General Engineering

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Vanderbilt researchers have developed an eyeglass-compatible liquid lens that changes shape and focal depth on-demand. The wearer can adjust it to rapidly match 99% of focus corrections (-6D to +10D) by modulating a minute voltage provided by the small, built-in battery. The user can also adjust the lens' neutral, zero-voltage shape/focus in a matter of minutes. By tracking eye vergence, these lenses can even automatically change focus based on the distance of the wearer's viewing target.

A team of Vanderbilt engineers have developed a miniature magnetorheological (MR) brake with a combination of high braking torque and a fast response time. With potential applicability over a wide spectrum of applications, the device was initially developed with robotic and haptic applications in mind.

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a novel system for allowing surgical instruments to navigate around tighter corners and access difficult-to-reach areas in the body. This system uses pre-curved elastic elements added on to the existing instrument. Current surgical instruments are manufactured in a straight-line configuration, which means they must bend in order to reach around obstructions in surgery. By adding pre-curved sections, some of the bending is already accomplished, allowing the instrument to bend around tighter corners.

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a novel combinatorial logic circuit that prevents the propagation of signal glitches such as those caused by radiation-induced transients. The interlocked-feedback circuit accomplishes this without the loss of any speed. The circuit is designed for robustness in both combinatorial and sequential logic applications.