wyss institute

Many startups fail in the ‘valley of death,’ so Collaborative Fund and Wyss Institute partnered to bridge it

Many new discoveries and technologies never make it out of the lab, let alone to market. Climate tech needs that to change.

Softly, softly, catchy jelly: This ‘ultragentle’ robotic gripper collects fragile marine life

The creatures of the depths live in a very different world — one lethal to us. But our world is lethal to them as well, all sharp edges and rapid movements. If we're to catch and learn about the sof

These robo-shorts are the precursor to a true soft exoskeleton

When someone says "robotic exoskeleton," the power loaders from Aliens are what come to mind for most people (or at least me), but the real things will be much different: softer, smarter, and used for

Tiny Robobee X-Wing powers its flight with light

We've seen Harvard's Robobee flying robot evolve for years: After first learning to fly, it learned to swim in 2015, then to jump out of the water again in 2017 — and now it has another trick up its

‘Underwater Pokéball’ snatches up soft-bodied deep dwellers

Creatures that live in the depths of the oceans are often extremely fragile, making their collection a difficult affair. A new polyhedral sample collection mechanism acts like an "underwater Pokéball

All-star team of synthetic biologists raise $53 million for cancer therapy startup Senti

A who’s-who from the world of synthetic biological research have come together to launch Senti Biosciences with $53 million in funding from a slew of venture capital investors. Led by Tim Lu, a

MIT and Harvard create cheap artificial muscles with super strength

MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has teamed up with Harvard’s Wyss Institute to create a super strong, affordable artificial muscle that could be used to creat

The RoboBee learns to launch itself out of the water

The RoboBee, a thimble-sized flying robot platform from Harvard's Wyss Institute, has been gaining improvements for years. The latest trick of this diminutive robo-creature is to dive into the water,

Quest to depict CG sperm leads to real biological advances

An effort to make a 3D animated sperm for a short film has ended up producing a model of unprecedented detail and considerable scientific value. If you were ever curious what goes on inside those thin

ReWalk Robotics shows off a soft exosuit designed to bring mobility to stroke patients

ReWalk has been talking up its upcoming “soft exoskeleton” since January. The company finally took the system out for a spin in the daylight, showing what it’s capable of at a robotics event hel

These stretchy, durable sensors could be woven right into clothing

If we must have an Internet of Things, it makes no sense to leave clothes out of the party. But clothes must be worn, washed, bunched up and folded — it's hard to make electronics that can survive a

ReWalk Robotics is building a ‘soft exoskeleton’ to rehabilitate stroke patients

The Boston-based company that was first to provide robotic legs to paralyzed veterans in the U.S., ReWalk Robotics Ltd., has a new product in development that you won’t see this week at CES. The dev

Harvard’s Octobot is the first autonomous machine to be made with all soft robotics

For years roboticists have been looking into using softer materials for parts rather than the usual metal and plastic — sometimes even building entirely soft robots. But this Octobot from Harvard is

This artificial stingray has a gold skeleton and light-activated rat muscles

Mimicking nature's most elegant designs has become a popular method for creating equally elegant robots (close, anyway) — but using nature's raw materials, too? That's what researchers at Harvard's

This machine 3D prints metal structures in midair by lasering nanoparticles

One limitation of run-of-the-mill 3D printers is that the structure must essentially be built as a series of layers, each one supporting the next. A new device from Harvard's Wyss Institute allows met