Rainwear that repairs itself?

ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2011) — The first steps have been taken towards rainwear which repairs itself.

In co-operation with research scientists and industry colleagues in eight countries, Susie Jahren and her project team are developing the clothing of the future for professional fishermen. Midway in the EU project "Safe@Sea," the SINTEF team has high hopes of ending up with a world first: at textile coating which automatically seals small holes and tears in the surface layer of waterproof work-wear.

"We have shown that the principle works. Holes and tears we have made in test pieces in the lab close up all on their own," says Jahren enthusiastically.

Micro-capsules

The team has worked with the plastic material polyurethane, which is applied in liquid form to the surface of the underlying textile in modern rainwear and then hardens. To achieve a self-repairing effect, the SINTEF researchers have added micro-capsules containing a glue-like substance to the coating.

"If the coating tears, the capsules burst in the damaged area. Here the sealant content is released and hardens when it comes in contact with water and air, so the coating seals itself," Jahren explains.

From structures to textiles

Not long ago "self-repairing materials" would have been considered science fiction. However, scientists in several parts of the world are now working on developing self-repairing plastic structures and plastic coatings to protect metals against corrosion. SINTEF is carrying on such research for the automotive industry, but until now nobody has produced textiles which repair themselves.

Jahren explains that the adhesion in the joins produced in laboratory tests is still mechanically weak, but that its strength can probably be improved significantly by using different types of "glue" and increasing the number of capsules.

"However, there are other challenges and a lot of research work ahead before we can say anything about how effective the method will be. We still don't know what will happen if the tears are more than a couple of millimetres long, or whether rain will wash away the glue," she points out.

At the limit

The EU "Safe@Sea" project will continue until the end of 2012. The work is being co-ordinated by SINTEF and managed by the Norwegian company Helly Hansen. Hilde Færevik, co-ordinating the work at SINTEF, says the ambition of self-repair has been included because the project team wants to test ideas which lie at the limit of what is technologically possible today.

"In this project we are at the same time developing durable coatings intended to reduce the likelihood of holes and tears occurring at all. The garments we are developing for fishermen will also include integrated floatation functions. We also plan to incorporate a man-over-board button in the clothing which sets off an alarm enabling fishermen to be located rapidly in the event of an accident."

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by SINTEF, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Rainwear that repairs itself?

ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2011) — The first steps have been taken towards rainwear which repairs itself.

In co-operation with research scientists and industry colleagues in eight countries, Susie Jahren and her project team are developing the clothing of the future for professional fishermen. Midway in the EU project "Safe@Sea," the SINTEF team has high hopes of ending up with a world first: at textile coating which automatically seals small holes and tears in the surface layer of waterproof work-wear.

"We have shown that the principle works. Holes and tears we have made in test pieces in the lab close up all on their own," says Jahren enthusiastically.

Micro-capsules

The team has worked with the plastic material polyurethane, which is applied in liquid form to the surface of the underlying textile in modern rainwear and then hardens. To achieve a self-repairing effect, the SINTEF researchers have added micro-capsules containing a glue-like substance to the coating.

"If the coating tears, the capsules burst in the damaged area. Here the sealant content is released and hardens when it comes in contact with water and air, so the coating seals itself," Jahren explains.

From structures to textiles

Not long ago "self-repairing materials" would have been considered science fiction. However, scientists in several parts of the world are now working on developing self-repairing plastic structures and plastic coatings to protect metals against corrosion. SINTEF is carrying on such research for the automotive industry, but until now nobody has produced textiles which repair themselves.

Jahren explains that the adhesion in the joins produced in laboratory tests is still mechanically weak, but that its strength can probably be improved significantly by using different types of "glue" and increasing the number of capsules.

"However, there are other challenges and a lot of research work ahead before we can say anything about how effective the method will be. We still don't know what will happen if the tears are more than a couple of millimetres long, or whether rain will wash away the glue," she points out.

At the limit

The EU "Safe@Sea" project will continue until the end of 2012. The work is being co-ordinated by SINTEF and managed by the Norwegian company Helly Hansen. Hilde Færevik, co-ordinating the work at SINTEF, says the ambition of self-repair has been included because the project team wants to test ideas which lie at the limit of what is technologically possible today.

