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Novel smart fabrics give robots a delicate grip

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Novel smart fabrics give robots a delicate grip


Structure and property of woven and cut-pile MR fabrics. Credit: Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09706-4

Robots aren’t always the most delicate of machines when handling fragile objects. They don’t have the lightness of touch of humans. But that could be about to change thanks to a new development in smart materials.

Researchers have developed a method for weaving flexible fibers that can be controlled by magnetic fields. Not only can this be used for robot hands to pick up objects like soft fruits, and worms, but it can also be used in a range of other applications. These include gloves that provide a realistic touch in and breathable fabrics.

Creating a new smart fiber

In a paper published in the journal Nature, researchers detail how they created their smart textile, which can bend, stiffen or change its surface texture on demand. First, the team mixed tiny, soft magnetic particles (carbonyl iron) into extremely thin, flexible fibers of a polymer, LDPE (low-density polyethylene).

To overcome the challenge of making a fiber that is both thin and packed with , the researchers used a process called melt spinning. This high-speed technique allowed them to create fibers just 57 micrometers in diameter.

The next stage involved twisting seven of the fibers together into a helical yarn. The importance of this shape is that it can respond to a from any direction. This is what truly sets it apart from other .






Instead of being limited to simple “on/off” reactions (like heating or stiffening when a voltage is applied), which is called scalar control, the helical shape provides the material with directional control. That means it can respond to the strength and direction of the magnetic field, which allows more sophisticated movements.

“Our work provides insights into stimuli-responsive fibrous materials, elevating them from scalar to sophisticated vector control, heralding an era of smart textile innovation,” wrote the researchers in their paper.

Real-world applications

The team created two types of fabrics from the yarn. A woven textile that is best for bending and stretching, and a cut-pile fabric that looks and feels like a soft brush. From the woven textile, they made a kind of fabric patch that automatically opens and closes tiny ventilation slits in response to a magnetic field cycling on and off. This could be used to manage sweat and heat instantly.

With the cut-pile , they built a soft robotic gripper. Because the thousands of magnetic fibers can individually stiffen and mold around objects, the gripper enables robots to safely and gently pick up delicate objects.

Additionally, the researchers made a virtual reality haptic glove. When you grab a virtual object, a remote magnetic field stiffens the fibers or presses them against your skin to simulate real-world tactile sensations.

Next up for the team is to improve the materials for commercial use, ensuring they are durable and safe for comfortable, everyday clothing.

Written for you by our author Paul Arnold, edited by Gaby Clark, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Egan—this article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive.
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please consider a donation (especially monthly).
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More information:
Junhong Pu et al, Vector-stimuli-responsive magnetorheological fibrous materials, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09706-4

© 2025 Science X Network

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The Newest Google Pixel Phone Comes With a $100 Gift Card (for Now)

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The Newest Google Pixel Phone Comes With a 0 Gift Card (for Now)


The Google Pixel 10a comes out on March 5, and right now, Amazon and Best Buy are both offering free $100 gift cards when you preorder. The phone’s price is $499, but the gift card sweetens the deal. It’ll be automatically added to your cart.

Amazon’s gift card is a physical one that ships with the phone; Best Buy’s is a digital gift card that will be sent to your email after your preorder is fulfilled. At Amazon, instead of the gift card, you also have the option of choosing a free pair of Pixel Buds 2a when you preorder. They are our favorite earbuds, but you probably don’t need them if you already have decent headphones.

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

The Google Pixel 10a isn’t super impressive compared to previous A-series smartphones. In fact, the Pixel 9a is still our favorite Android phone. The two phones are largely similar, even rocking the same chipset. The Pixel 10a does come in some new colors, though, like Fog and Lavender, and the phone is slightly thinner, with a less noticeable camera bump. The screen is a little brighter and a little more scratch-resistant, and the device is made with more recycled materials.

However, there are some software changes in the 10a compared to the 9a. The Pixel 10a is getting some of the same AI features as you’d find in the Pixel 10, plus support for AirDrop as well. The battery lasts up to 30 hours on a single charge, and the phone will have seven years of software and security updates. We can help you decide which Google Pixel to order, and if you decide on the 10a, these gift card deals are definitely worth it (especially if you were already planning on spending money at Amazon or Best Buy anyway).



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The Latest Repair Battlefield Is the Iowa Farmlands—Again

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The Latest Repair Battlefield Is the Iowa Farmlands—Again


Iowa lawmakers voted to advance state House bill 751 last week, legislation that would ensure farmers in the state can freely repair their own agricultural equipment, like tractors. This Tuesday, the bill was renamed to House File 2709, and it will be voted on again. Should the political winds align, it will go through the Iowa House and Senate before the Iowa Legislature adjourns on April 21.

