Robotics news

Robotics

Robots pour cocktails and run marathons, but still can't multitask

They can mix cocktails, run marathons and fold laundry. But humanoid robots are still a long way from doing lots of different jobs on command, whatever the marketing says.

Robotics

Upsampling method sharpens AI vision with up to 16 times less GPU memory

From facial recognition on smartphones to humanoid robots, computer vision technology, which serves as the eyes of artificial intelligence (AI), is widely used in daily life. A joint research team from KAIST and international ...

Robotics

Elephant trunk skin reveals design that could reshape soft robotics

An elephant's trunk is both strong and capable of extremely fine motor movements. With this muscular, boneless structure, an elephant can carry heavy logs—or deftly peel a banana. Lucia Beccai and colleagues studied the skin ...

Robotics

Simple color cue helps people master prosthetic devices faster

Controlling a robotic arm, a prosthetic hand or a rehabilitation device is harder than it looks. Picking up an egg, for example, requires just the right amount of force: too little and it falls, too much and it breaks.

Robotics

Four-legged detection robots for safe firefighting operations

A detection robot developed under the leadership of TU Graz can "sniff out" hazardous substances and support high-risk fire service operations as a remote-controlled advance guard. A recent study shows how fire services can ...

Robotics

Sonar–camera system sees through murky waters

For remotely operated underwater vehicles, cloudy and turbulent waters are often a no-go. When vehicles settle on the seafloor or dig through a sand bed, they can kick up clouds of sediment that make it tough for onboard ...

Robotics

Drone rescue highlights US Navy's autonomous push

The use of a sea drone to rescue two U.S. Army aviators apparently shot down by Iran underscores the growing importance of such vessels in Washington's naval operations, analysts said Wednesday.

Consumer & Gadgets

Can Pepper the robot be a good playmate?

What's it like to play a physical game with or against a robot that both looks and behaves like a person? That's what NTNU researchers wanted to find out when they conducted a controlled laboratory experiment with Pepper, ...

Consumer & Gadgets

How can people hand over packages comfortably to delivery robots?

A research team from the Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit and the Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory, Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology, investigated human behavior ...

Robotics

Iranian tech prodigies battle it out with robots

Two machines resembling robotic vacuum cleaners sped around a ring colliding, shooting sparks and catching fire, as Iranian engineering students watched from behind plexiglass.

Robotics

Artificial muscles use ultrasound-activated microbubbles to move

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed artificial muscles that contain microbubbles and can be controlled with ultrasound. In the future, these muscles could be deployed in technical and medical settings as gripper arms, ...

Robotics

Teen builds advanced robotic hand from LEGO parts

A talented teenager from the UK has built a four-fingered robotic hand from standard Lego parts that performs almost as well as research-grade robotic hands. The anthropomorphic device can grasp, move and hold objects with ...

Robotics

A common language to describe and assess human–agent teams

Understanding how humans and AI or robotic agents can work together effectively requires a shared foundation for experimentation. A University of Michigan-led team developed a new taxonomy to serve as a common language among ...