"In this project we are at the same time developing durable coatings intended to reduce the likelihood of holes and tears occurring at all. The garments we are developing for fishermen will also include integrated floatation functions. We also plan to incorporate a man-over-board button in the clothing which sets off an alarm enabling fishermen to be located rapidly in the event of an accident."

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and Google +1:

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by SINTEF, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Foambot Creates Itself Out of Sprayable Foam, Becoming Whatever Robot You Need

Foambot Creates Itself Out of Sprayable Foam, Becoming Whatever Robot You Need | Popular Science@import "/files/css/1857af3413d9ad8bd2f9d3926af8ec39.css";@import "/files/css/33f6b7ecb4513ed2fe6c670880a27187.css"; home Login/Register Newsletter Subscribe RSS GadgetsComputersCamerasSmartphonesVideo GamesCarsConceptsHybridsElectric CarsScienceFuture of the EnvironmentEnergyHealthPopSci Eco TourTechnologyMilitaryAviationSpaceRobotsEngineeringDIYProjectsHacksToolsAuto DIYMore From Our Partner: Toolmonger GalleriesVideosColumnsThe GrouseSex FilesGreen Dream Innovation ChallengesHow It WorksFeatures Tweet Digg Foambot Creates Itself Out of Sprayable Foam, Becoming Whatever Robot You Need By Clay Dillow Posted 10.19.2011 at 3:08 pm 5 Comments
Foambot

Like most machines, Robots are generally built toward a purpose or a set of narrowly defined applications, like automobile manufacturing or explosive ordnance disposal or making doner kebabs. So how do you make a robot that is truly multi-utility, adaptable to any job? You make a robot that can make itself.

Enter Foambot, a University of Pennsylvania creation that constructs itself on the spot depending on what kind of robot is needed at the time. Foambot consists of a mobile “mothership” platform and several joint modules that can create powered kinetic motion. Programmed for a task, the mothership can configure the joints on the ground and spray them with a mixture of chemical reagents that harden and expand into a solid urethane foam.

Related ArticlesThe Navy Wants a Swarm of Semi-Autonomous Breeding Robots With Built-In 3-D PrintersAt the International Robot Exhibition in Japan, Robots For Your Every NeedCould Robots Unite Under One Operating System?TagsTechnology, Clay Dillow, foam, foambot, robotics, robots, university of pennsylvaniaOnce connected by the hardened foam, the joints are coordinated by a piece of software that analyses the way the mothership has connected them and creates a motion scheme on the fly. And like that, you have a robot. Kind of like Voltron, but without the defender-of-the-universe mission profile.

The concept is pretty rudimentary for now, but it’s not hard to envision such a make-it-as-you-go platform being refined into a very useful concept, particularly for situations where humans know they might need a robot but don’t know what kind of robot they might need (say for humanitarian missions or for future space exploration, for instance). The Navy is already exploring this idea to some degree via 3-D printing. As you can see in the video below, this kind of concept is still taking form. Now we just have to wait for it to solidify.

[New Scientist]

Previous Article: European Alternative to GPS Lifts Off Tomorrow From South America, Via Russian RocketNext Article: Video: Google Finally Explains the Tech Behind Their Autonomous Cars 5 Comments Link to this comment Q 10/19/11 at 3:43 pm

Here! Here! For wishful thinking in robot self manufactoring. I like to see the results of this a few years in the future.

Link to this comment dorin 10/19/11 at 4:10 pm

its sertenly a good start but we have a long ways to go

Link to this comment beantown179 10/19/11 at 8:24 pm

Love the concept but doesn't really make sense to build something out of foam. If coupled though with the new material maker that uses DNA as its building blocks then we could literally have a machine build something that ordinarily would not exist in nature solve a problem remotely. Replace "foam" for another medium and instead focus on the AI - and now you have some serious advancements.

Link to this comment qksilver 10/20/11 at 3:28 pm

One obedient girlfriend coming up!

Link to this comment prime2011 10/20/11 at 6:52 pm

Nice idea and good start. Once they get to more exact precision with the limb creation etc then it should be quite versatile. Perhaps some sort of mobile 3d printer would be a good choice as well?

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October 2011: The Search for Alien Life

This month, we examine all the ways we're looking for extraterrestrial life, within our solar system and beyond.

