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Mechanical engineering articles within Nature
Article | 13 November 2024
Task-agnostic exoskeleton control via biological joint moment estimation
A task-agnostic controller assists the user on the basis of instantaneous estimates of lower-limb biological joint moments from a deep neural network so exoskeletons can aid users across a broad spectrum of human activities.
- Dean D. Molinaro
- , Keaton L. Scherpereel
- & Aaron J. Young
Article | 06 November 2024
Bioelastic state recovery for haptic sensory substitution
Inspired by the art of kirigami, a haptic device based on a miniaturized electromechanical structure combined with skin as an elastic, energy-storing element demonstrates bioelastic state recovery and can be used in sensory substitution.
- Matthew T. Flavin
- , Kyoung-Ho Ha
- & John A. Rogers
Article | 16 October 2024
Harnessing plasticity in sequential metamaterials for ideal shock absorption
By not treating plasticity as a mode of failure and instead using it in balance with buckling instability, mechanical metamaterials can be designed that buckle sequentially and show superior shock-absorption performance.
- Wenfeng Liu
- , Shahram Janbaz
- & Corentin Coulais
Article | 17 July 2024
Sunlight-powered sustained flight of an ultralight micro aerial vehicle
Solar-powered, untethered, sustained flight of an ultralight micro aerial vehicle under natural sunlight conditions is achieved using an electrostatic-driven propulsion system with a high lift-to-power efficiency.
- , Jinzhe Peng
- & Mingjing Qi
Article | 12 June 2024
Experiment-free exoskeleton assistance via learning in simulation
A learning-in-simulation framework for wearable robots uses dynamics-aware musculoskeletal and exoskeleton models and data-driven reinforcement learning to bridge the gap between simulation and reality without human experiments to assist versatile activities.
- Shuzhen Luo
- , Menghan Jiang
- & Hao Su
Article 15 May 2024 | Open Access
Arresting failure propagation in buildings through collapse isolation
A design approach arrests collapse propagation in buildings after major initial failures by ensuring that specific elements fail before the failure of the most important components for global stability.
- Nirvan Makoond
- , Andri Setiawan
- & Jose M. Adam
Article | 08 May 2024
Self-oscillating polymeric refrigerator with high energy efficiency
We report on a near-zero-power flexible heat pump that uses both electrocaloric and electrostrictive properties of a tailored polymer to create a chip-scale refrigerator device.
- Donglin Han
- , Yingjing Zhang
- & Xiaoshi Qian
Article | 17 April 2024
Corner- and edge-mode enhancement of near-field radiative heat transfer
Near-field radiative heat transfer between two coplanar silicon carbide membranes in close proximity is enhanced by the electromagnetic corner and edge modes.
- , Lívia M. Corrêa
- & Chris Dames
Article | 03 April 2024
Shell buckling for programmable metafluids
A metafluid with programmable compressibility, optical behaviour and viscosity is realized by mixing deformable spherical shells that undergo buckling within an incompressible fluid; the versatility of these metafluids opens up numerous opportunities for functionality.
- Adel Djellouli
- , Bert Van Raemdonck
- & Katia Bertoldi
Article | 20 March 2024
Non-reciprocal topological solitons in active metamaterials
A local driving mechanism for solitons that accelerates both solitons and antisolitons in the same direction, called non-reciprocal driving, is introduced, showing a subtle interplay between non-reciprocity and topological solitons and providing waveguiding and wave-processing possibilities for other fields.
- Jonas Veenstra
- , Oleksandr Gamayun
Article 13 March 2024 | Open Access
Roll-to-roll, high-resolution 3D printing of shape-specific particles
We introduce a scalable, high-resolution, 3D printing technique for the fabrication of shape-specific particles based on roll-to-roll continuous liquid interface production, enabling direct integration within biomedical, analytical and advanced materials applications.
- Jason M. Kronenfeld
- , Lukas Rother
- & Joseph M. DeSimone
Article | 28 February 2024
High fatigue resistance in a titanium alloy via near-void-free 3D printing
We successfully rebuild an approximate void-free additive manufacturing microstructure in Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy by the development of a void-free additive manufacturing processing technique through an understanding of the asynchronism of phase transformation and grain growth.
