Acoustic transmission loss in Hilbert fractal metamaterials.

Acoustic metamaterials are increasingly being considered as a viable technology for sound insulation. Fractal patterns constitute a potentially groundbreaking architecture for acoustic metamaterials. We describe in this work the behaviour of the transmission loss of Hilbert fractal metamaterials used for sound control purposes.

A Review of SMA-Based Actuators for Bidirectional Rotational Motion: Application to Origami Robots.

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are a group of metallic alloys capable of sustaining large inelastic strains that can be recovered when subjected to a specific process between two distinct phases. Regarding their unique and outstanding properties, SMAs have drawn considerable attention in various domains and recently became appropriate candidates for origami robots, that require bi-directional rotational motion actuation with limited operational space. However, longitudinal motion-driven actuators are frequently investigated and commonly mentioned, whereas studies in SMA-based rotational motion actuation is still very limited in the literature.

Toward Conductive Polymer-Based Soft Milli-Robots for Vacuum Applications.

For the last two decades, the development of conducting polymers (CP) as artificial muscles, by materials researchers and chemists, has made establishing a reliable and repeatable synthesis of such materials possible. CP-based milli-robots were mostly unknown in soft robotics, however, today, they play a vital role in robotics and smart materials forums. Indeed, this subclass of soft robots has reached a crucial moment in their history, a moment where they can display rather interesting features, based on established foundations in terms of modeling, control, sensing, and planning in various applications.

Ultracompact reference ultralow expansion glass cavity.

We present the first experimental characterization of our ultracompact, ultrastable laser. The heart of the apparatus is an original Fabry-Perot cavity with 25 mm length and pyramidal geometry, equipped with highly reflective crystalline coatings. The cavity, along with its vacuum chamber and optical setup, fits inside a 30 L volume.

Developments and Control of Biocompatible Conducting Polymer for Intracorporeal Continuum Robots.

Dexterity of robots is highly required when it comes to integration for medical applications. Major efforts have been conducted to increase the dexterity at the distal parts of medical robots. This paper reports on developments toward integrating biocompatible conducting polymers (CP) into inherently dexterous concentric tube robot paradigm.