Archive

It’s surprising, but in the Netherlands – a nation of cyclists – there’s very little data on how cyclists respond to each other in traffic. Yet this data is essential for creating more realistic traffic models, which in turn are key to designing better cycling infrastructure across the Netherlands. Anna Marbus, a master’s student in robotics, wants to change that by causing near collisions with cyclists.

On Friday, 13 September, Professor Matthijs Langelaar will deliver his inaugural speech, Computational Design: Shaping the Future. In his address, Langelaar, who researches algorithms for solving mechanical design problems, emphasizes how advanced design capabilities can significantly contribute to addressing societal challenges.

Cornel Thill from the Department of Marine and Transport Technology (MTT) is this year's best lecturer in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Thill is part of the Ship Design, Production & Operations section and teaches courses such as “Hydrostatics,” “Future Marine Propulsion Systems” and “Advanced Course in Resistance and Propulsion.”

Cosimo Della Santina has received an ERC Starting Grant to advance the intelligence of soft robots. His research will focus on having robots interacting with their environment via multiple complex large-area contacts, similar to how an elephant wraps its trunk around a branch.

TU Delft, University of Amsterdam, TNO and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee are joining forces to develop artificial intelligence (AI) for surveillance robots. The OpenBots consortium, officially launched on 4 September, focuses on creating intelligent systems that can support security staff in their daily tasks.

Can technology reduce stress in the OR?

A race in a canoe made from concrete?! The idea floated Civil Engineering master student Jasmijn van Riggelen’s to the annual Concrete Canoe Race. She saw an opportunity to put her knowledge into practice and decided to take on the challenge with a group of fellow students!

About Olympic sailing: 'much improvement still possible'

Rise of assistance robots at KLM and in healthcare: 'In five years, this will be very normal'

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded thirteen young TU Delft researchers from the Science (ENW) and Applied and Engineering Sciences (TTW) domains, a Veni grant of up to 320,000 euro.

'Scientifically there is still much to be researched around rowing'

A robot that cleans cowsheds. 95 Master Robotics students have been working on this project for the past few weeks. On 13 June, they presented their robots to lecturers and client Lely, manufacturer of automated systems for dairy farmers. The students developed the control software for the robot. It had to avoid cows and other obstacles and navigate itself to places where there is manure.

Some 570 first-year mechanical engineering students used their crate stacker to stack almost 2,000 crates during the design competition on 12 June. The eight best stackers went through to the final, where they had to stack up to 25 crates. The competition is the culmination of the third design course of the programme and challenges students to apply all the knowledge they have gained over the past year.

Innovations from TU Delft help the Netherlands win gold medals at Olympics

For his research with high societal impact, David Abbink receives the most prestigious Dutch prizes in science.

David Abbink ontvangt dit jaar de NWO Stevinpremie. De Stevinpremie en de Spinozapremie zijn de hoogste Nederlandse onderscheidingen in de wetenschap. Ze worden jaarlijks uitgereikt aan vier mensen in totaal ‘voor hun uitmuntende, baanbrekende en inspirerende werk’, aldus NWO, die dit nieuws vandaag bekend maakt. Abbink ontvangt 1,5 miljoen euro te besteden aan wetenschappelijk onderzoek en kennisbenutting. Hij ontvangt de Stevinpremie met name voor de maatschappelijke impact van zijn onderzoek.

Around 55 first-year students in the Maritime Engineering bachelor programme introduced their parents and other interested parties to the department and its programme during Design Day. After an opening session where the parents accompanied by students were briefed on the theory, they were soon able to roll up their sleeves and get to work. They even had the opportunity to build their own floating structure!

Reproducing a 3,000-year-old sword for your graduation project. Materials Science & Engineering student Dorien Westert is combining archaeology and materials science by studying the microstructure of iron swords. In the process, she may learn more about how people lived in the early Iron Age.

