


Head Tracking for Desktop VR Displays using the Wii Remote PLAY

Toyota revealed its plans Friday to develop Winglet, a segway-like personal transporter, that comes in three sizes. PLAY

Here is the energy swing-up portion of the hybrid controller for a classic rotary inverted pendulum with manual control via the Wii remote. PLAY

The Nissan Pivo 2 is a an advanced electric concept car powered with a compact lithium-ion battery, a rotating cabin and robotic agent! PLAY

This foosball table uses a 96-pinhole camera and LED sensor grid system to keeps track of the ball’s position on the table. PLAY

There are few things in the world today that would disrupt society more than if barcode scanners stopped working.

Using the Apple iPhone, the University of South Florida has created an iPhone application that controls the iRobot's PackBot. PLAY

Sensors placed in the brains of monkeys help control robotic arms.
PLAY

As the film, Iron Man tops the box office, Raytheon Sacros's Exoskeleton is being touted as the real Iron Man. This robotic suit, designed for the U.S. Army, can lift a 200 lb payload and never gets tired. PLAY

LittleDog is a quadruped robot for research on learning locomotion. Developed by Boston Dynamics, LittleDog is much smaller than its brother BigDog. Check him out! PLAY

In the nature of autonomous vehicles, take a mechatronic tour inside Junior, Stanford's autonomous Urban Challenge car, which competed last fall and placed second. PLAY

Developed at UPENN, these 15 modules are arranged in groups of five, each of cluster has a module with a camera, blinking LED, and an accelerometer using magnets. PLAY

The waterborne AquaJelly makes use of mechatronic design practices, control strategies and actuation. PLAY

Check out Nexi, the newest robot from the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab. Nexi is a small humanoid robot that exhibits emotions. It has 5 degrees of freedom and moves around in a segway fashion. PLAY
Motorized Power Knees use Bluetooth Technology to help war amputees walk. The new prosthetic includes Bluetooth transmitters and receivers in the ankles. Essentially the pair are talking back and forth and mimic the leg movements of one another. PLAY
Walk through a servo motor system and see how the DC motors and PC unit all connect up for optimal performance. PLAY

At the RoboBusiness conference in Pittsburgh, Penn. recently, Segway showed-off its new Robotic Mobility Platform (RMP) line. Battery powered, these payload transport systems are very quiet and has an onboard charging system, controlled by a USB or CAN serial bus interface. PLAY

Check out the latest video of BigDog, BostonDynamics's mule-sized robot that can cross any terrain. BigDog has an on-board computer that controls locomotion, servos the legs and handles a wide variety of sensors. PLAY
Gone are the days when robots are just sci-fi characters. Today robots are being developed to be more emotional, provoking emotion in the humans who control them. PLAY
Avid photographers talk about image focus, shutter speed, depth of field but rarely do they talk about image sensors, gyroscopes actuators and ultrasonic motors. But, because of those things, the digital camera is truly a mechatronics marvel. Play
Before There Was Digital, There Was Analog
Review the history of early electronic technology and how vacuum tubes, transistors and integrated circuits paved the way for the digital photographic images we see everyday. PLAY
The major difference between traditional film and digital cameras is how they capture images. Instead of film, digital imaging represents images as a sequence of numbers and the optical sensor is essential. Watch as Kevin and Mark tear down the Nikon D3 to explain how its components convert incoming light into an electric signal. More PLAY
Autofocus and vibration reduction features have all but eliminated fuzzy digital pictures and are a must for action shots. Learn how sharp images become a reality with active and passive autofocus approaches including the use of echo technology, triangulation, and ultrasonic motors. Plus, examine a vari-angle prism system and piezoelectric supersonic linear actuator stabilization, along with image sensor and lens-based stabilization design for Nikon cameras More PLAY

Discover the mechatronic Dextre, the newest on-orbit robot that NASA will install at the ISS this week. PLAY

The X PRIZE Foundation's Chairman & CEO, Peter Diamandis talks about the origins of the Lunar X PRIZE. PLAY

Using the da Vinci S surgical robot system, a double vessel bypass surgery is performed on a beating human heart. PLAY

Tankpitstop, a $111,100 fully automated fuel robot invented by Dutch engineers debuted in the Netherlands this week. The robotic system works by awknowledging the car type on arrival, matching it to a database of fuel cap designs and fuel types. Then, a robotic arm made of multiple sensors opens the car's flap and dispenses gas. PLAY

Colordado State Professor of Mechatronics, David Alciatore, explains how a basic computer hard-drive syncs with a voice coil and how its run by microcontrollers. PLAY

Engineering students at SUNY Buffalo’s ARM Lab developed an experimental prototype football that uses a wireless data recorder to measure in-flight dynamics. Recorded data shows qualitative agreement with six degree of freedom simulations. PLAY
Tune into this webcast to find out how these pacesetter system integrators are implementing new technology to better serve industry. PLAY
Stephen Kundel has patented a way to use a handful of powerful permanent magnets to create simple motors that have no conventional windings. PLAY
In this session, learn how you can use measurements and simulations to help at the board level, select your next electric component and improve the circuit verification process. Technologies include National Instruments’ LabVIEW and SignalExpress. PLAY
Check out this series of podcasts on the Shuttle Atlantis and its recent mission to the International Space Station. PLAY
With an increasing use of digital control there are more ways than ever to design power supplies. In this webcast, explore the impact of each level of microcontroller integration in analog design, and how each level shifts issues associated with control and reliability. PLAY
Learn how wireless solutions enable better machine control, diagnostics and maintenance, while increasing the number of data-gathering locations. PLAY
Mike Sinnett of Boeing discusses how the giant aircraft maker’s engineers developed a “wind gust suppression” technology that gives the Boeing 787 Dreamliner a smoother ride, even in turbulent conditions. PLAY
Think you know the fundamentals of mechatronics in product design? Now see the process in action. PLAY
Exploit it to achieve low-cost DAQ PLAY
Today’s chips are faster, more powerful and more efficient than ever before, giving manufacturers unprecedented flexibility in how HMIs are deployed. PLAY
Sponsored resources
Siemens PLM Software
Siemens PLM Software
Siemens PLM Software
National Instruments
National Instruments
Siemens PLM Software

Stefan Wolpert
Latest Blog Post: The Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung mbH (GSI) is a particle accelerator facility in Germany where ions are accelerated up to 90 percent the speed of light.
Posted in: Mechatronics on Campus | 08.19.2008.
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