Embodied robotic manipulation investigates robotic and prosthetic limbs that physically interact with the environment using human-like, adaptive control. Work in this area integrates soft robotic structures, tendon-driven and biohybrid actuators, and exoskeletons with rich multimodal sensing, including vision, tactile, and proprioceptive feedback. Machine learning methods such as imitation learning, reinforcement learning, and meta-learning are used to acquire dexterous skills, enable shared and autonomous control, and support intuitive human–robot interaction through haptic interfaces, brain–computer interfaces, and teleoperation systems.
Engineering
Christopher Hills has a long-held ambition. "I would love to be part of producing a full-length feature film one day," he says in a video on his YouTube channel. Hills, 30, was born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy. He can't ...
Sep 2, 2026
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Robotics
3D printers that once could only produce rigid objects can now create products as soft and stretchable as rubber. A team of Korean researchers used AI to identify the optimal "recipe" for a material that can be printed into ...
Aug 31, 2026
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Robotics
Do you ever see an ant skittering across your kitchen counter and wonder how this little bug overcame all the obstacles in your home just to get there? Insects use their tiny nervous systems to walk with surprising dexterity—a ...
Aug 27, 2026
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Robotics
Legged robots, robotic systems with legs that typically resemble those of animals or humans, could be advantageous for completing tasks in home environments or populated, dynamic spaces. These robots may look like humans ...
Engineering
An electronic skin with a sensing system that can detect pressure and temperature could someday help amputees gain feeling in their prosthetics. The work, led by Washington State University researchers and published in the ...
Aug 20, 2026
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Engineering
Anyone who's ever wrestled with a claw machine at an arcade can appreciate the difficulty of pulling and pushing joysticks in just the right way to get a mechanical arm to scoop up that one special toy. Coordinating the joysticks ...
Aug 20, 2026
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Robotics
To operate reliably in dynamic real-world settings, robots should be able to acquire new skills quickly without undergoing extensive additional training. Most existing robotic systems, however, primarily perform well on the ...
Robotics
The human hand is a dexterous and versatile machine. Scientists have conventionally tried to replicate these traits in robots by copying the biological mechanics of the hand, resulting in complex and difficult-to-control ...
Aug 13, 2026
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43
Robotics
When people work in pairs or teams, they can often solve a wider range of problems, completing some tasks faster and more efficiently than they would alone. To assist users similarly to how other humans would, robots should ...
Robotics
Quadruped robots, which walk on four legs, are increasingly used for tasks such as inspection, transportation and search-and-rescue operations. However, their repeated leg movements consume far more energy than the rolling ...
Jul 31, 2026
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