Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)

Researchers develop tough, self-healing rubber

Researchers have developed a new type of rubber that is as tough as natural rubber but can also self-heal.

Soft and stretchy fabric-based sensors for wearable robots

A team of researchers has created a highly sensitive soft capacitive sensor made of silicone and fabric that moves and flexes with the human body to unobtrusively and accurately detect movement.

Tethered soft exosuit reduces metabolic cost of running

Researchers have demonstrated that a tethered soft exosuit can reduce the metabolic cost of running on a treadmill by 5.4%.

Shedding light on how humans walk...with robots

With the recent boom of the robotic exoskeleton industry, more and more patients are being strapped into machines that apply forces to their legs as they walk, gently prodding them to modify their movements by lengthening their strides, straightening their hips, and bending their knees. But, are all patients benefiting from this kind of treatment?

Long-lasting flow battery could run for more than a decade

Researchers have developed a new flow battery that stores energy in organic molecules dissolved in neutral pH water. This new chemistry allows for a non-toxic, non-corrosive battery with an exceptionally long lifetime and offers the potential to significantly decrease the costs of production.

New level of control over the structure of 3D-printed materials

Researchers have developed a new method to 3D print materials with independently tunable macro-and microscale porosity using a ceramic foam ink.

Metabolic energy savings from wearable gait-improving robot

By removing the actuation, electronics and battery units, leaving only the exosuit's light wearable textiles and pulling cables, the researchers were able to calculate the impact on the wearers' joints.

Soft robot helps the heart beat

Researchers have developed a customizable soft robot that fits around a heart and helps it beat, potentially opening new treatment options for people suffering from heart failure.

Mimicking biological movements with soft robots

Designing a soft robot to move organically — to bend like a finger or twist like a wrist — has always been a process of trial and error.

3D-printed organ-on-a-chip with integrated sensing

Built by a fully automated, digital manufacturing procedure, the 3D-printed heart-on-a-chip can be quickly fabricated with customizable size, shape and other physical properties, while allowing researchers to easily collect reliable data for extended times in culture.

Artificial muscle for soft robotics: low voltage, high hopes

Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a dielectric elastomer with a broad range of motion that requires relatively low voltage and no rigid components.

The first autonomous, entirely soft robot

A team of researchers with expertise in 3D printing, mechanical engineering, and microfluidics has demonstrated the first chemically powered, autonomous, untethered, entirely soft robot.

A battery inspired by vitamins

Researchers have identified a whole new class of high-performing organic molecules, inspired by vitamin B2, that can safely store electricity from intermittent energy sources.

A thinner, flatter lens for wearables

Researchers have demonstrated the first flat — or planar — lens that works highly efficiently within the visible spectrum of light, covering the whole range of colors from red to blue.

Using static electricity, RoboBees can land and stick to surfaces

Roboticists demonstrate that their flying microrobots, nicknamed the RoboBees, can now perch during flight to save energy - like bats, birds or butterflies.

Printing metal in midair

The increasing demand for flexible, wearable electronics, sensors, antennas, and biomedical devices has led a research team to innovate an eye-popping way of printing complex metallic architectures as though seemingly suspended in midair.

Wearable exosuits for patients with limited mobility

The soft exosuit — which is a soft wearable robot that is the first of its kind — was developed through extensive prototyping that included the involvement of roboticists, mechanical and biomechanical engineers, apparel designers, and software engineers.

A better hologram for fraud protection and wearable optics

Researchers have programmed polarization into compact holograms, this has significant potential for wearable optics applications.

3D material with controllable shape and size

Imagine a house that could fit in a backpack or a wall that could become a window with the flick of a switch.

Tunable windows for privacy, camouflage

Researchers have developed a technique that can quickly change the opacity of a window, turning it cloudy, clear or somewhere in between with the flick of a switch.