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The perception and recognition of the surroundings is one of the essential tasks for a robot. With preliminary knowledge about a target object, it can perform various manipulation tasks such as rolling motion, palpation, and force control.…
In this paper, we present a technique for magneto-optical cooling and trapping of neutral atoms using a single laser. The alternating-frequency magneto-optical trap (AF-MOT) uses an agile light source that sequentially switches between…
Microgels are soft microparticles that often exhibit thermoresponsiveness and feature a transformation at a critical temperature, referred to as the volume phase transition temperature. The question of whether this transformation occurs as…
Robot performance has advanced considerably both in and out of the factory, however in tightly constrained, unknown environments such as inside a jet engine or the human heart, current robots are less adept. In such cases where a borescope…
Polymeric materials are widely used in industries ranging from automotive to biomedical. Their mechanical properties play a crucial role in their application and function and arise from the nanoscale structures and interactions of their…
Soft matter consists of meso-scale (nm~{\mu}m) structures that are formed by weak interactions and reorganized under thermal fluctuations. The resulting complex relaxation phenomena may be probed with microrheology, by observing the…
Magneto-optical traps (MOTs) are widely used for laser cooling of atoms. We have developed a high-flux compact cold-atom source based on a pyramid MOT with a unique adjustable aperture that is highly suitable for portable quantum technology…
Force-distance curve experiments are commonly performed in Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to obtain the viscoelastic characteristics of materials, such as the storage and loss moduli or compliances. The classic methods used to obtain these…
While its biological significance is well-documented, its application in soft robotics, particularly for the transport of fragile and irregularly shaped objects, remains underexplored. This study presents a modular soft robotic actuator…
Taking advantage of phase-transition and reconfigurable metamaterials, dynamic control of nanoscale thermal modulation can be achieved through the near-field radiative thermal rectification devices. In this work, an active-tuning near-field…
The endurance and energy efficiency of drones remain critical challenges in their design and operation. To extend mission duration, numerous studies explored perching mechanisms that enable drones to conserve energy by temporarily…
Natural filaments, such as proteins, plant tendrils, octopus tentacles, and elephant trunks, can transform into arbitrary three-dimensional shapes that carry out vital functions. Their shape-morphing behavior arises from intricate…
The necessity of having an electronic device working in relevant biological time scales with a small footprint boosted the research of a new class of emerging memories. Ag-based volatile resistive switching memories (RRAMs) feature a…
With their unique combination of characteristics - an energy density almost 100 times that of human muscle, and a power density of 5.3 kW/kg, similar to a jet engine's output - Nylon artificial muscles stand out as particularly apt for…
We propose a novel Sisyphus cooling scheme for atoms confined in a far off resonance optical dipole trap. Utilizing the differential trap-induced AC Stark shift, two electronic levels of the atom are resonantly coupled by a cooling laser…
The flight of biological butterflies represents a unique aerodynamic regime where high-amplitude, low-frequency wingstrokes induce significant body undulations and inertial fluctuations. While existing tailless flapping-wing micro air…
Velocity autocorrelation functions (VAF) of the fluids are studied on short- and long-time scales within a unified approach. This approach is based on an effective summation of the infinite continued fraction at a reasonable assumption…
Machines designed for operation in Space, as well as other extreme environments, need to be both resilient and adaptable when mission parameters change. Soft robots offer advantages in adaptability, but most lack resilience to the pressure…
We perform free-fall experiments with a charge-neutral, optically levitated nanoparticle. This is achieved using an optical tweezer that can be rapidly toggled on and off and vertically displaced, enabling the particle to be released and…
The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a versatile, high-resolution tool used to characterize the topography and material properties of a large variety of specimens at nano-scale. The interaction of the micro-cantilever tip with the specimen…