This DIY Bipedal Robot Used Pneumatic “Air-Muscles” Instead of Motors
This DIY Bipedal Robot Used Pneumatic “Air-Muscles” Instead of Motors

In 1987, Richard Greenhill, a British photographer who was fascinated by (but had no actual training in) robotics, decided he wanted to build a life-size humanoid that could do useful things, like carrying luggage. He was working at a startup called I…

Poetry for Engineers: Cyborg Laboratory
Poetry for Engineers: Cyborg Laboratory

This is the place where you face yourself,the you that could be you with a fewdifferent parts, a pump for your heart,eyes off color, and fresh off the shelffake hair (a bit obvious), skin smoothed.You’re not perfect, but it’s a good start.Down to smal…

Make a Soft Digital Clock Tick With Millifluidics
Make a Soft Digital Clock Tick With Millifluidics

Electrons are great. We use them to move vehicles, illuminate cities, and, of course, compute. But computation is not confined to the world of electronics. And shifting to alternative nonelectronic realms can unlock unique advantages: Photonic chips, …

Finding Success in Industry as a Chip Designer
Finding Success in Industry as a Chip Designer

I have been an application-specific IC (ASIC) designer for almost three decades. Over that time, I’ve moved through the full academic trajectory, from graduate student to full professor; later, I transitioned to industry after an unsuccessful stint at…

Poem: The Attraction of Blackberries
Poem: The Attraction of Blackberries

The first time she tried to seduce me,(atoms falling in a vacuum)she asked about blackberries—(every mass exerts some gravity)Did I know their season, where they grow?(galvanometers, gravimeters)I could answer both easily—(tools to measure small attra…