Devices & inventions

AI-powered Berkeley robot among Popular Science’s ‘Best of What’s New’

12/03/19 — Pieter Abbeel, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, led a team of researchers to develop Blue, the Berkeley robot for Learning in Unstructured Environments.

Keeping edited cells healthy

10/25/19 — Researchers have developed a better technique to deliver macromolecules into cells, using inexpensive lab equipment.

Illustration detail of human cisculatory system

Mass-producing biomaterials

10/25/19 — A new 3D printing technique may allow whole organs, living tissue, bone and blood vessels to be printed on demand.

Roach-inspired robot

10/25/19 — Engineers have created an insect-sized robot that can move as fast as a cockroach and withstand the weight of the average human.

Illustration of ribbons and helix patterns

New frontiers in gene editing

10/25/19 — Berkeley bioengineers are developing new techniques and tools to advance CRISPR-Cas9 applications, which could have implications for nearly every genetic disease.

Wearable sensors detect what’s in your sweat

08/16/19 — A team of Berkeley engineers is developing wearable skin sensors that can detect what's in sweat, potentially supplanting invasive procedures like blood draws and providing real-time updates on health conditions.

Jerome R. Singer, MRI pioneer, dies at 97

08/06/19 — Jerome R. Singer, professor emeritus and a pioneer in the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), passed away in July. Singer taught and conducted research in the electrical engineering and computer sciences and the biophysics departments at Berkeley for 25 years.

New chip could lead to cheaper and better medical imaging devices and self-driving cars

08/06/19 — Berkeley engineers have created the fastest silicon-based, programmable two-dimensional optical phased array, which could improve medical imaging, optical communications and LiDAR sensors.

George Leitmann on rocket test track, Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake

Bancroft Library oral history, podcast highlight Berkeley Engineering achievements

08/01/19 — Berkeley Engineering's contributions to the rise of the semiconductor industry were featured in a recent library podcast, while mechanical engineering professor emeritus George Leitmann was interviewed for an oral history project.

Making the invisible visible

07/22/19 Berkeley Lab — Berkeley researchers have developed a new type of sensor network that is affordable and capable of tracking soot (black carbon). With more than 100 custom-built sensors installed across West Oakland for 100 days, the team created the largest black carbon monitoring network deployed in a single city.

Adding touch to virtual and augmented reality

07/15/19 — A new device developed by Berkeley Engineering researchers could allow users to feel their way through an augmented and virtual reality experience.

College of Engineering and College of Environmental Design launch new Master of Design program

06/25/19 — The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation will play a key role in the new Master of Design (MDes) program, an innovative advanced degree in design for emerging technologies.

ME grad student Hossein Heidari watches 3D printer creating a miniature of "The Thinker"

New 3D printer

05/01/19 — A new 3D printer uses light to shape solid objects out of a viscous liquid in a matter of minutes.

Heat-powered hat

05/01/19 — Berkeley students have created WeLumen8, a baseball cap with built-in LED lights powered by human heat.

Going to extremes

05/01/19 — Researchers have developed a thermal regulator that improves the performance of lithium-ion batteries in extreme temperatures.

Detecting superbugs

05/01/19 — DETECT is a test that can quickly identify strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria by recognizing specific enzymes in urine samples.

Oximeter array printed on flexible plastic

Sensors get flexible

05/01/19 — Researchers have created a flexible sensor that can be used over large areas of skin, tissue and organs to detect blood-oxygen levels.

Alum’s breakthrough endometriosis test

05/01/19 — Heather Bowerman's company, DotLab, has developed the first non-invasive test for endometriosis.

Squishy robot navigating a pile of debris

Squishy robots can drop from a helicopter and land safely

04/24/19 — New soccer-ball-shaped robots, created by engineers at Berkeley and Squishy Robotics, can fall hundreds of feet and be no worse for wear, or shape-shift in order to crawl from one point to another.

Oki Karaoke founders Aayush Tyagi, Luofei Chen and Noah Adriany

Can’t sing? These undergrads have a karaoke booth just for you

04/16/19 — A trio of undergraduates, including M.E.T. freshman Luofei Chen and EECS junior Aayush Tyagi, have launched Oki Karaoke, a startup that hopes to bring soundproof karaoke pods, already popular across Asia, to the United States.