- , Zhenjun Zhang
- & Zhefeng Zhang
Article 21 February 2024 | Open Access
Avoiding fusion plasma tearing instability with deep reinforcement learning
Artificial intelligence control is used to avoid the emergence of disruptive tearing instabilities in the magnetically confined fusion plasma in the DIII-D tokamak reactor.
- , SangKyeun Kim
- & Egemen Kolemen
Article 31 January 2024 | Open Access
High-quality semiconductor fibres via mechanical design
A mechanical design is developed for the fabrication of ultralong, fracture-free and perturbation-free semiconductor fibres to address the increasing demand for flexible and wearable optoelectronics.
- Zhixun Wang
- & Lei Wei
Article | 13 December 2023
Multiscale stress deconcentration amplifies fatigue resistance of rubber
A rubber in which highly entangled long polymers strongly adhere with rigid particles deconcentrates stress across multiple scales, amplifying the fatigue threshold.
- Jason Steck
- , Junsoo Kim
- & Zhigang Suo
Article 15 November 2023 | Open Access
Vision-controlled jetting for composite systems and robots
We have developed an automated and high-throughput, three-dimensional, vision-controlled inkjet deposition process that enables the high-resolution, contactless printing of a range of materials with varying elastic moduli to create complex structures and robots.
- Thomas J. K. Buchner
- , Simon Rogler
- & Robert K. Katzschmann
Article 04 October 2023 | Open Access
Bridging two insect flight modes in evolution, physiology and robophysics
Asynchronous flight in all major groups of insects likely arose from a single common ancestor with reversions to a synchronous flight mode enabled by shifts back and forth between different regimes in the same set of dynamic parameters.
- , James Lynch
- & Simon Sponberg
Article | 20 September 2023
Multistable sheets with rewritable patterns for switchable shape-morphing
To demonstrate the power of multistability, a specific class of groovy metasheets is introduced as a new shape-morphing platform that allows repeated switching from the flat state to multiple, precisely selected and stable three-dimensional shapes.
- A. S. Meeussen
- & M. van Hecke
Article | 06 September 2023
Turbulence suppression by cardiac-cycle-inspired driving of pipe flow
Turbulence can be reduced by more than 25% in ordinary pipe flow by unsteady, pulsatile driving specifically mimicking the cardiac cycle and extending this method to large Reynolds numbers.
- D. Scarselli
- , J. M. Lopez
- & B. Hof
Article 30 August 2023 | Open Access
Champion-level drone racing using deep reinforcement learning
An autonomous system is described that combines deep reinforcement learning with onboard sensors collecting data from the physical world, enabling it to fly faster than human world champion drone pilots around a race track.
- Elia Kaufmann
- , Leonard Bauersfeld
- & Davide Scaramuzza
Article | 09 August 2023
Solid-body trajectoids shaped to roll along desired pathways
An algorithm is developed to design a shape, a trajectoid, that can trace any given infinite periodic trajectory when rolling down a slope, finding unexpected implications for quantum and classical optics.
- Yaroslav I. Sobolev
- , Ruoyu Dong
- & Bartosz A. Grzybowski
Article 10 May 2023 | Open Access
High-throughput printing of combinatorial materials from aerosols
The authors report a high-throughput combinatorial printing method capable of fabricating materials with compositional gradients at microscale spatial resolution, demonstrating a variety of high-throughput printing strategies and applications in combinatorial doping, functional grading and chemical reaction.
- Minxiang Zeng
- & Yanliang Zhang
Article | 22 March 2023
Dense reinforcement learning for safety validation of autonomous vehicles
An intelligent environment has been developed for testing the safety performance of autonomous vehicles and its effectiveness has been demonstrated for highway and urban test tracks in an augmented-reality environment.
- , Haowei Sun
- & Henry X. Liu
Article | 15 February 2023
Autonomous self-burying seed carriers for aerial seeding
A study describes a wood-based, three-tailed, biodegradable seed carrier that self-drills into the ground in response to moisture fluctuations with a success rate higher than that of natural self-drilling seeds.
- , Aditi Maheshwari
- & Lining Yao
Article | 23 November 2022
Anomalous thermal transport under high pressure in boron arsenide
Competition between three- and four-phonon scattering processes is shown to be the source of a unique anomalous thermal conductivity in boron arsenide at high pressures.
