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Video/AnimationWhat is the future of Engineering with Bioengineering Pioneer Donald E Ingber – Museum of ScienceIs biological inspiration the key to the future of engineering? Bioethicist Insoo Hyun sits down with Donald E. Ingber, Founding Director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Professor of Bioengineering at Harvard’s School of Engineering & Applied Sciences. Together they explore the profound impact of Nature on engineering beyond the realms of... -
Video/AnimationHow can we restore mobility to the sick and injured?Researchers at the Wyss Institute are working to improve treatment outcomes for patients suffering from reduced mobility. This video focuses on two platform technologies that could improve the quality of life for these patients: stochastic resonance and wearable soft robotics. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationReimagining Robots to be Smaller, Softer, and SaferWyss Associate Faculty members, Conor Walsh and Rob Wood, discuss their visions for the future of bio-inspired soft robotics. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationEngineering Solutions to Confront the Climate CrisisAt the Wyss Institute, we are committed to tackling this existential climate crisis and are expanding our portfolio of sustainability research projects. Join us in reimagining a more sustainable future, together. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationNature Can Help Us Prepare for the Next PandemicResiliency, redundancy, adaptability: COVID-19 has shown humanity that we need more of the qualities that are built into nature. See how a cat’s tongue inspired Wyss Lead Staff Engineer Richard Novak to create a novel nasal swab design to aid in COVID-19 diagnostics. -
Video/AnimationPhonoGraft: Programming the eardrum to repair itselfEardrum perforations are a widespread problem affecting millions worldwide. Current standard of care is invasive, involves harvesting an autologous tissue to patch the eardrum, and often requires to revision surgeries, while hearing outcomes remain unsatisfying. What if we could program the eardrum to repair itself after injury? Researchers at the Wyss Institute, Massachusetts Eye and... -
Video/AnimationOrigami Miniature Surgical ManipulatorResearchers from the Wyss Institute, Harvard SEAS, and Sony have created the mini-RCM, a small surgical robot that can help surgeons perform delicate teleoperated procedures on the human body. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationSmart Thermally Actuating TextilesSmart Thermally Actuating Textiles (STATs) are tightly-sealed pouches that are able to change shape or maintain their pressure even in environments in which the exterior temperature or airflow fluctuates. This soft robotics technology could be developed as novel components of rehabilitation therapies or to prevent tissue damage in hospital bed or wheelchair-bound individuals. Credit: Wyss... -
Video/AnimationBeating Back the Coronavirus: Face Shields for Frontline Healthcare WorkersThere is a national shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers from the Jennifer Lewis Lab at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute at Harvard University self-assembled into a team manufacturing greatly needed face shields for local hospitals. Credit: Wyss Institute at... -
Video/AnimationVoxelated Soft Matter via Multimaterial, Multinozzle 3D PrintingMultimaterial Multinozzle 3D (MM3D) Printing, a new technique developed by engineers at the Wyss Institute and Harvard SEAS, allows seamless switching between up to eight different materials within a single nozzle, allowing for the creation of complex 3D objects in a fraction of the time required by other extrusion-based 3D printing methods. Credit: Wyss Institute... -
Video/AnimationHip-only Soft Exosuit for both Walking and RunningThis video demonstrates the use of the hip-assisting exosuit in different natural environments, and shows how the robotic device senses changes in the gait-specific vertical movements of the center of mass during walking and running to rapidly adjust its actuation. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationTension PistonsThe Tension Piston, developed at the Wyss Institute and MIT CSAIL, amplifies piston force and increases energy efficiency by using flexible materials to transmit fluid-induced tension. The Tension Piston is able to produce substantially greater force compared to a conventional piston at the same driving pressure. Tension Pistons can be used in pumps, engines, compressors,... -
