Robotics news

Robotics

Engineers teach a quadruped robot to climb standard ladders

A team of robotics engineers at ETH Zurich, Robotics Systems Lab, has modified an ANYbotics ANYMal quadruped robot to allow it to easily and effectively climb a standard ladder. The group has written a paper describing their ...

Robotics

Meet Plantolin, the tree-planting robot pangolin built by student

A robot pangolin designed to plant trees is the winner of the 2023 Natural Robotics Contest, which rewards robot designs inspired by nature. As the winning entry, the pangolin—dubbed "Plantolin"—has been brought to life ...

Robotics

Using Turing patterns to enhance soft pneumatic technology

According to a recent study in Scientific Reports, Turing patterns can be used to develop a new method for designing and producing fabric-based soft pneumatic actuators (FSPAs).

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

Q&A: Teaching robots to touch and interact like humans

Robots are widely used in the automotive industry and have started entering new application domains such as logistics in the last few years. However, current robots still face many limitations. They typically perform a single ...

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

Robots learn tasks from people

In the basement of the Gates Computer Science Building at Stanford University, a screen attached to a red robotic arm lights up. A pair of cartoon eyes blinks. "Meet Bender," says Ajay Mandlekar, Ph.D. student in electrical ...

Robotics

Small flying robots haul heavy loads

A closed door is just one of many obstacles that poses no barrier to a new type of flying, micro, tugging robot called a FlyCroTug. Outfitted with advanced gripping technologies and the ability to move and pull on objects ...

Robotics

Virtual learning robot for youngsters

Programming a robot: something most kids would love to do. "RosieReality" makes it possible – even if it's only in augmented reality. The ETH spin-off plans to use the new technology to teach young kids about programming ...

Robotics

Boston Dynamics hands Atlas a parkour repertoire

Oh, please. We are still coping with the view of Atlas taking a leisurely run through the neighborhood like a boss planner out for his cardio workout before taking off for his first meeting. What could possibly be next?

Robotics

Model helps robots navigate more like humans do

When moving through a crowd to reach some end goal, humans can usually navigate the space safely without thinking too much. They can learn from the behavior of others and note any obstacles to avoid. Robots, on the other ...

Robotics

Robot masters human balancing act

When walking in a crowded place, humans typically aren't thinking about how we avoid bumping into one another. We are built to use a gamut of complex skill sets required to execute these types of seemingly simple motions.

Robotics

Working toward partner-aware humanoid robot control

Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) have recently proposed a coupled-dynamics formalism and a new approach for exploiting helpful interactions with humanoid robots. Their paper, which was pre-published ...