Robotics news

Robotics

Humanoid robot learns to sprint and perform spin kicks using AI trained on human motion data

Humanoid robots, robotic systems with body shapes and limbs resembling those of humans, could potentially assist people with manual tasks in various real-world settings. So far, however, most of these robots can reliably ...

Robotics

The future of robot-human collaboration

Humans are difficult to simulate. We are quick, complex thinkers, and our exact actions aren't predictable. So how can we sufficiently train robots to collaborate with us?

Robotics

Europe bids to be a robot superpower like the US, China

AI-powered robots briefly took over the European Parliament this week to showcase the continent's creators as the bloc races to compete in a field dominated by China and the United States.

Robotics

Four-legged robot learns dog-like movements to leap through tight spaces

Cats, dogs, wolves and other agile four-legged animals can easily jump and squeeze through tight spaces while moving at high speed. Reproducing similar agile motions and skills in quadrupedal robots has so far proved challenging.

Robotics

Like a bird, this drone uses touch to grip branches and rest

Drones often hover in the air, noisy and whining. They can already be used for many tasks, but not when you need some quiet. Their batteries would also last longer if they could take a "rest" from time to time. But when a ...

Robotics

Light-powered soft robots that can keep jumping forever

Researchers from North Carolina State University have created teardrop-shaped soft robots that leap upward or forward when exposed to infrared light—and will keep jumping as long as the light is present. The work demonstrates ...

Robotics

Six-legged robot learns to walk from a stick insect

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 ...

Robotics

New underwater robot could make ocean missions more reliable

A new, patent-pending underwater robot developed at Purdue University's College of Engineering could improve ocean research, underwater infrastructure inspection and search-and-rescue efforts by adapting to mission needs ...

Robotics

Robots sort packages and serve fast food at Beijing showcase

Robots sorting parcels and serving fried chicken enthralled visitors at a robotics expo in Beijing on Wednesday, where hundreds of companies set out their pitches for a future labor market transformed by artificial intelligence.

Robotics

Snake-like robot unveiled for Fukushima debris removal

A 22-meter robot arm will help remove a third sample of radioactive debris from inside Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, its operator said Thursday, as it unveiled the snake-like device.

Robotics

Rise of the rice robots—creating active smart materials

Rice becomes weaker when compressed quickly, while staying stronger under slow pressure—a discovery enabling scientists to design a new material that could be used to build "soft" robots that change stiffness automatically ...

Consumer & Gadgets

How eyes affect our perception of a humanoid robot's mind

Eyes are said to be the mirror of the soul. Eyes and gaze direction guide attention, evoke emotions and activate the brain's social perception mechanisms. Researchers at Tampere University and the University of Bremen conducted ...

Robotics

Robots use radio signals and AI to see around corners

Penn Engineers have developed a system that lets robots see around corners using radio waves processed by AI, a capability that could improve the safety and performance of driverless cars as well as robots operating in cluttered ...

Robotics

Open-source modular robot for understanding evolution

What is it about a cheetah's build that enables it to run so fast? What gives the wolf its exceptional endurance? While these questions can be partly answered through animal experiments, many contributing factors can't be ...

Robotics

Robot swarms turn music into moving light paintings

A system developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo lets people collaborate with groups of robots to create works of art inspired by music. The new technology features multiple wheeled robots about the size of ...