Posted on October 7th, 2009 by axb
Anna Kornfeld Simpson, a high school senior from California, won top prizes at the California State Science Fair with her chemical-detecting LEGO robot. It took her over two years of research to develop the complex circuitry required to make the robot work. You can read her story on the National Science Foundation website.
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Filed under: Computer, e-News, Electrical, Mechanical | Comments Off on Student Makes Prizewinning Robot from Legos
Tags: Competitions for Students, Computer, Electrical, Mechanical, Robotics
Posted on October 2nd, 2009 by axb
Google Earth, the software that uses satellite imagery to create stunning views of our planet (from whole continents to your own backyard) may be in store for an upgrade. Researchers from Georgia Tech have devised a way to animate these pictures in real time, using algorithms that track moving objects such as cars and pedestrians. [PopSci]
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Filed under: Computer, e-News, Explore Engineering | 1 Comment »
Tags: Computer, Software, Technology
Posted on September 29th, 2009 by axb
An improved robotic hand created by Virginia Tech undergraduates captured the top prize in the American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Student Mechanism and Robot Design Competition. The hand, called RAPHaEL 2 (Robotic Air-Powered Hand with Elastic Ligaments), is an intelligent device that relies on a feedback loop to continually sense changes in the position and pressure of its fingers. [EurekAlert]
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Filed under: Computer, e-News, Electrical, Mechanical | Comments Off on Robohand Wins Top Mechanical Engineering Award
Tags: Competitions for Students, Robotics
Posted on September 22nd, 2009 by axb
Every year, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awards prestigious $500,000 fellowships (also known as “genius grants”) to a handful of extraordinarily talented scientists, researchers, writers, and artists. The grant is provided over a 5-year period, and recipients are free to use the funds however they choose.
This year two engineers were among the 24 chosen MacArthur fellows: Theodore Zoli and Maneesh Agrawala.
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Filed under: Architectural, Civil, Computer, e-News, Materials, Transportation | 3 Comments »
Posted on August 31st, 2009 by axb
It is well-known that many ancient civilizations used astronomy to track the days and months, but could they have also made a machine that predicts the movements of the cosmos with computer-like accuracy? In the case of the ancient Greeks, the answer is, shockingly, yes.
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Filed under: Computer, e-News, Explore Engineering | 1 Comment »
Tags: Engineering in History, Gadgets, Museums
