Related papers: A laser-microfabricated electrohydrodynamic thrust…
In this investigation, the numerical simulation of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) ion-drag micropumps with micropillar electrode geometries have been performed. The effect of micropillar height and electrode spacing on the performance of the…
The Robinson Research Institute is developing a type of electric propulsion for spacecraft called an applied-field magneto-plasma-dynamic (AF-MPD) thruster. The applied field module of the thruster features a cryocooler-cooled…
Motivated by a winged seed, which takes advantage of a wing with high angles of attack and its associated leading-edge vortex to boost lift, we propose a powered 13.8-gram aerial robot with the maximum take-off weight of 310 mN (31.6 gram)…
Highly articulated organisms serve as blueprints for incredibly dexterous mechanisms, but building similarly capable robotic counterparts has been hindered by the difficulties of developing electromechanical actuators with both the high…
Electrostatic actuators provide a promising approach to creating soft robotic sheets, due to their flexible form factor, modular integration, and fast response speed. However, their control requires kilo-Volt signals and understanding of…
Mid-Air Helicopter Delivery (MAHD) is a new Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) architecture to enable in situ mobility for Mars science at lower cost than previous missions. It uses a jetpack to slow down a Mars Science Helicopter (MSH) after…
We design an insect-sized rolling microrobot driven by continuously rotating wheels. It measures 18mm$\times$8mm$\times$8mm. There are 2 versions of the robot - a 96mg laser-powered one and a 130mg supercapacitor powered one. The robot can…
In-situ aeroengine maintenance works are highly beneficial as it can significantly reduce the current maintenance cycle which is extensive and costly due to the disassembly requirement of engines from aircrafts. However, navigating in/out…
In most macro-scale robotics systems , propulsion and controls are enabled through a physical tether or complex on-board electronics and batteries. A tether simplifies the design process but limits the range of motion of the robot, while…
The present work intends to identify the nature of the propulsive force that occurs during a positive corona discharge in nitrogen gas using an asymmetric capacitor geometry. We are going to apply the known theory of electrohydrodynamics…
We report here on initial studies of a pulsed hydromagnetic plasma gun that can operate in either a pre-filled or a gas-puff mode on demand. These modes enable agile and responsive performance through tunable thrust and specific impulse.…
Soft underwater robots typically explore bioinspired designs at the expense of power efficiency when compared to traditional underwater robots, which limits their practical use in real-world applications. We leverage a fluidic closed-loop…
Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator arrays have been suggested as active flow control devices due to the robust electrohydrodynamic (EHD) force generation in variable atmospheric conditions. DBD plasma augmentation schemes…
Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs), also recognized as artificial muscle, have been widely developed for the soft locomotion robot. With the complaint skeleton and miniaturized dimension, they are well suited for the narrow space…
Aerial-aquatic vehicles are capable to move in the two most dominant fluids, making them more promising for a wide range of applications. We propose a prototype with special designs for propulsion and thruster configuration to cope with the…
In this paper, a practical micromachining technology was applied for the fabrication of a micro probe using a complex nontraditional machining process. A series process was combined to machine tungsten carbide rods from original dimension.…
This paper presents a novel magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) system for planetary entry aerocapture. The system is advantaged over previous approaches by having the following two characteristics: (i) it can be deployed locally to one or various…
We present a new open-source torque-controlled legged robot system, with a low-cost and low-complexity actuator module at its core. It consists of a high-torque brushless DC motor and a low-gear-ratio transmission suitable for impedance and…
Foldable robots have been an active area of robotics research due to their high volume-to-mass ratio, easy packability, and shape adaptability. For locomotion, previously developed foldable robots have either embedded linear actuators in,…
Aerial insects can effortlessly navigate dense vegetation, whereas similarly sized aerial robots typically depend on offboard sensors and computation to maintain stable flight. This disparity restricts insect-scale robots to operation…