Industry Briefing
A single destination for timely, editor-curated robotics news from around the world.
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Develops TOSSIT Sensor for Chemical Threat Detection
MIT Lincoln Laboratory has introduced the Tactical Optical Spherical Sensor for Interrogating Threats (TOSSIT), a baseball-sized device capable of detecting hazardous vapors and aerosols. Designed for military and first responder use, TOSSIT can be thrown, drone-dropped, or launched into areas of concern. The sensor utilizes an internal camera and a removable dye card to identify chemical threats, alerting users through an app or alarms when dangerous substances are detected. The significance of TOSSIT lies in its ability to address a critical gap in chemical detection capabilities. According to principal investigator Richard Kingsborough, this low-cost sensor option is essential for identifying toxic dust particles and other chemical threats that smaller deployed sensor systems typically overlook. This innovation is particularly relevant in contexts involving nerve agents, blister agents, and industrial chemical accidents, enhancing safety for military personnel and first responders. Looking ahead, TOSSIT is undergoing a transfer process to the U.S. military following extensive field testing. No further timeline was disclosed at the time of publication, but the deployment of such technology could significantly improve situational awareness and response capabilities in hazardous environments.
Research Sensors Public health Invention 3-D printing Mechanical engineering
MIT Researchers Selected for Funding in US Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission Phase I
MIT researchers have been chosen to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, with 15 collaborative projects receiving funding under Genesis Phase I. This national initiative aims to create a powerful integrated science discovery platform that leverages AI, supercomputing, and quantum systems to drive advancements in energy and scientific discovery. The Genesis Mission is significant as it fosters collaboration between universities, industry, and national laboratories, aligning research efforts with national priorities. Ian A. Waitz, MIT’s vice president for research, emphasized the importance of this initiative in catalyzing innovation for the benefit of both the nation and the world. Looking ahead, projects that demonstrate promising pathways for transformative capabilities may receive further funding from the DOE. Six projects will be led by MIT principal investigators, while MIT researchers will also contribute to nine additional projects led by other institutions, showcasing a robust collaborative effort in advancing scientific capabilities.
Funding Artificial intelligence Quantum computing Laboratory for Nuclear Science Plasma Science and Fusion Center Research Laboratory of Electronics
IEEE Honors Robotics Pioneer Toshio Fukuda
Toshio Fukuda has been blazing trails for most of his career. He is considered to be one of the most prolific scholars in robotics, writing more than 2,000 research papers and authoring several books on the field. He’s an influential figure thanks to his pioneering work developing biomedical robotic systems, industrial robots, micro-nano robotics, mechatronics, and AI-driven automation.Fukuda launched one of the first robotics conferences, the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). It is still popular almost 40 years later.Toshio FukudaEmployerEgypt-Japan University of Science and Technology, in Alexandria TitleProfessor and vice president of research Member gradeLife Fellow Alma matersWaseda University, in Tokyo; University of Tokyo An IEEE Life Fellow, he is a professor emeritus in the department of micro-nano systems engineering and a visiting professor at Nagoya University, in Japan, where he taught for nearly 25 years. Currently, he is a vice president of research at the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology, in Alexandria, Egypt.Within IEEE, Fukuda has held top volunteer positions including the organization’s highest office: He served as IEEE president in 2020, becoming the first person of Asian descent to hold the role.He’s a former program director of Japan’s Moonshot program, which by 2050 intends to develop advanced AI robots.Born in Japan, Fukuda has been recognized by the country for his contributions to science with two of its highest awards: the Medal of Honor with a purple ribbon in 2015 and the Order of the Sacred Treasure in 2022.IEEE honored him with this year’s Richard M. Emberson Award for “distinguished service advancing the technical objectives of IEEE, especially in the area of robotics.” The IEEE Board-level award is sponsored by the IEEE Technical Activities Board. Fukuda received the award on 24 April at a ceremony in New York City.As a former IEEE president who has served as a master of ceremonies at several of the organization’s major award events, Fukuda noted that he is more accustomed to bestowing awards than receiving them.“It’s very interesting to be on the receiving end,” he says.The journey into robotics researchAs a teenager, Fukuda spent his summer breaks teaching himself how to build things including transistor radios and steam engines.