https://techxplore.com/rss-feed/robotics-news/ en-us The latest news on robotics, robots, robotics sciences and technology science. Imagine you're running and you sprain your ankle. The pain makes you gingerly limp the rest of the way home. This is a great example of how nature adapts to failures in a system. The pain tells you: "If you continue running like normal, the injury will only get worse." So you naturally adjust the way you run. Drones currently cannot do this with a worn-out propeller. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-drones-pain-instability.html Robotics Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:00:06 EDT news702222001 In horror movies, music is a dead giveaway. Tension builds with each note, and you brace for the inevitable jump scare. The same sense of anticipation has taken a leading role in an unlikely venue: a Georgia Tech robotics lab. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-horror-movie-cue-wearable-robot.html Robotics Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:40:01 EDT news702135423 Scientists from NTU Singapore and Waseda University have developed a flexible "diving suit" for cyborg cockroaches, enabling the insects to survive and move underwater and in low-oxygen environments for up to three hours. Published today in Nature Communications, the study could expand the use of cyborg insects in search-and-rescue missions, especially in disaster zones where flooded rubble, puddles or partially submerged spaces can block access for conventional robots. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-cyborg-cockroaches.html Robotics Mon, 29 Jun 2026 10:40:07 EDT news701947321 A research team led by Prof. Seung Hwan Ko of Seoul National University College of Engineering's Department of Mechanical Engineering has developed an artificial skin technology that enables robots to sense temperature and pressure simultaneously, similar to human skin. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-artificial-skin-enables-robots-simultaneously.html Robotics Fri, 26 Jun 2026 12:00:05 EDT news701693522 More and more robots are assisting workers in factories. However, human-robot collaboration is still far from seamless. Researchers from Prof. Lorenzo Masia's team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now developed a solution that enables a factory worker wearing an exoskeleton to work closely and, above all, safely, with a robotic arm. This reduces the physical strain on workers and improves production processes. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-exoskeleton-robotic-arm-factory-strain.html Business Wed, 24 Jun 2026 13:20:05 EDT news701524201 A new chip developed by MIT researchers could help tiny, low-power UAVs avoid obstacles as they zip around tight corners inside an industrial HVAC system to check for gas leaks. The chip allows small autonomous robots and other battery-limited devices to construct detailed 3D maps of their environments in real time using only about as much power as a single LED. A robot could use such a map to plan a collision-free path to reach its goal. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ultraefficient-chip-tiny-robots-traverse.html Hardware Tue, 23 Jun 2026 13:00:03 EDT news701437741 Current flying objects face a trade-off: Drones with propellers, for instance, are very agile and able to hover; however, they use up a lot of energy. Airplanes, on the other hand, feature fixed wings that allow them to fly very efficiently. The downside: They can't remain suspended in the air like a kestrel on the lookout for prey. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-robot-floaty-bird-staying-stable.html Robotics Mon, 22 Jun 2026 13:40:14 EDT news701354331 Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, are now widely used for various purposes, ranging from filmmaking and aerial photography to industrial inspection, precision farming and reaching obstructed areas during emergency response missions. While many existing drones can move swiftly in their surroundings and circumvent large obstacles, most still struggle in cluttered environments. In addition, they are often unable to execute maneuvers that would allow them to safely pass through small gaps or reach secluded areas. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-drones-narrow-gaps-onboard-ai.html Robotics Fri, 19 Jun 2026 12:40:04 EDT news701010015 If you ever need help in the kitchen cutting fish into appetizing bites, a new three-armed robot may be able to help. And that's no easy feat for robots. While they are generally good at picking up rigid objects, something slippery that can change shape when touched, such as a fish, poses a range of challenges. Then, if you add slicing into the mix, it becomes even more difficult because the robot has to cope with the fish changing shape as it is handled and cut. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-armed-sashimi-bot-slice-fish.html Robotics Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:20:03 EDT news701079417 From facial recognition on smartphones to humanoid robots, computer vision technology, which serves as the eyes of artificial intelligence (AI), is widely used in daily life. A joint research team from KAIST and international institutions has developed a technology that allows AI to see the world more clearly with minimal memory, increasing GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) memory efficiency by up to 16 times. The achievement is seen as a core technology that could accelerate the era of humanoid robots and on-device AI. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-upsampling-method-sharpens-ai-vision.html Robotics Wed, 17 Jun 2026 11:40:02 EDT news700914900 An auto factory worker can remember the storage bin where she left a partly assembled component the night before and quickly return to that spot to pick it up. But robots that may work side by side with her would struggle to develop and access this same type of "spatiotemporal" memory. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ai-left-keys.html Robotics Wed, 17 Jun 2026 07:20:05 EDT news700899362 Controlling a robotic arm, a prosthetic hand or a rehabilitation device is harder than it looks. Picking up an egg, for example, requires just the right amount of force: too little and it falls, too much and it breaks. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-simple-cue-people-master-prosthetic.html Robotics Mon, 15 Jun 2026 11:00:04 EDT news700736528 For remotely operated underwater vehicles, cloudy and turbulent waters are often a no-go. When vehicles settle on the seafloor or dig through a sand bed, they can kick up clouds of sediment that make it tough for onboard cameras to see through. Often, the only thing to do is wait until the marine dust settles before a vehicle can safely proceed. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-sonarcamera-murky.html Robotics Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:40:07 EDT news700392181 As robots increasingly move out of factories and into workplaces, hospitals, warehouses and public spaces, a simple challenge becomes increasingly important: helping people understand what those machines are about to do. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-robot-eyes-augmented-reality-humans.html Robotics Thu, 11 Jun 2026 09:00:03 EDT news700386002 Beijing cleaner Lin Meiqiong found her work a little easier the day she was paired with an unlikely new colleague—a tall, wheeled robot with AI-powered tidying skills. