The Lego factor
There's a certain sustainability that's inherent in the mechatronic approach to design. If you've ever played with Lego's, you already know what I'm talking about.

The Lego concept is based on a simple building-block format; or more precisely, an intelligent and logical connection scheme. With Lego's, from simple shapes and colors arise incredibly complex and varied designs — all owing to the modular, scalable nature of the connection system. A similar dynamic exists in mechatronic design.

If you look closely, you'll realize that the common factor in both of these hierarchical building-block systems — and the key that unlocks their incredible creative potential — stems from the logical and expressive nature they share. In my mechatronic blog, I carry this topic forward, but before you link over to it, check out the helpful things we've gathered for you in this newsletter.

Hope you're having a great day.

— Larry Berardinis

Bio-Inspired Robot Scales Walls
If Spiderman ever lost his radioactive superpowers, he might do well to take a lesson from RiSE the robot. With a design like a mutated mechanical scorpion, the robot uses technology inspired by geckos, squirrels, cockroaches, and other vertically-inclined animals to scale walls and perform numerous other feats. You can see another detailed analysis of the technology here.

Life-Saving Robo-Vision
Film and TV would have you believe that surveillance in navigating a crisis scene is as easy as a robot taking a picture and beaming it your way. In reality, photos taken by robots reflect the quality and type of lens or sensor being used. A new standard for robot rescue projects aims to test the usefulness and quality of various video and photo systems.

New Prototype Humanoid Robot
We might still be years away from the futuristic dystopia of The Matrix trilogy, but that doesn’t stop developers from blazing forward in the robotics field. Pal Technology of the UAE has released its second prototype in a series of humanoid robots. REEM-B, an evolution of its predecessor REEM-A, can walk dynamically, recognize common household objects, and even converse with humans. With a reported battery life of roughly two hours, it is said to be one of the longest lasting humanoid robots currently in existence. You can check out the video here.

More Logical Than A Robot?
It could be that a chess game against this robot might take you about as long as it took the creators to build it. Still, you have to wonder if it wouldn't be worthwhile - just to say that you had done it.

Products

Electrical-switch catalog
The PC318 Product Catalog features hundreds of products including TL3340 – Sub-miniature SMT tactile switch; TL6190 – Sealed thru-hole right angle tactile switch with cap; ULP – Illuminated pushbutton switch with many LED color options; MDP-16 – Modular illuminated pushbutton switch with removable housing; RP8100 – Round, illuminated pushbutton switch with many color options; SS – Sub-miniature snap-action switch; and TS – Sub-miniature snap-action switch.
More Information:
E-Switch Inc.




Linear actuator
The EGSA ball-screw-driven cantilever actuator reduces cycle times to the absolute minimum. The unit’s short strokes offer a ±0.01-mm repetition accuracy. The EGSA comes as either a complete solution, with motor and controller, or as an individual component for adapting to third-party motors.
Design features of the EGSA include 50 and 60-mm drive widths; 100, 200, and 300-mm stroke lengths; 6-kg maximum working load; and 1.5-m/sec maximum speed.
More Information:
Festo Corp.