Plus: Our annual Brilliant 10 list of young researchers, the story behind that "arsenic-based life form found" story, birth control for wildlife, and much more.

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Popular on Popsci Most Viewed TechnologyGallery: The X Prize Oil Cleanup ChallengeArchive Gallery: Classic Thrill Rides and Carnival AttractionsNavy’s Distinctly UFO-Like X-47B War Drone Makes First Flight in Cruise ModeWinner of Million-Dollar X Challenge Cleans Up Oil Spills Three Times Better Than Existing TechHomeland Security Application Monitors Crowds' Faces, Races, and Eye Movements to Detect Would-Be CriminalsAwesome but Creepy Japanese Product of the Day: Realistic 3-D Face Replicas The World's Most Failsafe Wireless Bicycle Brake Could Seed a Variety of Super-Safe TechnologiesVideo: A Homemade Rocket Soars 121,000 Feet in 92 SecondsThank You to Dennis Ritchie, Without Whom None of This Would Be HereUpdate: Iran Tried and Failed to Launch a Monkey Into Space Last Month Most Commented TechnologyVideo: Google Finally Explains the Tech Behind Their Autonomous CarsNavy’s Distinctly UFO-Like X-47B War Drone Makes First Flight in Cruise ModeThe World's Most Failsafe Wireless Bicycle Brake Could Seed a Variety of Super-Safe TechnologiesAerospace Entrepreneur/Motelier Robert Bigelow Thinks the Chinese Will Take Over the MoonNetflix Abandons Qwikster; DVDs Will Stay at NetflixVideo: South Korea's Small Robot Dog Quietly Prances AroundHomeland Security Application Monitors Crowds' Faces, Races, and Eye Movements to Detect Would-Be CriminalsVideo: A Homemade Rocket Soars 121,000 Feet in 92 SecondsPR2 Robot Learns to Scoop Up Distasteful MatterVideo: A 4,500-Pound Minesweeping, Drone-Launching, Armored Autonomous Mini-Tank Most Emailed TechnologyChinese Rare Earth Company Strokes Mustache, Cuts Off World's Access to Rare Earths to Inflate PricesVideo: A 4,500-Pound Minesweeping, Drone-Launching, Armored Autonomous Mini-TankAerospace Entrepreneur/Motelier Robert Bigelow Thinks the Chinese Will Take Over the MooniPhone Includes Russia's GLONASS Nav System Alongside GPSPretty Space Pics: A Skywatcher Captures the Cosmos Blowing a Beautiful Gas BubbleEuropean Alternative to GPS Lifts Off Tomorrow From South America, Via Russian RocketVideo: Google Finally Explains the Tech Behind Their Autonomous CarsFoambot Creates Itself Out of Sprayable Foam, Becoming Whatever Robot You NeedGermany's ROSAT Satellite Could Come Crashing Down Somewhere On Earth As Soon As FridaySmartphone Accelerometers Could Be Used To Eavesdrop On Nearby Devices Name Address 1   City State STATE Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware DC Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York N. Carolina N. Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island S. Carolina S. Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington W. Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Zip Code Email Today on PopSci.com Archive Gallery: Steve Jobs in the Pages of Popular Science, Over Three Decades575701071Futuristic Predictions From the Past That Steve Jobs Fulfilled575381072Can Animals Really Be Gay?574881073Video: Solar Sinter Project Turns the Desert's Free Abundance of Sand and Sun into 3-D-Printed Glass 551421074Five Reasons You Should Care About the New Ozone Hole Over the Arctic574171075Archive Gallery: PopSci's Most Gigantic Portable Gadgets573651076Inside the Factory: How a Chef's Knife Is Made571741077Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" Review: Getting Closer Now573451078Scientist in a Strange Land568431079What Is the Point of the Female Orgasm?5711610710Archive Gallery: Mail Order Kits, From the Back Pages of PopSci5719710711Baffling CERN Results Show Neutrinos Moving Faster Than the Speed of Light5720010712 Footer Menu Subscribe to the Print EditionSubscribe to the Digital EditionRenew SubscriptionCustomer ServiceSite MapAbout UsContact UsAdvertisingPrivacy PolicyTerms of UseAbuseRSS FeedsPS Showcase

 

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Could a computer one day rewire itself? New nanomaterial 'steers' electric currents in multiple dimensions

ScienceDaily (Oct. 16, 2011) — Scientists at Northwestern University have developed a new nanomaterial that can "steer" electrical currents. The development could lead to a computer that can simply reconfigure its internal wiring and become an entirely different device, based on changing needs.