Video/AnimationOrigami OrgansA multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and architectural designers are developing Origami Organs that could function like artificial kidneys. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationLiquid-Infused Tympanostomy TubesResearchers at the Wyss Institute have developed next-generation tympanostomy tubes with an innovative material design that significantly reduces biofouling, implant size, need for revision surgeries, and promotes drug delivery into the middle ear. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationHow a Harvard Professor Makes Transforming Toys & DesignsHow a Harvard Professor Makes Transforming Toys and Designs was originally published by WIRED on November 29, 2018. This story features Associate Faculty member Chuck Hoberman. The original story can be found here. -
Audio/PodcastDisruptive: Soft Robotics for Deep Sea ExplorationThe deep ocean is the least explored environment on Earth, and scientists estimate that many thousands of species are yet to be encountered. Marine researchers depend on tools primarily developed for the military or the oil and gas industry to study and capture undersea organisms. Many of them are extremely fragile, some thousands of years... -
Video/AnimationMulti-joint Personalized Soft Exosuit Breaks New GroundA multidisciplinary team at Harvard’s Wyss Institute and Harvard SEAS has developed a mobile multi-joint soft exosuit using an automatic tuning strategy that could reduce fatigue in soldiers, firefighters or other rescue workers. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationRolls-Royce and SWARM RobotsTiny SWARM robots are part of Rolls-Royce’s IntelligentEngine vision, and could one day revolutionize the way they maintain jet engines. Listen to the Wyss Institute’s Sebastien de Rivas explain the technology behind them. -
Video/AnimationMORPH: A new soft material microfabrication processWhat has the ability to move and show its colors, is made only of silicone rubber and manufactured at the millimeter scale? A soft robotic peacock spider. Researchers have combined three different manufacturing techniques to create a novel origami-inspired soft material microfabrication process that goes beyond what existing approaches can achieve at this small scale.... -
Video/AnimationBioBitsResearchers at the Wyss Institute, MIT, and Northwestern University have collaborated to create “BioBits,” a low-cost, shelf-stable educational kit to teach synthetic and molecular biology in K-12 classrooms. The kit utilizes freeze-dried cell-free reactions that eliminate the need for growing living cells in order to perform biological experiments. Different modules in the kit teach students... -
Video/AnimationRAD Sampler: Device for investigating delicate marine organismsLike an underwater pokéball, this origami-inspired sampling device folds up into a container for capturing delicate marine organisms. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationHAMR: Robotic Cockroach for Underwater ExplorationsThis video shows how the HAMR can transition from land to water, paddle on the surface of water, or sink to the ground to start walking again just as it would on dry land. Credit: Yufeng Chen, Neel Doshi, and Benjamin Goldberg/Harvard University -
Video/AnimationKirigami CrawlerResearchers at the Wyss Institute and Harvard SEAS have built a robot inspired by snakes that uses kirigami cuts in its ‘skin’ to grip the ground when it is inflated. Credit: Harvard SEAS -
Video/AnimationThe milliDelta RobotDelta Robots are comprised of three articulating arms connected to an output stage. They are extremely precise and agile, and can be used for “pick & place” and 3D Printing. Researchers at the Wyss Institute and Harvard SEAS have developed a millimeter-scale delta robot, the “milliDelta.” Possible applications at this scale include microassembly, micromanipulation, and... -
Audio/PodcastDisruptive: Art Advances ScienceIn this episode of Disruptive, Wyss Institute Founding Director Don Ingber and Staff Scientist Charles Reilly discuss their process creating The Beginning, a short film inspired by Star Wars, to better communicate science to the public…and how they made a scientific discovery along the way. To make The Beginning, film industry visual effects and animation... -
Video/AnimationTherapeutic Organ Engineering: Highlights From The 8th Annual Wyss SymposiumThe 8th Annual Wyss International Symposium focused on innovations in therapeutic organ engineering, featuring diverse speakers doing exciting work in 3D organ engineering, materials fabrication, and vascular integration. This video highlights some of the themes discussed in their presentations as well as the advances that are leading to the ultimate goals of developing new approaches... -
Video/AnimationAerial-Aquatic MicrorobotInspired by insects, researchers at the Wyss Institute and Harvard SEAS have developed a robot capable of flying…and swimming. Once the robot swims to the surface of the water, surrounding water is collected in a buoyancy chamber. Within the chamber, an electrolytic plate produced oxyhydrogen. This gives the robot extra buoyancy, which enables it to... -
