NewsPronto

 
The Times


.

USA Conversation

The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

Curved origami offers a creative route to making robots and other mechanical devices

  • Written by Hanqing Jiang, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Arizona State University
imageThese beautiful curves hold the key to a simple way to vary the stiffness of robotic grippers.njekaterina/DigitalVision via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Building robotic grippers that can firmly grasp heavy objects and also gently grasp delicate ones usually requires complicated sets of...

Read more: Curved origami offers a creative route to making robots and other mechanical devices

More Articles ...

  1. Así se decide formalmente quién será el nuevo presidente de Estados Unidos
  2. ¿Qué es el botox y cuánto puedo ponerme?
  3. Trump's purge of defense agencies comes at a vulnerable time for US national security
  4. No, soaring COVID-19 cases are not due to more testing – they show a surging pandemic
  5. Election polls are more accurate if they ask participants how others will vote
  6. Patsy Takemoto Mink blazed the trail for Kamala Harris – not famous white woman Susan B. Anthony
  7. Progressive prosecutors scored big wins in 2020 elections, boosting a nationwide trend
  8. Election spending in 2020 doubled to $14 billion – 3 takeaways from a campaign finance expert
  9. How mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna work, why they're a breakthrough and why they need to be kept so cold
  10. A brief history of presidents snubbing their successors – and why the founders favored civility instead
  11. CBD sales are soaring, but evidence is still slim that the cannabis derivative makes a difference for anxiety or pain
  12. Nearly two-thirds of older Black Americans can't afford to live alone without help – and it's even tougher for Latinos
  13. Virus evolution could undermine a COVID-19 vaccine – but this can be stopped
  14. Why for-profit college enrollment has increased during COVID-19
  15. Hoarding, stockpiling, panic buying: What's normal behavior in an abnormal time?
  16. Racial discrimination ages Black Americans faster, according to a 25-year-long study of families
  17. Coronavirus relief funds could easily pay to stop the worst of climate change while rebooting economies
  18. American timber industry crippled by double whammy of trade war and COVID-19
  19. A record number of women will serve in the 117th Congress, including at least 51 women of color
  20. What monoclonal antibodies are – and why we need them as well as a vaccine
  21. Secondhand clothing sales are booming – and may help solve the sustainability crisis in the fashion industry
  22. Trump 2024? Presidential comebacks have mixed success
  23. 7 things President-elect Biden can achieve on health care
  24. Connecting to nature is good for kids – but they may need help coping with a planet in peril
  25. Regulators can help clear the way for entrepreneurial energy companies to innovate
  26. Pro-mask or anti-mask? Your moral beliefs probably predict your stance
  27. How do geese know how to fly south for the winter?
  28. ¿Olvidar un nombre o una palabra significa que tengo demencia?
  29. A new data-driven model shows that wearing masks saves lives – and the earlier you start, the better
  30. 200 years ago, people discovered Antarctica – and promptly began profiting by slaughtering some of its animals to near extinction
  31. Genocide claims in Nagorno-Karabakh make peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan unlikely, despite cease-fire
  32. President-elect Biden's new COVID-19 task force gives the US a fresh chance to turn around a public health disaster
  33. Once a symbol of desegregation, Ruby Bridges' school now reflects another battle engulfing public education
  34. An AI tool can distinguish between a conspiracy theory and a true conspiracy – it comes down to how easily the story falls apart
  35. Ingredients in flu vaccine won't hurt you – two pharmacists explain why
  36. Preserving cultural and historic treasures in a changing climate may mean transforming them
  37. Amy Coney Barrett sizes up 30-year-old precedent balancing religious freedom with rule of law
  38. What's next for American evangelicals after Trump leaves office?
  39. Segregation policies in federal government in early 20th century harmed Blacks for decades
  40. While the Supreme Court deliberates on the Affordable Care Act, Congress and the White House may act
  41. New Yorkers knew Donald Trump first – and they spurned him before many American voters did
  42. Smart concrete could pave the way for high-tech, cost-effective roads
  43. When scientific journals take sides during an election, the public's trust in science takes a hit
  44. 60 years after JFK, Biden as second Catholic president offers a refresh in church's political role
  45. The many stories of Diwali share a common theme of triumph of justice
  46. On environmental protection, Biden's election will mean a 180-degree turn from Trump policies
  47. When a child chooses a donor to sponsor them, it's a new twist on a surprisingly old model of international charity
  48. Tweets reveal Trump’s and Biden’s competing views of masculinity – what that will mean for presidential leadership
  49. The Matrix is already here: Social media promised to connect us, but left us isolated, scared and tribal
  50. Americans don't eat enough fish and miss out on robust health benefits