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Transparent stretchable sensor used to create touch-sensitive artificial skin

By Damir Beciri
One Comment25 October 2011

stretchy-transparent-force-detection-materialStanford researchers have developed a stretchable, transparent skin-like sensor that can be stretched to more than twice of its original length and return to its original shape. It can sense pressure from a firm pinch to thousands of pounds. The sensor could be used in used in medicine as pressure-sensitive bandages or sensors on prosthetic… »

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Student develops a touchscreen Braille writer software for tablets

By Damir Beciri
2 Comments15 October 2011

touchscreen-braille-writerEach summer, the Army High-Performance Computing Research Center (AHPCRC) invites a selected group of undergraduates from across the country to gather for a two-month competition where they are assigned mentors and tasked with a challenge. This summer’s winner developed a touchscreen Braille writer which is more affordable than modern Braille writers. “AHPCRC is an excellent… »

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Material with both magnetic and superconducting properties found

By Damir Beciri
27 September 2011

simes-superconductor-magnet-julie-bertResearchers at the Stanford University have made an interesting discovery after they sandwiched two nonmagnetic insulators together. Contrary to expectations, the layer where the two materials meet has both magnetic and superconducting regions – two properties which haven’t been found to co-exist in nature. The discovery could be a starting point for creation of new materials… »

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Researchers develop faster organic semiconductors for flexible displays

By Damir Beciri
27 August 2011

better-organic-electronics-1Organic semiconductors are suitable for application in thin film and flexible displays but they haven’t yet reached the speeds needed to drive high definition displays. A team of researchers, led by researchers from Stanford and Harvard universities, applied a logical approach in order to create a new material which is suitable for high-speed organic semiconductors…. »

Bionics| Tech»

Orca hearing biomimicry led to an ultrasensitive underwater microphone

By Damir Beciri
One Comment23 June 2011

orca-1Stanford researchers have developed a highly sensitive underwater microphone which is modeled after the extraordinarily acute hearing of orcas. The microphone can capture a wide range of ocean sounds in a range of approximately 160 decibels, significantly more than existing underwater microphones (hydrophones) which have limited ranges of sensitivity and do not perform well at… »

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Plasmonics with coated nanodomes for thin and affordable solar cells

By Damir Beciri
2 Comments4 February 2011

stanford-plasmonics-imprintsA multidisciplinary team of Stanford engineers led by Mike McGehee, Yi Cui and Mark Brongersma, and joined by Michael Graetzel at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), is developing a new type of thin solar cell that could offer a new direction for the field. They succeeded in harnessing plasmonics – trapping light within… »

Tech»

Rubber film used to create touch-sensitive artificial skin

By Damir Beciri
15 September 2010

stanford-artificial-skinAs we already wrote in our previous articles, scientists around the world are working to develop pressure sensors for artificial skin which could be applied on prosthetic limbs or robots. By sandwiching a precisely molded, highly elastic rubber layer between two parallel electrodes, the team from Stanford University created an electronic sensor that can detect… »

Bionics| Robotics| Tech»

Stickybot gecko-like robot climbs vertical surfaces

By Damir Beciri
One Comment1 September 2010

stickybot-geckorobot-climbing-a-windowGecko’s foot ability to stick to many surfaces, including glass, has been inspiring scientists to mimic that ability in other to make dry adhesive materials and robots able to walk up various materials. A group of scientists from Stanford University are developing such a robot which is fittingly named Stickybot. They are already working on… »