Video/AnimationThe BeginningThe struggle for supremacy has begun. But only one will be victor. Only one will dictate the future for generations to come… Watch the new official trailer now. -
Video/Animation8th Annual Wyss Institute Symposium: Therapeutic Organ EngineeringScreened just before the symposium opening, this animation artistically connects concepts of therapeutic organ engineering presented during the event. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationSoft Exosuit for Post-stroke Gait Re-trainingThis video explains how exosuit technology, developed at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, applied to ankle movements helps patients post-stroke regain a more normal gait. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationSoft Fabric SensorsThis textile-based sensor effectively registers fine motor movements of the human body, taking researchers one step closer to creating soft, wearable robots. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationArtScience Talks @ Le Lab – Seeing Is Believing: Therapeutic Cancer VaccinesWyss Core Faculty member David Mooney presents a talk with Mary Mooney, titled Seeing Is Believing: Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines. Marshaling a patientÍs immune system to recognize and destroy cancerous cells is an exciting strategy to attack cancer, and this talk will explore materials that engage the immune system through science and artistic representation. Mary K.... -
Audio/PodcastWilliam Shih: Lego-Style Construction of Future Therapeutics From DNAListen to Wyss Core Faculty member William Shih’s lecture on how custom molecular shapes can be designed using DNA building blocks and how these minuscule devices could have a profound impact on fields ranging from molecular biophysics to therapeutics to nano-optics for decades to come. Shih’s lecture is part of the ArtScience lecture series at... -
Video/Animation3D Printing Ceramic FoamThis video shows the 3D printing process that adds layer upon layer of the foam link to create a 3D porous ceramic honeycomb pattern. This new capability is an important step toward generating porous materials for lightweight structures, thermal insulation, tissue scaffolds and other applications. Credit: Lori Sanders -
Video/AnimationReconfigurable MaterialsThis video shows how a reconfigurable model structure generated with the teams predictive method can be drawn into different shapes that might perform very different functions. Credit: Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. -
Video/AnimationBioprinting: The Kidney’s Proximal TubulesIn this video, see how the Wyss Institute team has advanced bioprinting to the point of being able to fabricate a functional subunit of a kidney. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationRoot: Meets Students At Any LevelThis video demonstrates how Root can be used in classrooms to help instill coding and programming skills in students at any level. Developed by a team of researchers led by Wyss Core Faculty member Radhika Nagpal, the Root system is designed to be as intuitive and approachable as any tablet app, providing a framework easy... -
Video/AnimationOctobot: A Soft, Autonomous RobotThe Octobot is the first entirely soft, autonomous robot. It is made by a combination of embedded 3D printing, modeling, and soft lithography. Inspired by real octopuses, the Octobot has no rigid components. It is powered by a chemical reaction and controlled with a microfluidic logic that directs the flow of fuel. The logic circuit... -
Audio/PodcastSynthetic Stingray May Lead To A Better Artificial HeartSynthetic Stingray May Lead To A Better Artificial Heart was originally broadcast on NPR’s All Things Considered on July 7, 2016. This story features Wyss Core Faculty member Kit Parker. The original broadcast story can be found here. -
Video/AnimationRobobee: Saving Energy While in the AirThe RoboBee, pioneered at the Harvard Microrobotics Lab, uses an electrode patch and a foam mount that absorbs shock to perch on surfaces and conserve energy in flight. Credit: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) -
Video/AnimationDetecting Zika: A platform for rapid, low-cost diagnosticsIn this video, a team of collaborators led by Wyss Core Faculty member James Collins discuss a low-cost, paper-based diagnostic system that they developed for detecting specific strains of the Zika virus, with the goal that it could soon be used in the field to easily screen blood, urine, or saliva samples. Credit: Wyss Institute... -
