Robotics news

Business

When a robot becomes the boss: Exploring authority, obedience and relationships with machines

How does a robot perform as a boss at work? The results of research by Polish scientists published in Cognition, Technology & Work suggest that while robots can command obedience, they are not as proficient at it as humans. ...

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

Framework allows a person to correct a robot's actions using the kind of feedback they'd give another human

Imagine that a robot is helping you clean the dishes. You ask it to grab a soapy bowl out of the sink, but its gripper slightly misses the mark.

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

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

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.

Robotics

3D printed robots with bones, ligaments, and tendons

3D printing is advancing rapidly, and the range of materials that can be used has expanded considerably. While the technology was previously limited to fast-curing plastics, it has now been made suitable for slow-curing plastics ...

Robotics

A gecko-inspired twist on robotic handling

The subtle adhesive forces that allow geckos to seemingly defy gravity, cling to walls and walk across ceilings have inspired a team of researchers in South Korea to build a robotic device that can pick up and release delicate ...

Robotics

How human faces can teach androids to smile

Robots able to display human emotion have long been a mainstay of science fiction stories. Now, Japanese researchers have been studying the mechanical details of real human facial expressions to bring those stories closer ...

Robotics

A centimeter-scale quadruped leverages curved-crease origami

Centimeter-scale walking and crawling robots are in demand both for their ability to explore tight or cluttered environments and for their low fabrication costs. Now, pulling from origami-inspired construction, researchers ...