Will robots in the future know if a human has seen them and let them know this as well? If it’s up to TU Delft professor Joost de Winter, the answer is yes. He is working on contactless interaction between humans and machines. The ultimate goal is to merge human and robotic information processing. In his inaugural address on 7 June, De Winter will take you through the various aspects of his research but also shed light on the growing role of AI in science and education.

The first year of the Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering includes three design subjects in which the students work independently. Almost 800 students need parts, tools and guidance. Project teachers are indispensable in this regard. They help the students to put their own ideas into practice.

In a new season of the TV program Het geheim van de Meester, Joris Dik analyzes which materials were used for world-famous paintings.

Researchers from TU Delft and Brown University have engineered string-like resonators capable of vibrating longer at ambient temperature than any previously known solid-state object — approaching what is currently only achievable near absolute zero temperatures. Their study, published in Nature Communications, pushes the edge of nanotechnology and machine learning to make some of the world’s most sensitive mechanical sensors.

Jan-Henk Welink explains why better recycling is needed for the materials that are used for electronics.

In this video, Eline van der Kruk shows how your body changes throughout the years!

Professor in the Department of Biomechanical Engineering, DirkJan Veeger, was appointed Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau on 26 April. He receives this distinction for his exceptional achievements and contributions within science and society.

Taking the ski lift to work. That's not something many people can say. For postdoc and TU Delft alumnus Koen Muller, this has been a reality for almost 1 year. Next to a ski slope near Davos, he is building a unique measurement setup with which he wants to collect data on snowstorms to gain more insight into the interaction of snowflake aggregation and atmospheric turbulence.

This year’s ‘Meet the Professor’ event took place on 17 April. TU Delft uses the ‘Meet the Professor’ event to celebrate the city’s birthday together with primary schools. During this event, TU Delft professors give a guest lecture about their research at Delft primary schools. Professors Maarten van der Elst and Paul Breedveld represented the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 2024.

From robots that stock shelves to aid during post-stroke rehabilitation, and from autonomous drones to self-driving cars. All these and more robots can now be found under one roof at TU Delft. On 17 April, the Cognitive Robotics department will open its brand-new lab where not only robots, but also researchers and technicians will come together. This should encourage cross-pollination of knowledge and creative solutions and take research into robotics to the next level.

What is more polluting: travelling by boat or plane?

Jan-Willem van Wingerden was invited to talk about his innovative research on wind farm control.

Een speciale dag voor meisjes zodat zij kunnen ervaren hoe waardevol en leuk technische opleidingen zijn. Op 11 april was het weer tijd voor de jaarlijkse Girls’ Day. Bijna 80 leerlingen uit de eerste, tweede en derde klas van scholen uit Leiden en Schiedam kwamen naar de TU Delft en maakten kennis met techniek bij de faculteiten Mechanical Engineering (ME) en Civiele Techniek en Geowetenschappen (CiTG).

Ron van Ostayen vertelt over verbeterde productie van chips door middel van zwevende wafers

Every time the robotic arm picks up a wafer for placement in the chip machine, very small particles are generated which are harmful for the chip production process. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering from TU Delft is working on new generation wafer handlers that can handle wafers without particle generation.

When working at the nanoscale, even a speck of dust can cause disruptions. That is why you find several clean rooms across the TU Delft Campus. In the clean room of Mechanical Engineering, researchers have the unique possibility to build mechanical structures at nanoscale, from top-down by sculpting materials and bottom-up by additive nanomanufacturing. The resulting devices find applications in a variety of fields, from biology to material science.

Researcher Gerard Verbiest works on new chip technology using sound. Together with researchers at ASML, he investigates, among other things, how to apply sound to look inside a chip.

AI is already oftem used in robotics. Can these robots help with staff shortages?

Arend Schwab (founder of the cycling lab at ME) has been researching the art of cycling for years.

What is the effect of the reproduction of artworks on the original? Liselore Tissen was involved in The Van Doesburg experiment in Museum de Lakenhal.

Autonomy, robotics and remote operation, along with artificial intelligence, will transform all transport sectors. In this article, Rudy Negenborn talks about the development and use of robot ships.