Four-legged robot plays badminton with humans
A small team of roboticists at Robotic Systems Lab, ETH Zurich, in Switzerland, has designed, built and tested a four-legged robot capable of playing badminton with human players.
Robotics
Page 19: Research news on Autonomous robotic locomotion
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.
Consumer & Gadgets
Virtual reality has transformed design process for robotic floor-cleaners at Tennant
After Tennant figured out how to keep its plants open during the pandemic, it had a second problem to solve.
May 29, 2025
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Robotics
Robot morphs midair to switch from flying to rolling on terrain
Specialized robots that can both fly and drive typically touch down on land before attempting to transform and drive away. But when the landing terrain is rough, these robots sometimes get stuck and are unable to continue ...
May 28, 2025
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Robotics
VR could help train employees working with robots
Working with robots is becoming more common in the recycling industry, helping automate tasks and making complicated work easier. But training human employees to work with robots can be difficult and time-consuming.
May 28, 2025
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Robotics
Algorithm improves acoustic sensor accuracy for cheaper underwater robotics
In the ocean sciences, robots provide views of the unexplored and can navigate environments not safely accessible to humans. Such dangerous settings make up the majority of Earth's oceans.
May 28, 2025
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Robotics
Soft robots can walk themselves out of a 3D printer
Scientists have created the first soft robots that can walk straight out of the machines that make them.
May 28, 2025
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Robotics
New method for energy-aware deployment planning of delivery drones
In the future, autonomous delivery drones could independently assess whether their remaining battery charge is sufficient for upcoming deliveries. A team of researchers from Technical University of Darmstadt and the University ...
May 20, 2025
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Robotics
Empowering robots with human-like perception to navigate unwieldy terrain
The wealth of information provided by our senses that allows our brain to navigate the world around us is remarkable. Touch, smell, hearing, and a strong sense of balance are crucial to making it through what to us seem like ...
May 19, 2025
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Robotics
Social robots learning without us? New study cuts humans from early testing
Humans no longer have exclusive control over training social robots to interact effectively, thanks to a new study from the University of Surrey and the University of Hamburg.
May 19, 2025
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Robotics
Teaching theory of mind to robots can enhance collaboration
Nature is brimming with animals that collaborate in large numbers. Bees stake out the best feeding spots and let others know where they are. Ants construct complex hierarchical homes built for defense. Flocks of starlings ...
May 15, 2025
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