Video/Animation3D Printing Metal in MidairIn this video, see the laser-assisted method developed by Wyss Core Faculty member Jennifer Lewis that allows metal to be 3D printed in midair. Credit: Lewis Lab / Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationMeet Root: The Robot that Brings Code to LifeComputational thinking and programming underlie the digital world around us – yet K-16 teachers have been challenged to find the right teaching tool to instill coding and programming skills in beginners of a wide age range. Recognizing the pressing need for young students to be digitally literate and the remarkable educational power of robots, a... -
Video/AnimationSoft Robotic Grippers For Deep-Sea ExplorationIn this video, two types of soft robotic grippers are shown successfully collecting coral samples at the bottom of the Red Sea. The first gripper features opposing pairs of bending actuators, while the second gripper – inspired by the coiling action of a boa constrictor – can access tight spaces and clutch small and irregular... -
Video/Animation4D Printing: Shapeshifting ArchitecturesA team at the Wyss Institute and Harvard SEAS has developed a new microscale printing method to create transformable objects. These “4D-printed” objects go a step beyond 3D printing to incorporate a fourth dimension: time. The method was inspired by the way plants change shape over time in response to environmental stimuli. This orchid-shaped structure... -
Video/AnimationSmall Airway-on-a-Chip: Modeling COPD and AsthmaDevelopment of new therapeutics for chronic lung diseases have been hindered by the inability to study them in vitro. To address this challenge, Wyss Institute researchers used their Organ-on-a-Chip technology to produce a microfluidic ‘human lung small airway-on-a-chip.’ The device, which is composed a clear rubber material, is lined by living Human lung small airway... -
Video/AnimationCRISPR-Cas9: Safeguarding Gene DrivesIn this animation, learn how effective safeguarding mechanisms developed at the Wyss Institute and Harvard Medical School can be applied to ensure gene drive research is done responsibly in the laboratory. These safeguards enable responsible scientific investigation into how gene drives could one day be leveraged for the greater good of human health, agriculture, and... -
Video/AnimationRoboBee: From Aerial to AquaticThe RoboBee is a miniature robot that has long been able to fly. But what if the RoboBee lands in water? Using a modified flapping technique, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have demonstrated that the RoboBee... -
Audio/PodcastDisruptive: Bioinspired Robotics (pt. 1)Our bodies—and all living systems—accomplish tasks far more complex and dynamic than anything yet designed by humans. Many of the most advanced robots in use today are still far less sophisticated than ants that “self–organize” to build an ant hill, or termites that work together to build impressive, massive mounds in Africa. From insects in... -
Audio/PodcastDisruptive: Bioinspired Robotics (pt. 3)Our bodies—and all living systems—accomplish tasks far more complex and dynamic than anything yet designed by humans. Many of the most advanced robots in use today are still far less sophisticated than ants that “self–organize” to build an ant hill, or termites that work together to build impressive, massive mounds in Africa. From insects in...
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Audio/PodcastDisruptive: Bioinspired Robotics (pt. 2)Our bodies—and all living systems—accomplish tasks far more complex and dynamic than anything yet designed by humans. Many of the most advanced robots in use today are still far less sophisticated than ants that “self–organize” to build an ant hill, or termites that work together to build impressive, massive mounds in Africa. From insects in...
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Video/AnimationJumping on Water: Robotic Water StriderIn this video, watch how novel robotic insects developed by a team of Seoul National University and Harvard scientists can jump directly off water’s surface. The robots emulate the natural locomotion of water strider insects, which skim on and jump off the surface of water. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/Animation3D Printed Soft Jumping RobotUsing a multi-material 3D printer for manufacturing allowed Wyss Institute researchers to fabricate the jumping robot in one uninterrupted job, seamlessly transitioning from rigid core components to a soft exterior in a single print session. It’s first ever robot to be 3D printed with layers of material gradients, making it extremely durable and giving the... -
Video/AnimationBioinspired Robotics: Softer, Smarter, SaferThe Bioinspired Robotics platform at HarvardÍs Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering looks into Nature to obtain insights for the development of new robotic components that are smarter, softer, and safer than conventional industrial robots. By looking at natural intelligence, collective behavior, biomechanics, and material properties not found in manmade systems, scientists at the Wyss...