“It was very nice to have a hands-on hobby and make these kinds of things myself,” he says. His experimentation led him to study engineering.He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering in 1971 from Waseda University, in Tokyo. He says one of his professors there—Ichiro Kato, regarded as the father of Japanese robotics research—was a good mentor who made a positive impact.Fukuda’s research interests were robotics and mechatronics, a field that combines robotics, electronics, computer science, and control systems.He went on to earn a master’s degree and a doctorate in science from the University of Tokyo, in 1971 and 1977. During those years, he also attended Yale, where he conducted research on advanced control theory in 1973.He reflects fondly on his time at Yale: “It was a very nice environment and a kind of free-thinking atmosphere. It motivated me to study more.”“IEEE doesn’t care who you are, what you do, what country you are from, or whether you are male or female. IEEE accepts people who have energy and passion.”While at Yale, Fukuda served as an assistant to his advisor—which led him to consider a career in academia, he says, because he enjoyed the freedom that research work afforded him.But he realized that such freedom comes with a price. University researchers are expected to raise the money that funds their work. He compares researchers to small-business owners who have to bring in money to keep their enterprise afloat.That realization led him to select robotics as his field because he intended to develop technologies useful to industry, he says.After earning his doctorate, he returned to Japan in 1977 to work as a research scientist at the government’s Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, later renamed the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, in Tsukuba.“There was a lot of research going on at the lab, including practical robotics and theory,” he says.He left Japan in 1979 to become a visiting research fellow at the University of Stuttgart, in Germany. During his year there, he studied systems, software problems, and related topics.He returned to Japan and was hired as an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the Tokyo University of Science. He conducted research into practical uses for robots by visiting industrial plants. He decided to develop robots that inspect industrial equipment such as those used in assembly plants, oil refineries, and power stations—places that “can be hostile environments for humans,” he says.His work drew interest from chemical, oil, and utility companies.“I got a lot of money from them for this very practical application, which funded my research,” he says, laughing.Developing popular robotic systemsFukuda grew tired of making those robots, he says, so he switched to creating ones for scientific applications. He developed many techniques, but he probably is best known for his modular, cellular robotic systems (CEBOTs), which he introduced in 1985.He has described how CEBOTs work in numerous papers published in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library.The CEBOT system is composed of a number of autonomous robotic cells that stick together like interlocking Lego plastic bricks, he says.Each cell is a fundamental modular unit that has a function. When a simple task is given, the system can analyze it and generate the structure of the cellular manipulator. The cells connect to and detach from each other through connection mechanisms and cooperate mutually, creating complex structures and configurations.“You start developing from the component-wise to the cell-wise to a small functional unit—and then you come up with clusters that make bigger systems. We can make a society of robot beings like that,” he explained in his oral history published on the Engineering and Technology History Wiki. “It’s a distributed robotic system, a self-organized robotic system, and also an evolutionary robotic system.“It’s also a fault-tolerant robot system because if something is wrong, you just remove those things and make a new one. You keep the system working. That’s a great thing.”Today CEBOTs are used for a variety of tasks such as delivering medication in hospitals, assisting with planting crops, and transporting products in distribution centers. Check out IEEE Spectrum’s Robots Guide for news from the world of robotics.In 1989 Fukuda joined Nagoya University as a professor of mechanical engineering and micro-nano systems engineering. During his 24-year career there, he was director of the university’s Center for Micro-Nano Mechatronics. He developed a long list of technologies at the university, including many for medical applications. He also conducted groundbreaking research into intelligent robotic systems and micro- and nano-robotics.Another technology he is known for is brachiation robots, which he helped develop in 1988. He calls them monkey robots because they’re based on the pendulum-like movement of monkeys swinging from tree to tree. The gravity-based locomotion enables continuous movement.Brachiation robots now are inspecting high-voltage transmission towers and bridges, searching damaged buildings for survivors, and performing maintenance on pipelines and cables.Fukuda retired from the university in 2013 and was named professor emeritus.He didn’t stay retired for long, though. He next held a teaching appointment at Meijo University, in Nagoya, until he left in 2022 to join the Egypt-Japan University.A prominent volunteerHe joined IEEE in 1980 at the encouragement of one of his research advisors, Professor Fumio Harashima, now an IEEE Life Fellow. After attending conferences and reading the organization’s publications, Fukuda says, he looked forward to becoming more involved.