Autonomous robotic locomotion investigates how robots perceive, plan, and execute movement in complex, often unstructured environments with minimal human intervention. Work in this area spans legged, wheeled, aerial, amphibious, and soft robots, emphasizing bio-inspired control strategies, neuromechanics, and learning-based methods for gait adaptation, trajectory modulation, and slip prevention. Research also addresses navigation and mapping, kinematic and impedance control, and human–robot collaboration, enabling robots to perform tasks such as construction, waste collection, manipulation, and agile behaviors like parkour, badminton, and swarm-based assembly.
Robotics
Even advanced technology can struggle when the real world becomes unpredictable. In April 2026, a Waymo robotaxi in San Antonio, Texas, drove into a flooded lane during severe weather, prompting the company to recall about ...
May 20, 2026
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Robotics
In the aftermath of a devastating earthquake, unpiloted aerial vehicles (UAVs) could fly through a collapsed building to map the scene, giving rescuers information they need to quickly reach survivors. But this remains an ...
May 19, 2026
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Robotics
As robots enter hospitals and care facilities, questions remain about whether they actually make care easier for the people who give and receive it. A new Cornell Tech-led study approaches that challenge by inviting health ...
May 14, 2026
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Robotics
Animals move with a level of precision and adaptability that robots struggle to match. In Carnegie Mellon University's Department of Mechanical Engineering, researchers are developing a new AI-driven approach to uncover how ...
May 12, 2026
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Machine learning & AI
His head, chest and hands strapped with body cameras, David Park deftly folded a banquet napkin the way he has thousands of times during his nine years at the five-star Lotte Hotel Seoul. Each of his motions is fed into a ...
May 12, 2026
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Machine learning & AI
Robots are trained for specific tasks, such as cutting, using simulation. However, collecting real-world data is expensive, slow, and sometimes unsafe, particularly for tasks involving physical interaction. A new AI-based ...
May 6, 2026
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Robotics
A table tennis robot has outperformed elite players in recent evaluations. The robot, called Ace, marks a significant step toward artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can operate in fast, uncertain, real-world environments.
May 3, 2026
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Robotics
A humanoid robot recently made headlines around the world for running a half-marathon and beating the human world record. Around the same time, an AI-powered robot defeated an elite human player in table tennis. What the ...
May 2, 2026
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Energy & Green Tech
Nuclear reactors generate reliable, low-carbon electricity by using heat from nuclear fission to turn turbines. These steady energy producers are a crucial component of clean power generation. Nuclear engineers are responsible ...
May 2, 2026
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Robotics
From driving cars to flying drones, as autonomous robots take on more responsibility, they also face more human-like dilemmas—including what to do when rules collide.
May 1, 2026
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