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Video/AnimationCRISPR-Cas9: Gene Target TroubleshootingIn this animation, learn how a “library on library” approach was used to create a software algorithm that can predict the best way to target any specific gene. Using the most effective RNA sequence, which can be selected using the novel software’s ranking and scoring algorithm, the gene editing mechanism known as CRISPR-Cas9 can be... -
Audio/PodcastScience, Your Body, And TestingIn 2015 the London Design Museum announced it’s “Design of the Year” award, and for the first time it went to a Medical design. The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University’s “Organs-on-chips” was the overall winner. The chips mimic the functions of human organs for the purpose of medical testing. This broadcast... -
Video/AnimationPopup Challenge: Help Revolutionize Popup RoboticsJoin the Wyss Institute Popup Challenge, a design contest based around the laminate design techniques outlined at popupcad.org. We hope to grow the community of people who can design, build, and operate laminate devices and micromechanisms. If you are a student considering using popups for a class project, a researcher who has an application for... -
Video/AnimationGastrointestinal Re-ProgrammingIn this animation, see an example of how genetically engineered microbes being developed by researchers at the Wyss Institute could detect and treat a wide range of gastrointestinal illnesses and conditions. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationSoft Robotic GloveThe soft robotic glove under development at the Wyss Institute could one day be an assistive device used for grasping objects, which could help patients suffering from muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), incomplete spinal cord injury, or other hand impairments to regain some daily independence and control of their environment. This research is partially... -
Video/AnimationFluid GateIn this video, the fluid-based gating mechanism separates gas and water. The fluid-filled pores system leverages pressurization to control the opening and closing of its liquid gates, making it extremely precise at separating mixed materials. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationHuman Organs-On-ChipsWyss Institute researchers and a multidisciplinary team of collaborators have engineered microchips that recapitulate the microarchitecture and functions of living human organs, including the lung, intestine, kidney, skin, bone marrow and blood-brain barrier. These microchips, called ‘organs-on-chips’, offer a potential alternative to traditional animal testing. Each individual organ-on-chip is composed of a clear flexible polymer... -
Video/AnimationDesigning Fusion-Protein TherapiesIn this video, watch the new computational model in action as it simulates the behavior of a fusion-protein drug molecule after the targeting protein has attached to a cell. Developed by Wyss researchers, this model helps design more effective biologic drugs while eliminating drug candidates that are prone to causing side effects. Credit: Harvard’s Wyss... -
Video/AnimationToehold SwitchesIn this animation, Wyss Institute Postdoctoral Fellow Alex Green, Ph.D., the lead author of “Toehold Switches: De-Novo-Designed Regulators of Gene Expression”, narrates a step-by-step guide to the mechanism of the synthetic toehold switch gene regulator. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationProgrammable Paper: Advances in Synthetic BiologyWyss Institute scientists discuss the collaborative environment and team effort that led to two breakthroughs in synthetic biology that can either stand alone as distinct advances – or combine forces to create truly tantalizing potentials in diagnostics and gene therapies. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University. -
Video/AnimationKilobots: A Thousand-Robot SwarmIn this video, Kilobots self-assemble in a thousand-robot swarm. The algorithm developed by Wyss Institute Core Faculty member Radhika Nagpal that enables the swarm provides a valuable platform for testing future collective Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms. Credit: Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. -
Video/AnimationDynamic Daylight Redirection SystemThis video shows Keojin Jin conducting a shoebox test that shows the light reflection effect to the top surface of the box as well as the reduction of direct light to the bottom surface of the box. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationSelf-Folding RobotsIn this video, Wyss Institute Core Faculty member Rob Wood, who is also the Charles River Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and SEAS Ph.D. student Sam Felton discuss their landmark achievement in robotics – getting a robot to assemble itself and walk away autonomously –... -
Video/AnimationCRISPR-Cas9: Gene DrivesThis animation explains how an emerging technology called “gene drives” may be used to potentially spread particular genomic alterations through targeted wild populations over many generations. It uses mosquitoes as an example of a target species – and illustrates how the versatile genome editing tool called CRISPR makes it possible. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard... -
Video/AnimationSoft Robotic ExosuitIn this video, Harvard faculty member Conor Walsh and members of his team explain how the biologically inspired Soft Exosuit targets enhancing the mobility of healthy individuals and restoring the mobility of those with physical disabilities. This research is partially funded by the National Science Foundation. Note: This technology is currently in the research and... -
Video/Animation3D Printing: Cellular CompositesMaterials scientists at Harvard University have created lightweight cellular composites via 3D printing. These fiber-reinforced epoxy composites mimic the structure and performance of balsa wood. Because the fiber fillers align along the printing direction, their local orientation can be exquisitely controlled. These 3D composites may be useful for wind turbine, automotive and aerospace applications, where... -
Audio/PodcastCyborg Microchip MedicineThis edition of Revolutions focuses on Cyborg Microchip Medicine. Dr Don Ingber, Director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University is visiting Melbourne University and discussed this revolutionary research with Jon Faine.
