N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are small, reactive ring molecules that bond well with metallic surfaces, and which over the past few years have attracted a great deal of interest in the field of the ...

The robotics field is advancing rapidly, with a growing emphasis on improving machine autonomy and interaction. As robots are ...

Surface modifications, in particular on gold, have been used during the past three decades to achieve significant breakthroughs in fields such as nanotechnology 1, sensing 2, surface protection and ...

(Phys.org)—Self-assembled monolayers are molecules anchored to a surface. These molecules have been used to advance the fields of molecular sensors and electronics. Monolayers on gold surfaces are ...

Carnegie Mellon University researchers have developed a new type of mobile robot that balances on a ball instead of legs or wheels. “Ballbot” is a self-contained, battery-operated, omnidirectional ...

N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are established ligands for metal complexes and surfaces. Here we go beyond monomeric NHCs and report on the synthesis of NHC polymers on gold surfaces, consisting of ...

In a surprising development in the field of robotics, researchers have discovered that small modifications to a robot’s body mass and ball size can significantly enhance its balancing abilities.

Even when you start pushing this odd-looking robot around, it stays upright. Here’s Ballbot, a robot that balances on its single spherical wheel that’s about the size of a bowling ball. It stays ...

It isn’t quite as lovable as the spherical droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but this robot from Carnegie Mellon University has the benefit of being more than a special effect (however cool).