Shape Memory Alloys
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NASA engineers have added a new twist to a cutting edge aerospace technology by demonstrating how a new Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) actuator can fold a 300-lb (136 kg) wing section from an F/A-18 Hornet supersonic fighter plane.
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Robots are often equipped with vacuum grippers, for holding onto flat objects. Typically, those grippers are powered by compressed air, which has some drawbacks. Now, however, scientists have developed one that instead utilizes an artificial muscle.
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NASA sees folding wings as a key aeronautical technology for the aircraft of tomorrow and to make it practical, the space agency is looking to a cutting edge, lightweight memory alloy that allows an aircraft's wing and control surfaces to change their shape in flight without heavy hydraulic systems.
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In an effort to make a greener, more energy efficient cooling system, a team of engineers from Germany's Saarland University is turning to shape memory materials to replace the refrigerant gases used in conventional cooling technologies.
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Researchers from Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology have created a light-blocking facade for plate glass windows that only kicks in when exposed to strong sunlight ... and it's powered by that sunlight, too.
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Engineers from Germany's Saarland University have taken a unique approach with their prototype artificial hand. It moves its fingers via shape-memory nickel-titanium alloy wires, bundled together to perform intricate tasks by working like natural muscle fibers.
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When heated, shape memory alloys (SMAs) are able to return to their original shape after being severely deformed. Now researchers at Empa in Switzerland have developed a new iron-based SMA that could find applications in the building and construction industries.
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UK researchers have created an artificial beating heart to pump human pee to power small robots. The goal is to create a self-sufficient robot that can feed on all manner of waste from its environment, even human urine, to do its job, without needing maintenance or an external battery recharge.
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Researchers have built a number of shape-shifting prototype "Morphee" devices to demonstrate their new shape resolution metric to indicate the self-actuated shape-shifting abilities they believe will feature in next-gen mobile devices.
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ScienceThe pine cone has inspired the creation of a new type of memory material.
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Chevy has revealed its intentions to incorporate heat-activated "smart materials" into the 2014 Corvette.
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The Intra Uterine Ball, or IUB, is said to offer advantages over traditional intrauterine devices.
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