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Video/AnimationBioinspired Approach to Sepsis TherapyWyss Institute Founding Director Don Ingber, Senior Staff Scientist Michael Super and Technology Development Fellow Joo Kang explain how they engineered the Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) protein to bind to a wide range of sepsis-causing pathogens and then safely remove the pathogens from the bloodstream using a novel microfluidic spleen-like device. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard... -
Video/AnimationDNA CagesTo create supersharp images of their cage-shaped DNA polyhedra, the scientists used DNA-PAINT, a microscopy method that uses short strands of DNA (yellow) labeled with a fluorescent chemical (green) to bind and release partner strands on polyhedra corners, causing them to blink. The blinking corners reveal the shape of structures far too small to be... -
Video/AnimationShrinking GelWhen the temperature rises to just below body temperature, this biocompatible gel shrinks dramatically within minutes, bringing tooth-precursor cells (green) closer together. Credit: Basma Hashmi -
Video/AnimationChitosan BioplasticIn this video, the team grew a California Blackeye pea plant in soil enriched with its chitosan bioplastic over a three-week period – demonstrating the material’s potential to encourage plant growth once it is returned to the environment. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationTERMESInspired by termites, the TERMES robots act independently but collectively. They can carry bricks, build staircases, and then climb them to add bricks to a structure. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationNew coating turns glass into superglassA transparent new coating makes ordinary glass tough, ultraslippery, and self-cleaning. The coating is based on SLIPS — the world’s slipperiest synthetic substance. Here, a droplet of dyed octane quickly beads up and rolls off a watch glass with the new coating. To learn more, go to Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University -
Video/AnimationTiny 3D-Printed BatteryIn this video, a 3D-printer nozzle narrower than a human hair lays down a specially formulated “ink” layer by layer to build a microbattery’s anode from the ground up. Unlike ink in an office inkjet printer, which comes out as droplets of liquid and wets a piece of paper, these 3D-printer inks are specially formulated... -
Audio/PodcastRobotics Lessons from TermitesJustin Werfel, Wyss Institute Research Scientist, shared his story for The Story Collider in a live storytelling event with the theme ‘The Science I Never Expected’ in June 2013. Justin Werfel received his PhD at MIT and did postdoctoral work at Harvard and the New England Complex Systems Institute. He works on topics including swarm... -
Video/AnimationRoboBee: Controlled flight of a robotic insectInspired by the biology of a fly, with submillimeter-scale anatomy and two wafer-thin wings that flap at 120 times per second, robotic insects, or RoboBees, achieve vertical takeoff, hovering, and steering. The tiny robots flap their wings using piezoelectric actuators — strips of ceramic that expand and contract when an electric field is applied. Thin... -
Audio/PodcastBuilding Organs, On One Microchip At A TimeBuilding Organs, On One Microchip At A Time was originally broadcast on NPR on July 29, 2012. This story features Wyss Core Faculty member Don Ingber. Original broadcast story can be found here. -
Video/AnimationSLIPS‘SLIPS’ technology, inspired by the slippery pitcher plant that repels almost every type of liquid and solid, is a unique approach to coating industrial and medical surfaces that is based on nano/microstructured porous material infused with a lubricating fluid. By locking in water and other fluids, SLIPS technology creates slick, exceptionally repellent and robust self-cleaning... -
Video/AnimationTermite-inspired robotsInspired by termites and their building activities, the TERMES project is working toward developing a swarm construction system in which robots cooperate to build 3D structures much larger than themselves. The current system consists of simple but autonomous mobile robots and specialized passive blocks; the robot is able to manipulate blocks to build tall structures,... -
Video/AnimationSLIPS: Keeping Ice AwayWhat if we could design surfaces that prevent ice formation? ‘SLIPS’ technology, inspired by the slippery pitcher plant that repels almost every type of liquid and solid, is a unique approach to coating industrial and medical surfaces that is based on nano/microstructured porous material infused with a lubricating fluid. By locking in water and other... -
Video/AnimationIntroduction to Organs-on-a-ChipWhat if we could test drugs without animal models? Wyss Institute researchers and a multidisciplinary team of collaborators have engineered microchips that recapitulate the microarchitecture and functions of living human organs, including the lung, intestine, kidney, skin, bone marrow and blood-brain barrier. These microchips, called ‘organs-on-chips’, offer a potential alternative to traditional animal testing. Each...