Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Robots Get More Sensitive Sensors
Electroluminescent thin film may be just the thing for those sensitive robots of the future. Vivek Maheshwari and Ravi Saraf of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln demonstrated how electroluminescent thin films glow in response to pressure. Pressing a penny against the device provides the image shown below. This technology provides tactile sensitivity that is comparable to yours and mine - and it offers other improvements.
(Abe, meet electroluminescent thin film)
The resulting optical image can be digitally photographed and processed quickly. Quick data collection is critical to performing real-time tasks with tactile sensors, like picking up a delicate object or shaking a human hand. It simultaneously provides information about the object itself; if it starts to slip, the robot could compensate without other machine vision assistance.
The film consists of layers of gold and semiconducting nanoparticles that are produced out of solution; the film could be layered onto complex shapes, such as those on robotic appendages or surgical instruments. As Sarif puts it:
"You ultimately have to make a device on a very curved surface, like a cylinder, or an endoscope. Most of the existing technologies are too rigid; they won't bend that far."
This technology will enable science-fictional robots, who easily interact with humans, shaking hands without crushing fingers, picking up eggs without breaking them, and other useful tasks. See also Robots get pressure-sensitive skin for another technology that performs a similar function. Robotics sensor images the sense of touch provides more information on the thin film sensor.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/10/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Will Robots Become Family Caregivers?
'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...' - Philip K. Dick, 1953.
RoboBallet The Dance Of Cooperative Robots
'...an integrated seven-unit robot team.' - Isaac Asimov, 1944.
Does CloneRobotics Offer A True Android?
Is this What Little Girls Are Made Of?
Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...' Harry Harrison, 1956.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Liuzhi Process Now In Use In China
'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'
Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors...'
Will Robots Become Family Caregivers?
'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...'
Chinese Tokamak Uses AI To Keep Fusion Plasma Stable
'Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs... What are the odds?'
Time Crystals Can Now Be Seen Directly
'It is as you thought when you constructed the time crystal, my master Vaylan.'
RoboBallet The Dance Of Cooperative Robots
'...an integrated seven-unit robot team.'
Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri
'This was their world, their planet —
this swift-traveling, yet seemingly moveless vessel.'
Alexa+ And Its AI Brain Improvements
'What's it do?' he asked. 'It amuses.'
Does CloneRobotics Offer A True Android?
Is this What Little Girls Are Made Of?
Brain Implant Is Able To Capture Your Inner Dialogue
'So you see, you can hide nothing from me.'
Are AIs Going Rogue Like Hal 9000
'I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me...'
Animated Tumblebugs On Astounding Cover!
'Gaines and Harvey mounted tumblebugs, and kept abreast of the Cadet Captain...'
LingYuan Vehicle Roof Drones Now Available, ala Blade Runner 2049
Accompanied by a small selection of similar ideas from science fiction.
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.'
The First Space Warship For Space Force
'Each of the electrical ships carried about twenty men...'
Biohybrid Jellyfish Explore The Ocean
As predicted, and detailed, by science fiction writers!
