Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Engineering

This graspable haptic device, called Foldaway, is the size of a drink coaster when flat, making it conveniently portable. The user places a joystick where the three hinged arms meet, and the arms offer resistance, to give a sense of the objects being manipulated.

Here’s What the Future of Haptic Technology Looks (Or Rather, Feels) Like

Bringing the sense of touch to virtual reality experiences could impact everything from physical rehabilitation to online shopping

John Krafcik (left) and Dmitri Dolgov

2018 Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards

Why Waymo’s Fleet of Self-Driving Cars Is Finally Ready for Prime Time

Your driverless car is already here, thanks to the visionary engineers behind a bold experiment

The Leaning Tower of Pisa Has Gotten a Little Straighter

Engineers announced that the famed structure’s tilt has reduced by about 1.5 inches

The Magformers Sky Track was a favorite for testers.

The Ten Best STEM Toys to Give as Gifts This Year

Experts and kids of all ages recommend these tech toys, which inspire year-round curiosity

New Research

Brown Recluse Silk Is Stronger Than Steel Because It’s Constructed Like a Cable

Thousands of nanotendrils come together to form the flat, super-strong spider silk

Trending Today

No, Archaeologists Probably Did Not Find a New Piece of the Antikythera Mechanism

A bronze disc found near the shipwreck last year is likely not a cog wheel from the ancient Greek astronomical proto-computer

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is seen in Hong Kong, Monday, Oct. 22, 2018.

World’s Longest Sea Bridge Opens Amid Controversy

More than 275 workers were injured during the construction of the bridge, which connects Hong Kong, Macau and China

Anna Du is one of 30 Broadcom Masters finalists.

This 12-Year-Old Girl Built a Robot That Can Find Microplastics In the Ocean

Massachusetts seventh grader Anna Du has developed an ROV that moves through water and detects microplastics on the seafloor

Navy Chief Petty Officers are pictured with retired Navy engineer Raye Montague after her keynote speech at a Women's History Month Observance held at Naval Support Activity South Potomac on April 4, 2017.

Raye Montague, a Barrier-Breaking Naval Ship Designer, Has Died at 83

Despite facing racism and sexism at nearly every turn, Montague produced the first computer-made Navy warship design

A robotic arm performs a transplant operation.

This Robotic Farming System Could Be the Answer to Labor Shortages

Hydroponics startup Iron Ox is automating indoor produce farming

Jason Moore, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, David Pepley, a doctoral student studying mechanical engineering, and Yichun (Leo) Tang, an undergraduate student studying mechanical engineering, work with the needle simulator training device.

This New Needle Simulator Could Train Medical Students To Have a Steady Hand

Penn State researchers have developed a device that could help future doctors perfect their needle insertion technique—before they start on people

The bendable patch consists of a thin elastomer sheet with small “islands” of electrodes and piezoelectric transducers that create ultrasound waves from electricity.

This Ultrasound Patch Monitors Blood Pressure in Deep Arteries

The flexible wearable could be an alternative to current invasive methods of measuring central blood pressure within the human body

The 2000 crash of Flight 4590, says author Samme Chittum, was a perfect storm of chemistry gone wrong, a disaster as remarkable in its own way as the Concorde’s typical grace in flight.

This Freak Aviation Disaster Brought Supersonic Idealism Down in Flames

In a just-released Smithsonian Book, author Samme Chittum assesses the Concorde’s demise with the keen eye of a crime reporter

The antennas are made from a special two-dimensional metallic material called MXene.

Are Spray-On Antennas the Future of Wearables?

The ultra-thin, flexible antennas can be applied to nearly any surface using an airbrush

Norway’s latest ships, including the passenger vessel Future of the Fjords, may portend the end of carbon-belching vessels. Of the 60 or so fully electric or hybrid vessels in operation globally, 40 percent are Norwegian.

Norway’s Newest Ships Give a Glimpse Into the Future of Sustainable Seafaring

The country is using oil and gas riches to engineer emission-free vessels

New "robotic skins" technology developed by Yale researchers allows users to turn everyday objects into robots.

These “Robotic Skins” Turn Everyday Objects Into Robots

A team at Yale University has developed flexible robotic sheets that can make just about anything move

How Wireless Water-to-Air Communication Could Revolutionize Marine Research

Solving a longstanding puzzle, MIT researchers have developed a way of sending signals from underwater to airborne devices

"The Right Trousers"

These Robotic Pants Could Help Some Disabled People Walk Again

‘The Right Trousers’ combine soft artificial muscles and electric stimulation to get people moving

An artist's rendering of a space elevator.

Trending Today

Japan Takes Tiny First Step Toward Space Elevator

Two mini-satellites will test elevator motion in space as part of research for an elevator between Earth and low orbit

FOG (fats, oils and greases) in various stages of treatment

Turning Fatbergs Into Biofuel

Researchers have developed a new method for recycling greasy sewer blockages into green fuel

Page 14 of 25