Tech Briefs - Tech Briefs

1. Quoth the RAVEN: I Can Fly Like a Bird

   “As the crow flies” is a common idiom referring to the shortest distance between two points, but the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, led by Dario Floreano, in EPFL’s School of Engineering has taken the phrase literally with RAVEN (Robotic Avian-inspired Vehicle for multiple ENvironments). Designed based on perching birds like ravens and crows that frequently switch between air and land, the multifunctional robotic legs allow it to take off autonomously in environments previously inaccessible to winged drones.

2. Drive Systems for Medical and Laboratory Equipment

   Patients usually are not aware of it, but drive systems are always at their side: in prophylaxis when dentist’s use handtools with ultra-low vibrations, in diagnostics systems where medical imaging provides ultra-sharp images, in robot assisted incisions supporting surgeons, personally in rehabilitation devices or prosthetics. Whatever your medical application needs may be, our broad portfolio of drive system and accessories is always the right prescription.

3. Gyro Sensors for Monitoring Motion on Martian Moon Rover

   Silicon Sensing Systems Ltd
   Plymouth, United Kingdom
   www.siliconsensing.com

   The two moons of Mars — Phobos and Deimos — are the target of the Japanese exploration mission Martian Moons eXploration (MMX). This is a mission of the Japanese space agency JAXA in collaboration with NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), French space agency Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), and German Aerospace Centre (DLR).

4. Adhesives, Sealants & Coatings for the Aerospace Industry

   This 28 page catalog features a variety of products that are widely used for structural bonding, sealing and gap filling.

5. Dual Seal Method for the Hermetic Sealing of Microbatteries

   An adhesive for hermetically sealing batteries must resist chemicals, temperature, pressure, and electricity while ensuring minimal outgassing, low moisture permeability, high adhesion to packaging materials, and compatibility with the battery's electrolyte. Its rheological properties must support a continuous, impermeable seal and maintain integrity across temperature variations, with a thermal expansion coefficient aligned with the battery casing. Learn more about adhesive requirements and challenges for microbattery sealing in this white paper.