- , Zihao Qin
- & Yongjie Hu
Article | 12 October 2022
Multi-environment robotic transitions through adaptive morphogenesis
A design strategy termed ‘adaptive morphogenesis’ enables a robot inspired by aquatic and terrestrial turtles to adapt its limb morphology and gait to specialize for locomotion in different environments.
- Robert Baines
- , Sree Kalyan Patiballa
- & Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio
Article 12 October 2022 | Open Access
Personalizing exoskeleton assistance while walking in the real world
A portable ankle exoskeleton uses a data-driven method and wearable sensors to adapt to the user as they walk in a natural setting.
- Patrick Slade
- , Mykel J. Kochenderfer
- & Steven H. Collins
Fast charging of energy-dense lithium-ion batteries
A new approach to charging energy-dense electric vehicle batteries, using temperature modulation with a dual-salt electrolyte, promises a range in excess of 500,000 miles using only rapid (under 12 minute) charges.
- Chao-Yang Wang
- & Brian D. McCarthy
Article | 21 September 2022
A dynamically reprogrammable surface with self-evolving shape morphing
The work presents a reprogrammable metasurface, constructed from a matrix of filamentary metal traces, that can precisely and rapidly morph into a wide range of target shapes and dynamic shape processes.
- , Heling Wang
- & Xiaoyue Ni
Article | 24 August 2022
Mechanical integrated circuit materials
A mechanical integrated circuit material based on Boolean mathematics and reconfigurable electrical circuits is created to demonstrate scalable information processing in synthetic, engineered soft matter.
- Charles El Helou
- , Benjamin Grossmann
- & Ryan L. Harne
Article | 03 August 2022
Strong yet ductile nanolamellar high-entropy alloys by additive manufacturing
An additive manufacturing strategy is used to produce dual-phase nanolamellar high-entropy alloys that show a combination of enhanced high yield strength and high tensile ductility.
- , Yin Zhang
- & Wen Chen
Article | 01 June 2022
Intermittent lab earthquakes in dynamically weakening fault gouge
Lab experiments show that spontaneously propagating ruptures navigate fault regions through intermittent slip with dramatic friction evolution, providing support that weakening mechanisms may allow ruptures to break through stable faults.
- , N. Lapusta
- & A. J. Rosakis
Article | 25 May 2022
Cilia metasurfaces for electronically programmable microfluidic manipulation
Artificial cilia composed of surface electrochemical actuators are combined in arrays to create arbitrary flow patterns in liquids, and, when integrated with light-powered CMOS circuits, enable programmable wireless operation at low voltage.
- , Qingkun Liu
- & Itai Cohen
Article | 27 April 2022
Engineered jumpers overcome biological limits via work multiplication
A comparison of the energetics of jumping between biological and engineered systems shows that engineered systems can greatly increase energy limits using the process of work multiplication, and this analysis leads to the demonstration of a 30-centimetre device jumping over 30 metres.
- Elliot W. Hawkes
- , Charles Xiao
- & Günter Niemeyer
Perspective | 16 February 2022
Towards enduring autonomous robots via embodied energy
The concept of 'Embodied Energy'—in which the components of a robot or device both store energy and provide a mechanical or structural function—is put forward, along with specific robot-design principles.
- Cameron A. Aubin
- , Benjamin Gorissen
- & Robert F. Shepherd
Article | 26 January 2022
Inhibiting the Leidenfrost effect above 1,000 °C for sustained thermal cooling
Structured thermal armours on the surface of a solid inhibit the Leidenfrost effect, even when heated to temperatures in excess of 1,000 °C, pointing the way towards new cooling strategies for high-temperature solids.
- Mengnan Jiang
- , Yang Wang
- & Zuankai Wang
Article 19 January 2022 | Open Access
Novel flight style and light wings boost flight performance of tiny beetles
Three-dimensional reconstructions of morphology and flight mechanics of the beetle Paratuposa placentis reveal adaptations that enable extremely small insects to fly at speeds similar to those of much larger insects.