As electronic devices are built smaller and smaller, the materials from which the circuits are constructed begin to lose their properties and begin to be controlled by quantum mechanical phenomena. Reaching this physical barrier, many scientists have begun building circuits into multiple dimensions, such as stacking components on top of one another.

The Northwestern team has taken a fundamentally different approach. They have made reconfigurable electronic materials: materials that can rearrange themselves to meet different computational needs at different times.

"Our new steering technology allows use to direct current flow through a piece of continuous material," said Bartosz A. Grzybowski, who led the research. "Like redirecting a river, streams of electrons can be steered in multiple directions through a block of the material -- even multiple streams flowing in opposing directions at the same time."

Grzybowski is professor of chemical and biological engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science and professor of chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

The Northwestern material combines different aspects of silicon- and polymer-based electronics to create a new classification of electronic materials: nanoparticle-based electronics.

The study, in which the authors report making preliminary electronic components with the hybrid material, will be published online Oct. 16 by the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The research also will be published as the cover story in the November print issue of the journal.

"Besides acting as three-dimensional bridges between existing technologies, the reversible nature of this new material could allow a computer to redirect and adapt its own circuitry to what is required at a specific moment in time," said David A. Walker, an author of the study and a graduate student in Grzybowski's research group.

Imagine a single device that reconfigures itself into a resistor, a rectifier, a diode and a transistor based on signals from a computer. The multi-dimensional circuitry could be reconfigured into new electronic circuits using a varied input sequence of electrical pulses.

The hybrid material is composed of electrically conductive particles, each five nanometers in width, coated with a special positively charged chemical. (A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.) The particles are surrounded by a sea of negatively charged atoms that balance out the positive charges fixed on the particles. By applying an electrical charge across the material, the small negative atoms can be moved and reconfigured, but the relatively larger positive particles are not able to move.

By moving this sea of negative atoms around the material, regions of low and high conductance can be modulated; the result is the creation of a directed path that allows electrons to flow through the material. Old paths can be erased and new paths created by pushing and pulling the sea of negative atoms. More complex electrical components, such as diodes and transistors, can be made when multiple types of nanoparticles are used.

The title of the paper is "Dynamic Internal Gradients Control and Direct Electric Currents Within Nanostructured Materials." In addition to Grzybowski and Walker, other authors are Hideyuki Nakanishi, Paul J. Wesson, Yong Yan, Siowling Soh and Sumanth Swaminathan, from Northwestern, and Kyle J. M. Bishop, a former member of the Grzybowski research group, now with Pennsylvania State University.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Northwestern University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: ScienceDaily reserves the right to edit materials for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Hideyuki Nakanishi, David A. Walker, Kyle J. M. Bishop, Paul J. Wesson, Yong Yan, Siowling Soh, Sumanth Swaminathan, Bartosz A. Grzybowski. Dynamic internal gradients control and direct electric currents within nanostructured materials. Nature Nanotechnology, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2011.165

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

New sensor to measure structural stresses can heal itself when broken

ScienceDaily (June 17, 2011) — Researchers from North Carolina State University have designed a sensor that can measure strain in structural materials and is capable of healing itself -- an important advance for collecting data to help us make informed decisions about structural safety in the wake of earthquakes, explosions or other unexpected events.

Engineers use sensors to measure the strain, or forces, exerted on materials used to build everything from airplanes to civil infrastructure. For example, these sensors can tell us how an airplane wing is performing in flight, and give maintenance authorities advance notice when the wing may be near failure. In other words, it gives you a chance to address an issue before it becomes a problem.

Historically, one flaw in such sensors is that they can break under stress. That means the sensor can no longer provide information to users, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the material they were monitoring has been irreparably harmed. And, as in the airplane example, the sensors may be inaccessible -- making them difficult or impossible to replace.

"To address this problem, we've developed a sensor that automatically repairs itself, in the event that it is broken," says Dr. Kara Peters, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research.

