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Europe launches new satellite to provide faster and sharper weather monitoring

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The Meteosat Third Generation Imager 2 satellite (MTG-I2) has successfully passed its first critical post-launch milestones, completing the first full Meteosat Third Generation constellation in orbit.

The imager satellite MTG-I2 is safely in orbit and operating as expected following its successful launch yesterday at 22:11 CEST on board an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Our teams have established communication with the spacecraft, which has also deployed its solar panels to ensure its autonomous production of energy. [Read more…] about Europe launches new satellite to provide faster and sharper weather monitoring

How biodynamic farming can help farms withstand drought

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Farming around the world is under pressure due to drought. Heatwaves and the absence of rainfall cause dried out soils and threaten to spoil crops.

While biodynamic farming cannot change the broader conditions in the short term, it does have experience with shading and with building up humus to store water and increase plant and animal resilience.

“We know from experience and scientific research that agroecology, organic farming and biodynamics can help mitigate the effects of extreme weather,” says Martin Quantin, research associate in the Section for Agriculture at the Goetheanum, Switzerland. [Read more…] about How biodynamic farming can help farms withstand drought

Scientists combine EIT and pneumatic sensing for humanoid robot skin

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Scientists have developed a hybrid robotic skin that combines electrical impedance tomography with pneumatic pressure sensing in an effort to improve force detection across large areas of a humanoid robot, as highlighted by RoboSkin.

Described in a preprint published in May 2026, the system uses electrical impedance tomography (EIT) to determine where contact occurs, while four sealed pneumatic pads provide an estimate of the force being applied.

Combining the two sensing methods is intended to address a limitation of large-area EIT-based tactile sensors, where sensitivity can vary depending on the location of contact. [Read more…] about Scientists combine EIT and pneumatic sensing for humanoid robot skin

VUB leads European project teaching soft robots to sense, repair and adapt

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Soft robots that provide patients with tailored support during rehabilitation, gain a sense of touch to safely handle delicate objects, and switch between soft and rigid states depending on the task: these are among the ambitions of RESSORT, a new European research project led by Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).

Funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, the four-year project brings together 14 partners from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland to make soft robots more sustainable, intelligent and reliable, paving the way for applications in healthcare, the food industry and industrial inspection.

Unlike conventional rigid robots, soft robots are made from flexible materials that enable them to adapt more easily to their surroundings. This allows them to interact more safely with people and handle delicate objects without causing damage. [Read more…] about VUB leads European project teaching soft robots to sense, repair and adapt

Electronic skin gives robots and prosthetics ‘human-like touch sensing’

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Hanyang University ERICA researchers have developed a vertically integrated dual-gate transistor design, which could give robots ‘reliable touch sensing and high density, large-area integration’. 

Conventional tribotronic devices, that convert mechanical stimuli like touch into electrical signals, offer fixed sensitivity and pose challenges in large-area integration.

In a new study, researchers have developed a new vertically integrated dual-gated tribotronic transistor architecture, that offers tuneable sensitivity, reliable contact and proximity detection, as well as minimal pixel footprint for high-density array integration. [Read more…] about Electronic skin gives robots and prosthetics ‘human-like touch sensing’

Cold calling: How autonomous robots are transforming polar science in the Arctic and Antarctic

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The British Antarctic Survey says autonomous vehicles are ‘transforming polar science’

A robot is cruising beneath Antarctic sea ice. Another is bolted to the face of a collapsing Greenland glacier. A third is silently counting penguins on a remote, windswept beach.

None of them has a human operator nearby.

Across the Arctic and Antarctic, autonomous robots are changing the way scientists explore some of the world’s most remote and inhospitable environments. [Read more…] about Cold calling: How autonomous robots are transforming polar science in the Arctic and Antarctic

Researchers develop control system that helps bird-inspired robots stay stable in windy conditions

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Newly developed control method overcomes unexpected movements, improving disturbance rejection and reducing X-axis position error by 53.1 percent

Small flapping-wing (FW) robots could support applications such as inspection and search and rescue. However, they are highly susceptible to disturbances such as wind gusts, making stable flight challenging.

Researchers from Japan’s Chiba University investigated the flight dynamics of a commercial FW robot and discovered a behavior that limits how quickly its control system can correct disturbances.

They developed a control method that accounts for this limitation, helping the robot achieve more stable and accurate flight. [Read more…] about Researchers develop control system that helps bird-inspired robots stay stable in windy conditions

From cutting smartphone glass to ‘painting’ with light: Three applications of femtosecond lasers

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Femtosecond lasers are among the most advanced tools in precision manufacturing and can shape materials with great precision without damaging surrounding structures.

According to experts at LITILIT, one of the biggest barriers to mass adoption of femtosecond lasers is that they evolved from laboratory-grade systems and are notoriously difficult to produce at scale.

Researchers at EPFL university in Switzerland recently demonstrated a lab concept of an ultrafast laser integrated onto a photonic chip, showing how rapidly the technology is becoming smaller. [Read more…] about From cutting smartphone glass to ‘painting’ with light: Three applications of femtosecond lasers

IEEE study highlights cryogenic VCSELs for high-speed optical interconnects

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Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated that cryogenic vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (cryo-VCSELs) could provide a more energy-efficient method of transmitting data from infrared imaging systems while reducing thermal load.

The findings, published in IEEE Photonics Technology Letters recently, address a growing challenge facing advanced infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs), which increasingly require data transmission rates exceeding 100 gigabits per second as sensor resolution and imaging speeds improve.

Conventional electrical interconnects rely on copper links that can transfer heat into cryogenic imaging systems, increasing noise levels, cooling requirements and power consumption. [Read more…] about IEEE study highlights cryogenic VCSELs for high-speed optical interconnects

University of Rhode Island opens advanced Ocean Robotics Laboratory for autonomous marine research

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Event marked milestone for Narragansett Bay Campus 

The University of Rhode Island celebrated a major milestone in the $300 million, multi-phase revitalization of the Narragansett Bay Campus with an underwater ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Ocean Robotics Laboratory on June 25.

Students Elliot Roman and Jake Bonney piloted URI’s remotely operated vehicle Rhody to cut the ceremonial ribbon underwater in the building’s 20-foot-wide by 30-foot-long test tank.

Governor Dan McKee, House Speaker Emeritus K. Joseph Shekarchi, other local and state elected leaders, members of the URI Board of Trustees, and University faculty, staff, students, and alumni were among the hundreds who attended the ceremony. [Read more…] about University of Rhode Island opens advanced Ocean Robotics Laboratory for autonomous marine research

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