Awesome Engineering

Ever wonder how the mechanism in those toy cars work so you simply pull them back, and then they zoom forward? Explainer of things Jared Owen’s animation shows us the inner workings of these spring-powered cars and how they store and release energy.

Engineers from MIT have developed 3D-printed objects with embedded magnetic particles that allow them to change shapes in an instant. The current prototypes are mere playthings, but the tech could give way to tiny, remote-controlled medical devices.

The Engineer Guy explains how droplets form. It happens when fluid is allowed to drip such that it takes a form with the smallest surface area – a sphere. By vibrating the fluid’s container, one can control how fast droplets form. This knowledge is used in printing, painting, and even medical applications.

One of the more dangerous jobs in the world is that of a highway construction worker, so anything that can improve their safety is worth a look. The BarrelMover 5000 is an ingeniously simple invention, capable of moving barrels while keeping workers safely inside a vehicle.

Engineers from Princeton University and Google Brain Robotics show off a pair of robotic arms which work together with custom algorithms to toss and catch small objects. Machine learning allows the system to quickly figure out how to toss new objects accurately.

Engineers from MIT’s Biomimetic Robotics Lab show off a small version of their cheetah-inspired robot that can not only run, sidestep, and balance itself better than just about any ‘bot we’ve seen, but it can do backflips, and right itself if knocked down.

Robotics firm Festo shows off its impressive design for a pneumatic hand with flexible fingers that can grip things like humans do. It uses AI tech to learn to grasp objects, and has sensors to help it model the shape of the object it’s holding.

For a DARPA tech demo, CMU National Robotics Engineering Center developed wheels which can transform back and forth between round and triangular shapes instantly, with tank-like grip on soft surfaces in track mode, and a more conventional ride in wheel mode.

A wonderfully satisfying bit of engineering wizardry. What you’re looking at is a specialized industrial machine which spins a roll of plastic wrap around a freshly-milled steel coil until it’s fully protected for shipment. Here’s a slightly more sleepy look at a similar machine.

The University of Zurich’s Robotics and Perception Group have developed a drone that can autonomously change size to fit through tight openings. The result is a stable quadrotor which can more reliably access disaster sites, improving search and rescue operations.

Engineers from ETH Zurich developed this innovative cube-shaped drone which can generate force in any direction, allowing it to more easily change directions, and fly with greater agility than traditional UAVs which have all of their fans oriented at the same angle.

A demonstration video of one of the most impressive pieces of pro filmmaking gear ever made. Chapman Leonard’s Hydroscope crane can smoothly extend up to 73 feet, works underwater, and can stabilize shots with even the heaviest of camera gear attached.

Engineer Mark Rober tipped us off to this impressive build by high school senior Stefano Rivellini. His flying machine uses four 90mm ducted fans concealed inside of a bent carbon fiber tubes. The result is a drone without the risk of injury from spinning fan blades.

A while back, a video made the rounds showing what was supposedly a flying phone case. We figured it was fake, but as Mark Rober and Captain Disillusion point out, it also scammed people out of cash. Keep an eye on Peter Sripol’s channel for his WORKING version.

Time-lapse footage captured from the Swiss Tech Convention Center, which has installed a complex network of spiral lifts which can reconfigure the number, arrangement, and height of 2,300 of its seats with the push of a button. Engineered by Gala Systems.

If you have trouble tying your shoelaces, there are some great alternatives out there. But if you’re a mechanical engineer, you might build yourself a robot to perform the task for you, like these UC Davis students did. It’s not exactly fast, but it does get the job done.

More cars than ever are relying on electricity for propulsion, but using electric motors and batteries for aircraft poses challenges. Real Engineering explores whether a pure electric flyer would be possible, and why it’s so difficult to achieve. Caution, physics equations ahead.

MIT continues to improve upon its fast-moving Cheetah robot. In addition to its speed, it can now leap or gallop on rugged terrain, recover its balance, and climb stairs even if they’re covered with obstacles. Plus, it does all of this without the aid of cameras or visual sensors.

An amazing demonstration of the OpenDrop V3 – a compact system which uses current to precisely control the movement of fluids across the surface of an electrically charged grid. Thanks to its sophisticated control software, it can even play Frogger!

The study of extreme weather like hurricanes can help save lives and property. The engineers at the University of Miami’s Surge Structure Atmosphere Interaction Facility (SUSTAIN) have built an system which allows them to simulate hurricane force winds and water.

The PyroLance allows firefighters to spray water into a burning structure without having to break down doors, walls, or ceilings. It uses extremely high pressure to drill a hole into an adjacent space, then sprays a fine mist on the other side to reduce the temperature.

Engineers at UPenn’s ModLab developed a network of drones which are capable of joining together mid-flight to form meta-drones to perform tasks together. The prototypes appear to use static magnets, but electromagnets could allow them to detach easily.

Mehdi Sadaghdar puts on his superhero guise as “The Rectifier” to debunk another ridiculous claim of “free energy,” as he crushes the hopes and dreams of a young inventor who has been making the rounds with his supposed energy-harnessing machine.