Technology Area: Actuators
87 Results for 'Actuators'
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Technologies 11
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Root – A robot to empower the next generation of coders
Computing is currently the fastest growing segment in the STEM fields, yet education in this area has lagged behind technological progress and demand. One of the main challenges in teaching K-16 coding is the difficulty in finding frameworks that span a wide age range and appeal to broad audiences. Databases aren’t something that excite most... -
Dynamic Daylight Control System
In the U.S. alone, commercial and residential buildings account for more than 40 percent of the total energy consumption – mostly for lighting. What’s more, the deep building layouts that are typical in the U.S. have led to a complete reliance on artificial lighting systems that are less desirable than natural daylight. Many of the... -
Soft Exosuits
Soft exosuits offer a new way to assist the elderly in maintaining or restoring their gait, in rehabilitating children and adults with movement disorders due to Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease, or to ease the physical burden of soldiers, firefighters, paramedics, farmers and others whose jobs require them to carry extremely heavy loads.For decades... -
Improving Balance and Gait Control
Balance in humans relies on complex feedback from the senses that govern the body’s mechanical stability. Wyss Institute and Boston University researchers have discovered that random vibrations, too gentle to be felt, can improve the sensory feedback system and may restore stability through a mechanism known as “stochastic resonance”. By incorporating vibrating elements in insoles... -
Preventing Infant Apnea
Clinicians and engineers at the Wyss Institute and the University of Massachusetts Medical School have developed a unique and proprietary system that reduces the onset of neonatal apnea in low birth-weight infants in a clinical trial at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The system makes use of the concept of Stochastic Resonance to reset the... -
Soft Robotic Glove
The majority of patients with partial or total loss of hand motor abilities, including those suffering from debilitating disorders like muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and incomplete spinal cord injury, experience greatly reduced quality of life due to their inability to perform many daily activities. Tasks often taken for granted by the able-bodied become...
News 69
Multimedia 7
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Audio/PodcastDisruptive: Bioinspired RoboticsOur 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... -
Video/AnimationDisruptive: Mechanotherapeutics – From Drugs to WearablesMechanobiology reveals insights into how the body’s physical forces and mechanics impact development, physiological health, and prevention and treatment of disease. The emerging field of Mechanotherapeutics leverages these insights towards the development of new types of pharmaceuticals, drug delivery systems, engineered tissues, and wearable therapeutic devices that leverage physical forces or target mechanical signaling pathways... -
Video/Animation3D Printed Heart-on-a-ChipIn this video, learn how Wyss Institute and Harvard SEAS researchers have created a 3D-printed heart-on-a-chip that could lead to new customizable devices for short-term and long-term in vitro testing. Credit: Johan U. Lind (Disease Biophysics Group), Alex D. Valentine and Lori K. Sanders (Lewis Lab)/Harvard University -
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... -
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/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.