Inspired by living organisms, researchers have developed a somatosensory light-driven robot (SLiR) that can simultaneously sense strain and temperature. The SLiR subsumespyro/piezoelectric responses and piezoresistive strain sensation under a photoactuator transducer, enabling simultaneous yet non-interfering perception of its body temperature and actuation deformation states. This design confers soft robots with complex perceptions of their body status, as well as the surrounding environments.
A simple pretreatment step enables membranes to be enhanced using atomic layer deposition, a technique that can improve performance and introduce new surface properties.
The strength of the carbon plate structures was up to 639% stronger and up to 522% stiffer than same-weight beam nanolattices of the same material. This is the first experimental evidence that plate-architecture is superior to the established beam-architecture.
Researchers developed a test chip using graphene. The chip has a trampoline structure with a narrow gap of 1 micrometer or less formed under a monoatomic graphene film, and can specifically trap a biomarker, a protein included in bodily fluids, on graphene.
Researchers developed a unique nanostructure that limits silicon's expansion while fortifying it with carbon. Their work could inform new electrode material designs for other types of batteries and eventually help increase the energy capacity of the lithium-ion batteries in electric cars, electronic devices, and other equipment.