Robotics news

Consumer & Gadgets

Co-design empowers inclusive tech for individuals with intellectual disabilities

A series of QUT research studies have shed light on the importance of involving individuals with intellectual disabilities in the development of assistive technologies.

Robotics

'Odd' objects excel at navigating challenging terrains without central control

Locomotion, the ability to move from one place to another, is an essential survival strategy for virtually every organism. Adapting to the unpredictable terrain they run into, cells, fungi and microorganisms autonomously ...

Robotics

Tiny 'rhinoceros beetle' robot does micro-scale manipulation in extreme conditions

Engineers have designed a tiny, low-weight and cordless robot that can act independently and with ultra-high precision in all directions in some of the most extreme conditions. The robot, which the designers call "Holonomic ...

Robotics

Innovative biorobotic arm uses artificial muscles to combat tremors, paving way for wearable solutions

It is estimated that about 80 million people worldwide live with a tremor. For example, those who live with Parkinson's disease. The involuntary periodic movements sometimes strongly affect how patients are able to perform ...

Robotics

Morphing robot turns challenging terrain to its advantage

From mountain goats that run up near-vertical rock faces to armadillos that roll into a protective ball, animals have evolved to adapt effortlessly to changes in their environment. In contrast, when an autonomous robot is ...

Robotics

Robots learn how to move by watching themselves

By watching their own motions with a camera, robots can teach themselves about the structure of their own bodies and how they move, a new study by researchers at Columbia Engineering now reveals. Equipped with this knowledge, ...

Robotics

Low-cost drone system aids indoor search and rescue missions

Indoor search and rescue operations are some of the most dangerous tasks that law enforcement and first responders must face, but drone technology has revolutionized how they approach these intense situations, according to ...

Robotics

Turning robotic ensembles into smart materials that mimic life

Researchers have engineered groups of robots that behave as smart materials with tunable shape and strength, mimicking living systems. "We've figured out a way for robots to behave more like a material," said Matthew Devlin, ...

Robotics

A six-armed robot for precision pollination

Over the past decades, dozens of animal species have become extinct, while thousands of others are now at risk of disappearing. Endangered species include various pollinators, including bees and some types of moths, butterflies, ...

Robotics

Researchers use ChatGPT for choreographies with flying robots

Prof. Angela Schoellig from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) uses ChatGPT to develop choreographies for swarms of drones to perform along to music. An additional safety filter prevents mid-air collisions. The researcher's ...

Robotics

Underwater robot pioneers new energy-efficient buoyancy control

A remotely operated underwater robot built by a team of Rice University engineering students pioneers a new way to control buoyancy via water-splitting fuel cells. The device, designed and constructed at the Oshman Engineering ...

Robotics

Virtual sensors help aerial vehicles stay aloft when rotors fail

No crystal ball is needed to envision a future that engineers have in mind, one in which air taxis and other flying vehicles ferry passengers between urban locations, avoiding the growing gridlock on the ground below. Companies ...

Robotics

Why can't robots outrun animals?

Robotics engineers have worked for decades and invested many millions of research dollars in attempts to create a robot that can walk or run as well as an animal. And yet, it remains the case that many animals are capable ...

Robotics

People, not design features, make a robot social

It takes a village to nurture social robots. Researchers who develop social robots—ones that people interact with—focus too much on design features and not enough on sociological factors, like human-to-human interactions, ...

Robotics

Octopus inspires new suction mechanism for robots

A new robotic suction cup that can grasp rough, curved and heavy stone, has been developed by scientists at the University of Bristol. The team, based at Bristol Robotics Laboratory, studied the structures of octopus biological ...

Robotics

A rimless wheel robot that can reliably overcome steps

Robots with wheels could potentially navigate a variety of indoor and outdoor environments, traveling for longer distances and with fewer risks of losing balance. While some wheeled robots have achieved very promising results ...

Robotics

How 3D printers can give robots a soft touch

Soft skin coverings and touch sensors have emerged as a promising feature for robots that are both safer and more intuitive for human interaction, but they are expensive and difficult to make. A recent study demonstrates ...