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MIT device is converting carbon dioxide to oxygen – on Mars

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On the red and dusty surface of Mars, nearly 100 million miles from Earth, an instrument the size of a lunchbox is proving it can reliably do the work of a small tree.

The MIT-led Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE, has been successfully making oxygen from the Red Planet’s carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere since April 2021, about two months after it touched down on the Martian surface as part of NASA’s Perseverance rover and Mars 2020 mission.

In a study published today in the journal Science Advances, researchers report that, by the end of 2021, MOXIE was able to produce oxygen on seven experimental runs, in a variety of atmospheric conditions, including during the day and night, and through different Martian seasons. In each run, the instrument reached its target of producing six grams of oxygen per hour – about the rate of a modest tree on Earth. [Read more…] about MIT device is converting carbon dioxide to oxygen – on Mars

Kia unveils digital dashboard with monitor to ‘eliminate blind spots’

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Kia has revealed details of its “Blind-Spot View Monitor” technology included with the all-new Kia Sorento sports utility vehicle.

This “second pair of eyes” for drivers is designed to enhance safety for Sorento occupants and other road users by eliminating a driver’s left- and right-side blind spots.

The Sorento is the first Kia vehicle in Europe to offer this advanced driving assistance feature, one of a range of functions enabled by the car’s new fully-digital “Supervision” 12.3-inch instrument cluster. [Read more…] about Kia unveils digital dashboard with monitor to ‘eliminate blind spots’

Overcoming metrology bottlenecks in additive manufacturing

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By Eric Felkel, product manager optical profilers, Zygo Corporation

Undoubtedly there are many benefits associated with the use of additive manufacturing as a production technology.

Across industries, manufacturers exploit the fact that through the use of additive manufacturing they can not only build complex parts – in one piece – which were previously impossible, but they can also build stronger, lighter weight parts, reduce material consumption, and benefit from assembly component consolidation across a range of applications.

These advantages have been well documented during the last 10-20 years as additive manufacturing has emerged as a truly disruptive technology for not just prototyping but also production, and are invariably seen as being enabled by the additive hardware that builds the parts. [Read more…] about Overcoming metrology bottlenecks in additive manufacturing

Corindus instrument used in ‘world’s first’ remote-control robotic heart surgery

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A surgical instrument developed by Corindus has been used in what is claimed to be the first remote-controlled heart operation using a robot.

Corindus published its “Telerobotic Intervention Study” in The Lancet, saying it is “the world’s first percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures conducted from a remote location outside the catheterization lab using Corindus’ CorPath technology platform”.

The paper Corindus published, titled Long Distance Telerobotic-Assisted Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: First-in-Human Experience, discusses five successful patient cases performed by internationally acclaimed physician Dr Tejas Patel, chairman and chief interventional cardiologist of the Apex Heart Institute in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. [Read more…] about Corindus instrument used in ‘world’s first’ remote-control robotic heart surgery

Doctor, I shrunk the robot. Or… Out of their tiny little robotic minds

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By Chris Wagner, head of advanced surgical systems at Cambridge Consultants

Surgical robots today are large and unwieldy. This causes a number of challenges in the operating theatre. 

Setting up and managing the robots, for example, takes up valuable operating time. It’s also difficult to swap a robot in and out of a surgical procedure if traditional tools are more appropriate for some elements of an operation. And there are safety issues when clinical staff work in close proximity to a large piece of moving equipment.

So a surgeon has to weigh the benefits of surgical robotics against these limitations for each procedure where a robot is used.

There is an opportunity here – if we can simply make the robot smaller, many of these limitations disappear. It is much easier to move a small robot into an operating theatre, put it into position for an operation and move it out again afterwards. The safety concerns are also much reduced.  [Read more…] about Doctor, I shrunk the robot. Or… Out of their tiny little robotic minds

Robots from Mars to help reduce the environmental impact of farming

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Martian robots – or more accurately, robot technology designed for use on Mars – could help improve crop yields on Earth, according to researchers. 

A system developed originally to explore Mars has been transformed into an agricultural monitoring device for testing the quality of soil. It has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of farming.

The device consists of a mobile rover platform with a robotic arm which carries a soil sensing instrument. It is based on technology developed by the UK-based Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (STFC RAL) Space, and will be used in a new project being run by a team at the University of Strathclyde.  [Read more…] about Robots from Mars to help reduce the environmental impact of farming