“I wanted to know how to organize a conference and how to edit a paper for one of its Transactions,” he says. “I wanted to know what was going on from inside the organization, not just the outside.”In 1988 he was the founding chair and organizer of IROS, in Tokyo. The conference had 330 attendees that year, and was supported by Harashima. Today it is one of the largest and most prestigious conferences on the topic, attracting more than 9,000 people annually. Out of 120,000 conferences, it was the only conference in the Nature Index database for this year, Fukuda says.In 1996 he and other members launched IEEE Transactions on Mechatronics.He was the founding president of the IEEE Nanotechnology Council, which was established in 2002. He is considered a pioneer in nanotechnology research, particularly regarding how it relates to robotics.Over the years, he has held numerous volunteer positions on IEEE editorial boards and committees.He was the 1998–1999 president of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, becoming the first non-U.S. member to hold the title.He was director of IEEE Division X (2001–2002 and 2017–2018), which covers intelligent systems, biological engineering, robotics, control systems, and photonic technologies. He served as the 2013–2014 director of IEEE Region 10 (Asia-Pacific).As the 2020 IEEE president, Fukuda saw the organization through the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of travel restrictions, he realized IEEE should change how it offered its in-person services, specifically educational programs. He encouraged IEEE Educational Activities to develop an online learning platform. The IEEE Learning Network started with just three courses and now offers nearly 2,000 courses, webinars, and learning materials.An award-winning memberThe Emberson Award joins a slew of other recognitions Fukuda has received from IEEE. They include several from the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society: a 2004 Pioneer Award, a 2009 Saridis Leadership Award, and the 2011 Harashima Award for Innovative Technologies. He is also a recipient of the Board-level 2010 IEEE Robotics and Automation Technical Field Award.He says he feels strongly that IEEE should be a diverse organization that is welcoming to all. As IEEE president, he led efforts to devise a diversity, equity, and inclusion program. Several policies, procedures, and bylaws were revised to give members a safe, inclusive place for discourse.“It’s important for IEEE to make everyone feel comfortable,” he says. “DEI programs are important. All people should be equal. IEEE doesn’t care who you are, what you do, what country you are from, or whether you are male or female. IEEE accepts people who have energy and passion.“It accepted me, from the Far East. That’s why I like it.”You can learn more about Fukuda and his career from the oral history conducted by the IEEE History Center.
Robotics Robots Ieee-member-news Type-ti Ieee-awards Toshio-fukuda
A shot of carbon dioxide rewires how cement sets
Recent research has unveiled the chemical sequence initiated by the injection of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into cement paste, marking a significant advancement in materials science. Conducted by a team of scientists, this study successfully captured a transient intermediate reaction for the first time through the application of real-time Raman spectroscopy. The findings, published in a leading scientific journal, aim to enhance the understanding of cement chemistry and its potential for carbon capture, which is increasingly important in the context of climate change and sustainable construction practices. By elucidating the mechanisms at play during CO₂ injection, the researchers hope to pave the way for more effective strategies in reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with cement production.
Research Concrete Carbon dioxide Civil and environmental engineering Concrete Sustainability Hub School of Engineering
Scientists Build Living Robots With Nervous Systems
Researchers at Tufts University have developed a groundbreaking type of biological machine known as a "neurobot," which combines living cells with neural networks to create self-directed systems. This innovative advancement was reported in the journal Advanced Science last month. The neurobots, which are constructed from frog cells, are capable of swimming and responding to their environment through integrated neurons that allow for electrochemical signaling. The development of neurobots marks a significant evolution from earlier biological machines, known as xenobots, which were limited to mechanical movements. These new creations exhibit more complex behaviors, such as exploring their surroundings and adapting to stimuli, thanks to their ability to process information internally. The research aims to deepen understanding of how neural networks can lead to sophisticated behaviors, potentially paving the way for applications in tissue repair and environmental monitoring. The team, led by biologist Michael Levin, plans to extend this technology by incorporating human neural cells into their designs, creating "anthrobots." These living machines could be trained to perform specific tasks, such as detecting environmental pollutants. The commercial startup Fauna Systems, co-founded by Levin, is focusing on deploying xenobots for environmental sensing, aiming to provide real-time indicators of ecosystem health. Despite the promising potential of neurobots, researchers acknowledge significant technical challenges ahead. However, the initial focus remains on simpler xenobots, which are already demonstrating valuable capabilities in monitoring environmental conditions.
Bioengineering Frog Living-cells Biomimetics Bioinspired-robotsRobotics needs a service framework.
RSF defines a common language for robot service capability, lifecycle operations, certification pathways, and service-provider networks.
