Assistant professors in the University of Iowa College of Engineering have developed a robotic device to help people increase their range of motion in the wrist using artificial muscles to increase flexibility.

Collaborating at a crossroads of their engineering focuses, the Cooperative Autonomous Systems (CAS) Laboratory and the Smart Multifunctional Material Systems (SMMS) Laboratory at the University of Iowa are working on a new project: the creation of a lightweight, mobile, and low-cost orthotic robotic rehabilitation device.

A research team from the University of Iowa and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is developing a smart skin inspired by the cephalopod that can be used in 3D displays as interfaces for the visually impaired, and to help reduce drag on marine vehicles.

In a study published in Advanced Materials Technologies, the team, led by Caterina Lamuta, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Iowa, as well as Sameh Tawfick and Nancy Sottos, professors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, found that using twisted and coiled polymer fibers to create artificial muscles could produce lightweight smart skins that are capable of fine motion and shape modulation.

A research team from the University of Iowa and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is developing a smart skin inspired by the cephalopod which can be used in 3-D displays, as interfaces for the visually impaired, and to help reduce drag on marine vehicles.