- Sergey E. Farisenkov
- , Dmitry Kolomenskiy
- & Alexey A. Polilov
Article | 10 November 2021
Bubble casting soft robotics
An all-in-one methodology for fabricating soft robotics reported here uses interfacial flows in elastomers that cure to produce actuators that can be tailored to suit applications from artificial muscles to grippers.
- Trevor J. Jones
- , Etienne Jambon-Puillet
- & P.-T. Brun
Article | 03 November 2021
Drop-in fuels from sunlight and air
Carbon-neutral hydrocarbon fuels can be produced using sunlight and air via a thermochemical solar fuel production chain, thus representing a pathway towards the long-term decarbonization of the aviation sector.
- Remo Schäppi
- , David Rutz
- & Aldo Steinfeld
Article | 20 October 2021
Dexterous magnetic manipulation of conductive non-magnetic objects
Time-varying magnetic fields can be used to manipulate the position and orientation of conductive non-magnetic objects.
- Lan N. Pham
- , Griffin F. Tabor
- & Jake J. Abbott
Perspective | 06 October 2021
Mechanical computing
Computing approaches based on mechanical mechanisms are discussed, with a view towards a framework in which adaptable materials and structures act as a distributed information processing network.
- Hiromi Yasuda
- , Philip R. Buskohl
- & Jordan R. Raney
Article | 22 September 2021
Three-dimensional electronic microfliers inspired by wind-dispersed seeds
With a design inspired by wind-dispersed seeds, a series of three-dimensional passive fliers at the macro-, meso- and microscale are realized that can bear active electronic payloads.
- Bong Hoon Kim
Article | 11 August 2021
Structured fabrics with tunable mechanical properties
A structured fabric constructed of linked hollow polyhedral particles (resembling chain mail) can be simply and reversibly tuned between flexible and rigid states; when it is compressed, its linked particles become jammed.
- , Liuchi Li
- & Chiara Daraio
Article | 02 June 2021
Intrinsic toughening and stable crack propagation in hexagonal boron nitride
Single-crystal monolayer hexagonal boron nitride is unexpectedly tough owing to its asymmetric lattice structure, which facilitates repeated crack deflection, crack branching and edge swapping, enhancing energy dissipation.
- Yingchao Yang
- , Zhigong Song
- & Jun Lou
Article | 21 April 2021
Multistable inflatable origami structures at the metre scale
Origami-inspired multistable structures that can be inflated from flat to three dimensions have been designed; a library of foldable shapes is created and then combined to build metre-scale functional structures.
- David Melancon
Article | 14 April 2021
Liquid-induced topological transformations of cellular microstructures
A two-tiered dynamic design strategy achieves topological transformations of two-dimensional polymeric cellular microstructures in a reversible and temporally controllable manner through exposure to different liquids.
- , Bolei Deng
- & Joanna Aizenberg
Article | 03 March 2021
Self-powered soft robot in the Mariana Trench
A free-swimming soft robot inspired by deep-sea creatures, with artificial muscle, power and control electronics spread across a polymer matrix, successfully adapts to high pressure and operates in the deep ocean.
- , Xiangping Chen
- & Wei Yang
Perspective | 03 February 2021
Developing fibrillated cellulose as a sustainable technological material
Opportunities for the application of fibrillated cellulose materials—which can be extracted from renewable resources—and broader manufacturing issues of scale-up, sustainability and synergy with the paper-making industry are discussed.
- , Chaoji Chen
- & Liangbing Hu
Article | 11 November 2020
Ultra-sensitive and resilient compliant strain gauges for soft machines
Strain gauges with both high sensitivity and high mechanical resilience, based on strain-mediated contact in anisotropically resistive structures, are demonstrated within a sensor-integrated, textile-based sleeve that can recognize human hand motions via muscle deformations.
- Oluwaseun A. Araromi
- , Moritz A. Graule
- & Robert J. Wood
Article | 21 October 2020
Toughening mechanisms of the elytra of the diabolical ironclad beetle
A jigsaw-style configuration of interlocking structures identified in the elytra of the remarkably tough diabolical ironclad beetle, Phloeodes diabolicus , is used to inspire crush-resistant multilayer composites for engineering joints.
- Jesus Rivera
- , Maryam Sadat Hosseini
- & David Kisailus
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