Nick Parker Profile picture
Oct 6, 2024 6 tweets 2 min read Read on X
Lincoln Lab researchers appear to have invented a viable new class of motor in 2021???

They use electrowetting of tiny water drops which sounds like high voltage low force bullshit, but no!

Competitive power and torque densities to conventional motors! WTF??
I mean this paper is just a candy shop!
- Natively nanopositioning capable
- Native support for gear ratios without efficiency loss??
- Trivial, ultradense packaging of multi-stage actuators?
- Self alignment during assembly??
- Layer to layer interconnect with the same tricks??
Without exaggeration, this is alien tier technology and it's been kicking around in a Nature paper since 2021. I'm bewildered, these dudes should have a $100M valuation.

They're using the things to package AI chips! Cmon!
AI chip tool using the actuators:
Oh by the way they have insane acceleration. Full speed after the first step.

This is realtime! Cmonnnnn

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More from @NickParkerPrint

Dec 28, 2024
While plastic is on everyone's minds, a reminder that you can significantly reduce the plasticizers in your body by donating blood or plasma!

I work with molten plastic day to day and donate religiously because of this study lol Image
Oh man also:

COMPOSTING DELENDA EST. RECYCLING DELENDA EST.

The right end point for plastic is fire. Very useful materials, we should use them where they're useful, but burn them after.

For the love of god don't grind them up to 'reuse' them.
One of the worst US cases of PFAS contamination was a composting plant that got paper sludge from recycling.

The paper was packed with PFAS in the inks and waterproofing layers.

Massachusetts greenies bought the compost for home gardens, ruined their wells, and got cancer
Read 6 tweets
Dec 21, 2024
OK my $1000 bounty on this is starting to pay off. @icanc4 has been working it at Waterloo and connected w a Russian hacker who has tons of not-published-in-English info.

There's a kill-switch in FaceID modules which we thought was antitampering, but it's actually laser safety!
The unique part of faceID is the crazy optical module below which shines two invisible near-infrared lights in your face: a simple spotlight, and an array of 40,000 tiny laser dots (second pic).

Vincent found repair docs explaining that any tampering with the module kills both. Image
Image
The MOSFET below turns power to the lights on/off, and if you treat this assembly wrong the mystery chip burns a bit in its memory and refuses to ever turn the lights on again.

This is annoying for my dreams of repurposing them for robotics, but also just an odd choice. Image
Read 10 tweets
Jul 16, 2020
Did you know Disney has a research division?

They do super cool stuff, all in the pursuit of better animation, theme park animatronics, and toys.

Here's a thread of some favorites with possible applications!
Quasi-static cavity resonance for wireless power



If you build a donut shaped metal room you can do efficient, modestly powerful wireless power transfer throughout the room!

Imagine theme park rides full of tiny drones that *never have to land*
Diaphragm piston based hydrostatic transmissions for telepresence and more



Diaphragm pistons are a type of actuator with wonderfully low stiction, allowing remote controlled robots to perform precise motions with accurate force feedback and much more.
Read 10 tweets

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