Tag Archives: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

John Rogers returns with a silicon-silk circuit that dissolves inside your body

Posted on by

John Rogers returns with a siliconsilk circuit that dissolves inside your body

While you'd be forgiven for not knowing who John Rogers is, he's certainly graced these pages more than once. He's the research chief at the University of Illinois that's previously broken new ground in the world of invisibility cloaks and wearable technology. This time, his team has cooked up a silicon, magnesium, magnesium oxide and silk circuit that's designed to dissolve in the body in the same way that absorbable sutures are used in minor surgeries. It's thought that the tech could eventually be used to implant monitors that never need removal, reducing invasive medical procedures, or even build devices that eventually turn into compost rather than E-waste -- although we're not sure we'd appreciate our smartphone doing the same thing when we're making calls in the rain.

[Image Credit: Fiorenzo Omenetto / Science]

Filed under: , ,

John Rogers returns with a silicon-silk circuit that dissolves inside your body originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 08:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET  |  sourceTufts Now, ScienceMag  | Email this | Comments

Engineer Guy shows how a phone accelerometer works, knows what’s up and sideways (video)

Posted on by

Image

We love finding out how things work, and arguably one of the most important parts of the smartphones and tablets we thrive on is the accelerometer gauging our device's orientation. Imagine our delight, then, when we see the University of Illinois' Bill Hammack (i.e. The Engineer Guy) giving a visual rundown of how accelerometers work. Although it's certainly the Cliff's Notes version of what's going on in your Android phone or iPhone, the video does a great job of explaining the basic concepts behind three-axis motion sensing and goes on to illustrate how MEMS chips boil the idea down to the silicon form that's needed for our mobile hardware. Hammack contends that it's one of the coolest (and unsung) parts of a smartphone, and we'd definitely agree; you can see why in the clip after the break.

Continue reading Engineer Guy shows how a phone accelerometer works, knows what's up and sideways (video)

Engineer Guy shows how a phone accelerometer works, knows what's up and sideways (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 20:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Cult of Mac  |  sourceEngineerGuy  | Email this | Comments

A bird in the hand thanks to a robot that can perch

Posted on by

Bird-like robot shown perching on human hand

Land-bound robots? Been there, done that. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are taking things up a notch with a bird-style bot capable of autonomous flight. By replicating the features that enable birds to make a soft landing -- including the flapping wings that help them change direction -- the researchers developed the first micro aerial vehicle (MAV) capable of swooping down to perch on a human hand. The craft forgoes a vertical tail, which birds also lack, to allow for enough agility to land on a small surface. Articulated wings help the robo-bird complete the maneuver successfully, by first gliding into position and then pitching up and slowing down. Who knew perching was so complicated? Besides just providing a super-nifty party trick for these lucky researchers, the autonomous aircraft could be used in urban surveillance, where a small size would come in handy. Check out the MAV in action, along with the press release, after the break.

Continue reading A bird in the hand thanks to a robot that can perch

A bird in the hand thanks to a robot that can perch originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 06:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments