Robotics news

Robotics

LiDAR-based system allows unmanned aerial vehicle team to rapidly reconstruct environments

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have proved to be highly effective systems for monitoring and exploring environments. These autonomous flying robots could also be used to create detailed maps and ...

Robotics

ROSE: A gentle and versatile robotic gripper for efficient crop harvesting

Robotic grippers have become essential across many industries, including manufacturing, packaging, and logistics, mainly for pick-and-place tasks. Recently, the demand for robotic grippers has also expanded into agriculture, ...

Robotics

Google DeepMind unveils two new AI-based robot hand systems—ALOHA Unleashed and DemoStart

Engineers working on Google's DeepMind project have announced the development of two new AI-based robot systems. One called ALOHA Unleashed was developed to advance the science of bi-arm manipulation. The other, called DemoStart, ...

Robotics

Sky high—Europe's first drone cargo airline gets ready to take off

Drones can make air freight cheaper and remote areas more connected. But tracking them will be key.

Robotics

Team develops versatile knee exoskeletons for safer lifting

A set of knee exoskeletons, built with commercially available knee braces and drone motors at the University of Michigan, has been shown to help counteract fatigue in lifting and carrying tasks. They helped users maintain ...

Robotics

Teaching robots to use color in moving objects

Research at Michigan State University is focused on teaching robots to use colors to perceive, visualize, and interpret interactions when manipulating objects. A force-interpreting optical system is being developed so robots ...

Robotics

Versatile microscale robots can fold into 3D shapes and crawl

Cornell University researchers have created microscale robots less than 1 millimeter in size that are printed as a 2D hexagonal "metasheet," but with a jolt of electricity, morph into preprogrammed 3D shapes and crawl.

Robotics

Using drones to protect wind turbines from ice

Damp, cold conditions are the enemy of wind power. If a layer of ice forms on the rotor blades, this can result in rotational imbalance and, hence, increased wear. In such cases, the turbines often have to be shut down for ...

Robotics

Using large language models to code new tasks for robots

You've likely heard that "experience is the best teacher"—but what if learning in the real world is prohibitively expensive? This is the plight of roboticists training their machines on manipulation tasks. Real-world interaction ...

Robotics

New method uses crowdsourced feedback to train robots

To teach an AI agent a new task, like how to open a kitchen cabinet, researchers often use reinforcement learning—a trial-and-error process where the agent is rewarded for taking actions that get it closer to the goal.

Robotics

Autonomous excavator constructs a 6-meter-high dry-stone wall

ETH Zurich researchers deployed an autonomous excavator, called HEAP, to build a 6-meter-high and 65-meter-long dry-stone wall. The wall is embedded in a digitally planned and autonomously excavated landscape and park.

Robotics

A new optimization framework for robot motion planning

It isn't easy for a robot to find its way out of a maze. Picture these machines trying to traverse a kid's playroom to reach the kitchen, with miscellaneous toys scattered across the floor and furniture blocking some potential ...

Robotics

A wearable robot that assists people with walking

In recent years, roboticists have introduced increasingly advanced systems, which could open exciting new possibilities for surgery, rehabilitation, and health care assistance. These robotic systems are already helping to ...

Robotics

This 3D printer can watch itself fabricate objects

With 3D inkjet printing systems, engineers can fabricate hybrid structures that have soft and rigid components, like robotic grippers that are strong enough to grasp heavy objects but soft enough to interact safely with humans.