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  • Watanabe and colleagues investigate the effects of different lubricants on the friction coefficient during colonoscopy. They also develop a corresponding model to measure the dynamic friction coefficient and determine the optimal viscosity for minimizing colonoscopy invasiveness, enhancing patient comfort, and improving surgical efficiency.

    • Naoto Watanabe
    • Ryohei Hirose
    • Yoshito Itoh
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Salman, Garzón Ramos and Birattari report a strategy to automatically design stigmergy-based collective behaviours for robot swarms. This approach is demonstrated through simulations and real-robot experiments, encompassing a diverse range of four distinct tasks.

    • Muhammad Salman
    • David Garzón Ramos
    • Mauro Birattari
    ArticleOpen Access
  • With the increasing use of Li-ion batteries, Li extraction from brine and seawater, as well as recovery from used Li-ion batteries have become a necessary step for achieving sustainability. Kazuya Sasaki and colleagues report a three-electrode dual-power-supply electrochemical pumping system for recovering high-purity Li from ionic solutions with much higher energy efficiency than the conventional approaches.

    • Kazuya Sasaki
    • Kiyoto Shin-mura
    • Eiki Niwa
    ArticleOpen Access
  • David Le and colleagues report a deep learning approach to construct optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images by analyzing spatial variance in the structural images within retinal vasculature. This method has the potential to eliminate the need for repeated acquisitions at identical locations, thereby enhancing the clinical utility of OCTA.

    • David Le
    • Taeyoon Son
    • Xincheng Yao
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Zhang, Pan, Liu, and their colleagues propose a self-locking kirigami pattern that utilizes in-plane tension and release to fold 3D configurations. This method has been applied to construct a series of modular surfaces.

    • Qian Zhang
    • Ning Pan
    • Jianguo Cai
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Maximilian Gießler and colleagues introduce a wearable sensor to track human movement by directly measuring the angular acceleration. This approach eliminates the noise associated with numerical differentiation. The authors show that the improved tracking accuracy leads to benefits when assessing balance recovery responses to perturbed locomotion.

    • Maximilian Gießler
    • Julian Werth
    • Kiros Karamanidis
    ArticleOpen Access
  • High-resolution fiber shape sensors face limited application due to high costs. Manavi et al. proposed a solution employing deep learning for shape prediction directly from the fiber sensor’s spectrum. This approach eliminates the need for expensive measurements and complex post-processing, providing a cost-effective yet accurate method for detecting complex multi-bend deformations.

    • Samaneh Manavi Roodsari
    • Sara Freund
    • Philippe C. Cattin
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Xingyu Zhao and colleagues report a Bayesian learning framework for runtime self-verification of robotics systems. This framework allows robots to autonomously evaluate and reconfigure themselves after both regular and singular events, using only imprecise and partial prior knowledge.

    • Xingyu Zhao
    • Simos Gerasimou
    • David Flynn
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Dickmann and colleagues present an interferometric sensing scheme that delivers improved accuracy with wider dynamic range and high speed. They use the multiple modes of a Fabry-Perot laser diode with the weighted power to measure with moderate coherence and thus break up the periodicity of the sensor signal.

    • Johannes Dickmann
    • Liam Shelling Neto
    • Stefanie Kroker
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Yao and Ning present a method for sensing the folding and deployment behavior of tape spring hinges using skin-like strain and motion sensors. The integration of these soft sensors does not affect the structural deformations, thereby providing a solution to monitor the mechanical behavior of high-strain components under large deformations.

    • Yao Yao
    • Xin Ning
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Hyun Kum and colleagues report on the heterogeneous integration of high-k single-crystalline strontium titanium oxide within gallium nitride high-electron-mobility transistors. As the dielectric material is epitaxially grown and transferred, they achieve low defect density between the gate oxide and transistor heterostructures.

    • Jongho Ji
    • Jeong Yong Yang
    • Hyun S. Kum
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Large-scale deployment of direct air carbon capture and storage (DACS) is required to offset CO2 emissions. Here, Moritz Gutsch and Jens Leker present a cost model and life cycle assessment for several combinations of off-grid DACSs, powered by photovoltaic energy and heat pumps combined with battery storage. They find a cost optimal energy system layout for implementation in Nevada USA.

    • Moritz Gutsch
    • Jens Leker
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Transcranial focused ultrasound has had limited applications in humans due to the unpredictable distortions of ultrasound by the human head. Thomas Riis and colleagues report an approach which enables direct correction for the attenuation of ultrasound by the skull and hair, thus enabling controlled ultrasound therapies in humans.

    • Thomas Riis
    • Daniel Feldman
    • Jan Kubanek
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Fushimi and colleagues report a digital twin based method to correct the discrepancies between simulation and experimental states for acoustic hologram optimization. This method reduces the number of experimental measurements needed, thus more efficient as compared to classical finite difference based approaches.

    • Tatsuki Fushimi
    • Daichi Tagami
    • Yoichi Ochiai
    ArticleOpen Access
  • The fixed and narrow working frequency bandwidth limits the use of most acoustic absorbers in a dynamic acoustic environment. Shrestha and colleagues designed a tunable acoustic absorber capable of absorbing sound with varying frequency bands using dielectric elastomer bending actuators. The triangular petal-like structure actively reconfigures its shape by voltage activation to shift the noisy absorption spectrum, offering a practical solution for real-time outdoor noise absorption.

    • M. Shrestha
    • G. K. Lau
    • Z. B. Lu
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Chomiak and Hu introduce a versatile time-series data prediction algorithm using recurring local topological patterning. This algorithm reduces computational complexity and cost, and its feasibility is demonstrated across various dynamic systems including macroeconomic, wearable sensor, and dynamic population systems.

    • Taylor Chomiak
    • Bin Hu
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Medium-range wireless power transfer using magnetically coupled resonators requires a wireless data link between the contactless coils to regulate power. Here, Xiangning He and colleagues report a wireless power transfer system which efficiently multiplexes the information modulation and signal channel with the power conversion and transfer channel.

    • Xiangning He
    • Sheng Liu
    • Wanying Weng
    ArticleOpen Access