The bill is the first of nearly 57 state bills supported by repair advocates across the country in 2026. Many of them focus on farm equipment in states like Oklahoma, Wyoming, Delaware, and West Virginia. Repair advocates hope a win in Iowa—the second-highest-grossing state in the US for agricultural products, behind California—will help further legislative and broader efforts to make phones, cars, and other devices more repairable.

“This isn’t just a blue state thing; this isn’t just a Colorado activist thing,” says Elizabeth Chamberlain, director of sustainability for the right-to-repair advocate arm of iFixit. “Its real. Farmers have trouble repairing their equipment and want change.”

Farmers and their tractors have long been a focal point of the right-to-repair movement, the ever-growing global effort to let product owners fix their own devices and equipment without manufacturer approval. Farmers who use tractors to plant, cultivate, and harvest crops often need to repair their equipment while they work. Waiting for manufacturer approval to get something fixed, or taking the time to bring the equipment to an approved dealership, can cause delays, frustration, and missed opportunities to harvest crops.

The Iowa bill defines which agricultural equipment it covers, including tractors, trailers, combines, sprayers, balers, and other equipment used to cultivate and harvest crops. It excludes aircraft and irrigation equipment, along with jet skis and snowmobiles.

Manufacturers would also be required to provide owners with data—documentation, like manuals, and access to embedded operating software—on their tractors, including future patches and fixes, all without charging for it or requiring authorization for internet access. The bill also limits the use of digital locks—software restrictions that prevent accessing features without manufacturer approval.

Oh Deere

The most prominent opposition to the Iowa bill is tractor manufacturer John Deere, which has a long history of opposing repair efforts and frustrating farmers who want to take more control of their equipment. The company is still fighting a lawsuit the US Federal Trade Commission levied against John Deere in January 2025 for “unlawful” repairability policies. The company has lobbied against the Iowa bill and outright opposes its passing.

“John Deere is steadfast in supporting farmers’ ability to repair their equipment,” wrote a John Deere representative in a statement responding to WIRED’s inquiry. “And we back that up by offering industry-leading self-repair tools and resources to both equipment owners and alternative service providers.”

John Deere points to its online repair hub that catalogs ways its product owners can repair their products. Chamberlain says it is true that John Deere offers self-repair options, but they are not always in line with the reality of what farmers need to make fixes in the moment.

“Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if the vast majority of repairs are possible if there’s a repair that takes your equipment down and that means loss of harvest or having to wait weeks for a dealer representative to come out,” Chamberlain says.

John Deere has said it supports third-party and self-repair of its equipment before. In 2023, John Deere and the American Farm Bureau agreed to a memorandum of understanding about how the company would allow access to repairs on its products in response to repair laws passing in states like Colorado. But repair advocates criticized the move, saying the memorandum did little to make John Deere adhere to new regulations.



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We Gave These Android-Ready Earbuds a 9/10, and They’re Just $180

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We Gave These Android-Ready Earbuds a 9/10, and They’re Just 0


If you’re an esteemed Android user like me, and you felt left out of yesterday’s deal on the AirPods Pro 3, I’ve got you covered today with an even bigger discount on the Pixel Buds Pro 2. Both Amazon and Best Buy have the hazel color marked down from $229 to $180, a $49 discount on Google’s most upgraded wireless earbuds.

  • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

The first change you’ll notice from the previous generation Pixel Buds Pro is that the newer model is much lighter, and the buds are 27 percent smaller. As a result, these are an excellent choice for anyone with small ears, and they stay put super well. Reviewer Parker Hall “had no problem doing hours of tree pruning and going on long sweaty runs in Portland’s early fall heat wave.”

With some help from top-notch physical sound isolation, the active noise-canceling on these is just as good as Apple’s and even goes toe-to-toe with big hitters like Bose and Sony. The transparency mode works just as well, too, with a wider range and clearer audio than a lot of other headphones offer. When it’s time to actually turn up the tunes, you can enjoy a wide, natural soundstage that has excellent detail in the midrange and clear, sparkling treble.

The Gemini integration, unfortunately, leaves a bit to be desired. It’s not the smoothest experience, particularly when asking multiple questions, and the Pixel Buds Pro 2 aren’t offering anything that other earbuds can’t do. Apple’s live translations and heart rate monitors are more useful features, but if you’re on Android, you’re locked out of them anyway.

If you’re interested in upgrading your earbud game, and you already have a Pixel, you can grab the Pixel Buds Pro 2 in hazel for $180 from either Amazon or Best Buy. If that color doesn’t suit you, I also spotted lesser discounts on the peony color for $189, or the porcelain color for $210. For anyone who isn’t already sold on the Pixel Buds Pro 2, make sure to swing by our guide to the best wireless earbuds, with picks for both Apple and Android owners.



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