Folding structures are widely used in robot design as an intuitive and efficient shape-morphing mechanism, with applications explored in space and aerospace robots, soft robots, and foldable grippers (hands). However, existing folding mechanisms have fixed hinges and folding directions, requiring redesign and reconstruction every time the environment or task changes. A Korean research team has now developed a “field-programmable robotic folding sheet” that can be programmed in real time according to its surroundings, significantly enhancing robots’ shape-morphing capabilities and opening new possibilities in robotics.

KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 6th that Professors Jung Kim and Inkyu Park of the Department of Mechanical Engineering have developed the foundational technology for a “field-programmable robotic folding sheet” that enables real-time shape programming.

In a pivotal advancement for environmental sustainability, a new study proposes a convergence of carbon capture and storage (CCS) with the circular economy as a powerful strategy against climate change.

UCLA biomechanical engineers and ophthalmologists has uncovered new details about the muscle that controls blinking, offering a pathway toward developing blink-assisting prostheses. People can lose the ability to blink due to a stroke, tumor, infection or injury. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study found that the orbicularis oculi — the muscle that controls eyelid movement — contracts in complex patterns that vary by action and move the eyelid in more than just a simple up-and-down motion.

New research led by University of Utah atmospheric scientists modeled smoke produced in the West’s epic 2020 wildfire season to demonstrate how it drives ozone formation and further degrades air quality, even in places far from cities.