From left) Co-authors Jacob R. Gardner, César de la Fuente and Marcelo Torres, holding a 3D-printed example of the kind of antibiotic peptide they generated using AI.

(Image: Sylvia Zhang)

An AI tool to speed antibiotic discovery

APEX is an AI model that predicts whether or not a given peptide is likely to have antimicrobial properties. Now, APEXGo can identify antibiotic candidates with laboratory activity against disease-causing bacteria, simply by searching large datasets.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

Qubits in the classroom

Qubits in the classroom

Thorlabs, a provider of optical equipment, has donated a suite of quantum teaching tools that allow Penn Engineering undergrads to experiment with the quantum properties of light.

SmartDJ lets users reshape audio experiences with simple words
Yiduo Hao and a researcher using a microphone and a laptop outdoors.

As a test, Yiduo Hao (left) recorded the sounds of spring in Philadelphia, then used SmartDJ to transform them into the sounds of a forest.

(Image: Sylvia Zhang)

SmartDJ lets users reshape audio experiences with simple words

Penn Engineers have created an AI-powered audio editor specifically for stereo that responds to simple requests in everyday language.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

Inside NSF AIRFoundry, Senator McCormick gets a look at the future of RNA discovery
Senator Dave McCormick (second from left) and Andrew Hanna (left) in the lab at AirFoundry.

Senator Dave McCormick (second from left) and Andrew Hanna (left) observing Hanna’s robotic system for rapidly formulating large numbers of lipid nanoparticles.

(Image: Sylvia Zhang)

Inside NSF AIRFoundry, Senator McCormick gets a look at the future of RNA discovery

A visit to Penn’s Artificial Intelligence-driven RNA BioFoundry gave U.S. Senator Dave McCormick a firsthand look at how federal investment in science translates into shared research infrastructure, student training, and regional economic development.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

Innovating computer chips to run more efficiently
Nhlanhla Mavuso looking at an electronic board in the Moore Building.

Nhlanhla Mavuso of Fluid Silicon at work in the Moore Building.

nocred

Innovating computer chips to run more efficiently

Fluid Silicon, a platform from President’s Sustainability Prize winner Nhlanhla Mavuso, allows computer chips to continuously monitor their health and self-tune as their characteristics change. The technology has the potential to reduce energy usage in data centers and improve reliability in mission-critical applications.

2 min. read

A robotic solution for safer tree trimming
Margaret Zhu working in the Venture Lab.

Margaret Zhu and the Serpent Robotics team fine-tuning their robot at Tangen Hall.

nocred

A robotic solution for safer tree trimming

Margaret Zhu and the Serpent Robotics team have leveraged Penn resources to create a tree-cutting robot, improving safety in a dangerous industry. The President’s Innovation Prize allows Zhu to iterate and pilot the device over the next year.

3 min. read