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In a breakthrough that’s straight out of science fiction, a team of engineers at Caltech has developed a real-life Transformer that can morph in mid-air, allowing it to smoothly transition from flying to rolling on the ground. This innovative technology has far-reaching implications for commercial delivery systems and robotic explorers, making it an exciting development in the field of robotics.

The new robot, dubbed ATMO (aerially transforming morphobot), uses four thrusters to fly but can transform into a ground-rolling configuration using a single motor that lifts its thrusters up or down. This unique design allows ATMO to change its shape and function seamlessly, enabling it to adapt to various environments and situations.

According to Ioannis Mandralis, the lead author of the research paper published in Communications Engineering, “We designed and built a new robotic system inspired by nature – by the way that animals can use their bodies in different ways to achieve different types of locomotion.” For example, birds fly and then change their body morphology to slow themselves down and avoid obstacles. Mandralis adds, “Having the ability to transform in the air unlocks a lot of possibilities for improved autonomy and robustness.”

However, mid-air transformation also poses challenges due to complex aerodynamic forces that come into play both because the robot is close to the ground and because it is changing its shape as it morphs. Mory Gharib, the Hans W. Liepmann Professor of Aeronautics and Medical Engineering, notes that “Even though it seems simple when you watch a bird land and then run, in reality this is a problem that the aerospace industry has been struggling to deal with for probably more than 50 years.”

To better understand these complex aerodynamic forces, the researchers ran tests in Caltech’s drone lab using load cell experiments and smoke visualization. They fed those insights into the algorithm behind a new control system they created for ATMO, which uses advanced model predictive control to continuously predict how the system will behave in the near future and adjust its actions accordingly.

“The control algorithm is the biggest innovation in this paper,” Mandralis says. “Quadrotors use particular controllers because of how their thrusters are placed and how they fly. Here we introduce a dynamic system that hasn’t been studied before. As soon as the robot starts morphing, you get different dynamic couplings – different forces interacting with one another. And the control system has to be able to respond quickly to all of that.”

The potential applications of ATMO are vast and exciting, from commercial delivery systems to robotic explorers. With its unique ability to transform in mid-air and adapt to various environments, this technology has the potential to revolutionize the field of robotics and beyond.

The researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have achieved a significant milestone in the development of controllable flat optics. By carefully placing nanostructures on a flat surface, they have improved the performance of optical metasurfaces made from conductive plastics. This breakthrough has far-reaching implications for various fields, including video holograms, invisibility materials, sensors, and biomedical imaging.

Traditional glass lenses are often curved to refract light in different ways. However, these lenses take up space and become impractical when miniaturized. Flat lenses, on the other hand, offer a promising alternative. They are made of metalenses, which form a rapidly growing field of research with great potential. Despite their limitations, metasurfaces have garnered significant attention due to their ability to control light using nanostructures placed in patterns on a flat surface.

“Metasurfaces work by placing nanostructures in patterns on a flat surface and becoming receivers for light,” explains Magnus Jonsson, professor of applied physics at Linköping University. “Each receiver captures the light in a certain way, allowing the light to be controlled as desired.”

However, one major challenge facing metasurface technology is the inability to adjust their function after manufacture. Researchers and industry have requested features such as turning metasurfaces on and off or dynamically changing the focal point of a metalens.

In 2019, Magnus Jonsson’s research group at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics showed that conductive plastics can crack this nut. They demonstrated that the plastic could function optically as a metal and be used as a material for antennas building a metasurface. The ability to oxidize and reduce allowed the nanoantennas to be switched on and off.

The same research team has now improved performance up to tenfold by precisely controlling the distance between the antennas, which helps each other through collective lattice resonance. This advancement enables conductive polymer-based metasurfaces to provide sufficiently high performance for practical applications.

While the researchers have successfully manufactured controllable antennas from conducting polymers for infrared light, their next step is to develop the material to be functional in the visible light spectrum as well.

This breakthrough has significant implications for various fields and opens up new possibilities for innovation. As research continues to push the boundaries of metasurface technology, we can expect to see exciting developments in video holograms, invisibility materials, sensors, and biomedical imaging equipment.

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Revolutionizing Night Vision: Infrared Contact Lenses Unlock Human Potential

Imagine being able to see in complete darkness, not just with your eyes open but even when they’re closed. Sounds like science fiction? Think again. Neuroscientists and materials scientists have made this possibility a reality by creating contact lenses that enable infrared vision in both humans and mice.

The technology uses nanoparticles that absorb infrared light and convert it into wavelengths visible to mammalian eyes. This allows wearers to perceive multiple infrared wavelengths simultaneously, with infrared vision enhanced when participants had their eyes closed. Unlike traditional night vision goggles, these contact lenses don’t require a power source, making them non-invasive and wearable.

“Our research opens up the potential for non-invasive wearable devices to give people super-vision,” says senior author Tian Xue, a neuroscientist at the University of Science and Technology of China. “There are many potential applications right away for this material.”

For instance, flickering infrared light could be used to transmit information in security settings, rescue operations, encryption, or anti-counterfeiting scenarios.

The team combined nanoparticles with flexible, non-toxic polymers used in standard soft contact lenses. After ensuring the contact lenses were non-toxic, they tested their function in both humans and mice.

In human trials, participants wearing the infrared contact lenses accurately detected flashing morse code-like signals and perceived the direction of incoming infrared light. “It’s totally clear cut: without the contact lenses, the subject cannot see anything, but when they put them on, they can clearly see the flickering of the infrared light,” said Xue.

Additional tweaks to the contact lenses allow users to differentiate between different spectra of infrared light by engineering the nanoparticles to color-code different wavelengths. This technology could make the invisible visible for people with color vision deficiency (color blindness) and help them detect wavelengths that would otherwise be undetectable.

The researchers have also developed a wearable glass system using the same nanoparticle technology, enabling participants to perceive higher-resolution infrared information. Currently, the contact lenses can only detect infrared radiation projected from an LED light source, but the team is working to increase the nanoparticles’ sensitivity so they can detect lower levels of infrared light.

“In the future, by working together with materials scientists and optical experts, we hope to make a contact lens with more precise spatial resolution and higher sensitivity,” says Xue. This breakthrough has far-reaching implications for various fields, from healthcare to national security and beyond.