The research team has presented 'LeviPrint', a new system that uses acoustic manipulation for assembling objects without physical contact.
LeviPrint is a "levitator", designed alongside a robotic arm and a liquid dispenser that allows the device to "manufacture complex objects without contact", explained Asier Marzo, lead researcher and member of the UPNA/NUP’s Smart Cities Institute (ISC).
The research was carried out by scientists at the PNA/NUP-Public University of Navarre, in collaboration with researchers at Ultraleap Ltd, UK, and the University of São Paulo, Brazil. The team's conclusions are due to be presented in August in Vancouver, Canada, at SIGGRAPH, the computer graphics and interactive techniques conference.
“We generate acoustic fields that trap small particles, glue droplets and, most importantly, elongated stick-like elements that can be manipulated and reoriented as we levitate them," the researchers...