A fairy-like robot flies by the power of wind and light

It sounds like science fiction: Robots for artificial pollination - can it work?

02-Feb-2023 - The development of stimuli-responsive polymers has brought about a wealth of material-related opportunities for next-generation small-scale, wirelessly controlled soft-bodied robots. For some time now, engineers have known how to use these materials to make small robots that can walk, swim and ...

New high-speed method for spectroscopic measurements

23-Jun-2021 - Researchers at Tampere University and their collaborators have shown how spectroscopic measurements can be made much faster. By correlating polarization to the colour of a pulsed laser, the team can track changes in the spectrum of the light by simple and extremely fast polarization measurements. ...

Like Pavlov's dog, this thermoplastic is learning a new trick: Walking

06-Dec-2019 - Researchers in Finland are "training" pieces of plastic to walk under the command of light. The method developed, published December 4 in the journal Matter, is the first time a synthetic actuator "learns" to do new "tricks" based on its past experiences, without computer programming. These ...

'Seeing' molecular interactions could give boost to organic electronics

30-Jul-2015 - Organic materials are increasingly being applied in cutting-edge technologies. Organic semiconductors, for example, are being used to develop paper-thin, plastic LED screens.Materials scientists need to understand the structures and physical properties of organic materials at the atomic level to ...

Finland to lead the way as a designer of cellulose-based products

09-Oct-2013 - The combination of strong design competence and cutting-edge cellulose-based technologies can result in new commercially successful brands. The aim is for fibre from wood-based biomass to replace both cotton production, which burdens the environment, and polyester production, which consumes oil. ...