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

Aerial microrobot can fly as fast as a bumblebee

In the future, tiny flying robots could be deployed to aid in the search for survivors trapped beneath the rubble after a devastating earthquake. Like real insects, these robots could flit through tight spaces larger robots ...

Robotics

New control system teaches soft robots the art of staying safe

Imagine having a continuum soft robotic arm bend around a bunch of grapes or broccoli, adjusting its grip in real time as it lifts the object. Unlike traditional rigid robots that generally aim to avoid contact with the environment ...

Robotics

Artificial tendons give muscle-powered robots a boost

Our muscles are nature's actuators. The sinewy tissue is what generates the forces that make our bodies move. In recent years, engineers have used real muscle tissue to actuate "biohybrid robots" made from both living tissue ...

Robotics

Robots take center stage at Singapore 'Olympiad'

The World Robot Olympiad opened in Singapore on Wednesday with hundreds of international students, some as young as eight, set to compete using automatons to solve real-world problems.

Robotics

Tactile sensors enable robots to carry unsecured loads

If you've ever moved into a new home, you know the challenge of packing a moving truck—it's like solving a giant, three-dimensional puzzle. Everything needs to fit just right, and nothing can be left loose or unbalanced, ...