The sensor can stretch and compress along with the material it monitors. An infrared (IR) light wave runs through the sensor and detects these changes in length, which tells us how much strain the material is undergoing.

The sensor contains two glass optical fibers that run through a reservoir filled with ultraviolet(UV)-curable resin. The ends of the glass fibers are aligned with each other, but separated by a small gap. Focused beams of IR and UV light run through one of the fibers. When the tightly focused UV beam hits the resin, the resin hardens, creating a thin polymer filament that connects the glass fibers -- creating a closed circuit for the IR light. The rest of the resin in the reservoir remains in liquid form, surrounding the filament.

The remaining liquid resin is important. If the polymer filament breaks under stress, more liquid resin rushes into the gap, comes into contact with the UV beam and hardens -- repairing the sensor automatically.

"Events that can break a sensor, but don't break the structure being monitored, are important," Peters says. "These events could be bird strikes to an airplane wing or earthquake damage to a building. Collecting data on what has happened to these structures can help us make informed decisions about what is safe and what is not. But if those sensors are broken, that data isn't available. Hopefully, this new sensor design will help us collect this sort of data in the future."

The paper, "A self-repairing polymer waveguide sensor," is published in the June issue of Smart Materials And Structures and was co-authored by Peters and NC State Ph.D. student Young Song. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

NC State's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is part of the university's College of Engineering.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by North Carolina State University.

Journal Reference:

Young J Song, Kara J Peters. A self-repairing polymer waveguide sensor. Smart Materials and Structures, 2011; 20 (6): 065005 DOI: 10.1088/0964-1726/20/6/065005

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

New sensor to measure structural stresses can heal itself when broken

ScienceDaily (June 17, 2011) — Researchers from North Carolina State University have designed a sensor that can measure strain in structural materials and is capable of healing itself -- an important advance for collecting data to help us make informed decisions about structural safety in the wake of earthquakes, explosions or other unexpected events.

Engineers use sensors to measure the strain, or forces, exerted on materials used to build everything from airplanes to civil infrastructure. For example, these sensors can tell us how an airplane wing is performing in flight, and give maintenance authorities advance notice when the wing may be near failure. In other words, it gives you a chance to address an issue before it becomes a problem.

Historically, one flaw in such sensors is that they can break under stress. That means the sensor can no longer provide information to users, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the material they were monitoring has been irreparably harmed. And, as in the airplane example, the sensors may be inaccessible -- making them difficult or impossible to replace.

"To address this problem, we've developed a sensor that automatically repairs itself, in the event that it is broken," says Dr. Kara Peters, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research.

The sensor can stretch and compress along with the material it monitors. An infrared (IR) light wave runs through the sensor and detects these changes in length, which tells us how much strain the material is undergoing.

The sensor contains two glass optical fibers that run through a reservoir filled with ultraviolet(UV)-curable resin. The ends of the glass fibers are aligned with each other, but separated by a small gap. Focused beams of IR and UV light run through one of the fibers. When the tightly focused UV beam hits the resin, the resin hardens, creating a thin polymer filament that connects the glass fibers -- creating a closed circuit for the IR light. The rest of the resin in the reservoir remains in liquid form, surrounding the filament.

The remaining liquid resin is important. If the polymer filament breaks under stress, more liquid resin rushes into the gap, comes into contact with the UV beam and hardens -- repairing the sensor automatically.

"Events that can break a sensor, but don't break the structure being monitored, are important," Peters says. "These events could be bird strikes to an airplane wing or earthquake damage to a building. Collecting data on what has happened to these structures can help us make informed decisions about what is safe and what is not. But if those sensors are broken, that data isn't available. Hopefully, this new sensor design will help us collect this sort of data in the future."

The paper, "A self-repairing polymer waveguide sensor," is published in the June issue of Smart Materials And Structures and was co-authored by Peters and NC State Ph.D. student Young Song. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

NC State's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is part of the university's College of Engineering.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by North Carolina State University.

Journal Reference:

Young J Song, Kara J Peters. A self-repairing polymer waveguide sensor. Smart Materials and Structures, 2011; 20 (6): 065005 DOI: 10.1088/0964-1726/20/6/065005

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here