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ai-robot-cleaners-lab-china.html Robotics Thu, 11 Jun 2026 07:00:07 EDT news700370864 A bicycle robot from the Robotics and AI Institute (RAI) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has become the first to perform an unassisted acrobatic front flip. RAI calls the bicycle robot an ultra-mobility vehicle (UMV). It can reach a height of 3 feet (0.9 meters) and can jump from the floor onto a platform. The contributions of a Georgia Tech Ph.D. student helped make these feats possible through a robot control policy he developed. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-bike-robot-unassisted-front-flip.html Robotics Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:00:05 EDT news700300381 Cornell researchers are investigating the potential for using artificial intelligence to give robots social intelligence—the ability to read facial cues, anticipate the needs of those around them, and function within society. The new study tested the ability of vision language models (VLMs)—AI systems that can interpret and generate both visual information and language—to predict whether a tense scenario in a short video would end well or badly, such as a toddler carrying an overly full mug of coffee. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-robots-chaos-human.html Robotics Tue, 09 Jun 2026 17:00:07 EDT news700241101 Humanoid robots struggling with tasks like grasping a cup have a new teacher—a person wearing an ultrasound wristband that captures the movement of muscles, tendons and ligaments beneath the skin. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-mit-channel-ai-gestures-robot.html Robotics Tue, 09 Jun 2026 13:03:10 EDT news700228929 It's a race against the clock when someone falls overboard: People's chances of being found before they drown from exhaustion or freeze to death dwindle by the minute. Rescue efforts are often hampered by the time it takes a vessel at full throttle to halt so a rescue boat can be deployed and start searching for the person, who is by now far from the ship. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-autonomous-drone-life-jackets-people.html Robotics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 13:20:06 EDT news700143121 The oceans hide some of the most sophisticated solutions nature has ever developed and are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the robotics of the future. The Bioinspired Soft Robotics research unit, coordinated by Barbara Mazzolai, associate director for robotics at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT—Italian Institute of Technology), has developed an octopus-inspired soft robotic arm that, thanks to the technology embedded in its artificial suction cups, is capable of sensing contact, estimating the intensity and direction of the applied force, and grasping objects autonomously, even in complex environments such as underwater settings. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-robotic-arm-octopus-tactile-sensors.html Robotics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 12:20:08 EDT news700139881 Someone with no computing experience may soon be able to remotely control a robot from anywhere on the planet using a smartphone, thanks to new technology developed by Georgia Tech. The new technology is also set to revolutionize the scale of policy training data collection, which is essential to advancing robotic capabilities and meeting growing production demand. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-app-robot.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:20:06 EDT news699786961 If the future of warehouse work belongs to humans and robots working side by side, a key question remains: What is the most effective way for them to collaborate? https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ways-humans-robots-requires-swarm.html Business Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:40:01 EDT news699719221 Teaching robots to manipulate objects with humanlike dexterity has long been one of robotics' toughest challenges. Tasks such as rotating an object in-hand or coordinating two robot arms to maneuver a bulky item require constant changes in contact, grip, and motion, skills that are difficult both to program and to demonstrate through human teleoperation. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-complexity-key-robots-dexterity.html Robotics Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:00:09 EDT news699710641 Imagine working at a warehouse or office sometime in the near future, and you're asked to help a new trainee learn the basics of their job. The catch: It's a robot. To teach them, you might want to play a game of "show and tell"—that is, physically showing how to do something a few different ways, while also explaining what you're doing. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-llms-robots-vague-focus-key.html Robotics Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:20:02 EDT news699617582 The rapid expansion of soft robots and smart electronic devices is driving demand for materials that can not only move and adapt, but also complete their missions without leaving behind unwanted traces. As these technologies are increasingly explored for health care, environmental monitoring, infrastructure inspection, and security applications, robots and devices are expected to operate in places where human access is limited—such as narrow pipes, sealed spaces, underground facilities, and hazardous environments. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-dual-mode-magnetic-elastomer-demand.html Robotics Sun, 31 May 2026 10:40:02 EDT news699280707 From the shallow shores of Lake Wahlberg to the salty depths of the ocean, University of Florida researchers are dropping robots in the water and training them to communicate more efficiently in murky conditions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-tiny-underwater-antenna-robots-dark.html Robotics Fri, 29 May 2026 14:20:03 EDT news699281406 SUTD researchers have developed a reinforcement-learning-based safety system that teaches a stair-traversing service robot to brace itself mid-fall, addressing one of the biggest barriers to deploying autonomous robots on staircases. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-stair-climbing-robot-falls.html Robotics Fri, 29 May 2026 12:00:05 EDT news699274713 Scientists at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering have developed a robotic hand that can hear a melody once and play it back after just two minutes of self-taught practice on a keyboard, without relying on sheet music or preprogrammed scores. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-robot-play-music-ear-possibilities.html Robotics Thu, 28 May 2026 12:00:02 EDT news699186841 Cyborg insects have long been studied as bio-hybrid systems that combine living organisms with small electronic devices. These systems may one day support tasks such as disaster search and rescue, environmental monitoring, and sensing in spaces too small or dangerous for conventional robots. However, most existing systems control insects based mainly on externally visible behavior, such as whether the insect is walking or stopping. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-ai-insect-body-cyborg-cockroaches.html Robotics Thu, 28 May 2026 11:40:01 EDT news699186781 Engineers have invented an ingenious liquid-metal pump that could make future soft robotics and wearable devices much more portable and agile. The innovation, led by the University of Bristol and published in the journal Nature Communications, presents a low-voltage power source with the potential to transform robotic systems for a wide range of applications, from robotic legs to haptic gloves used in medical and industrial settings. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-pea-size-liquid-metal-robot.html Robotics Wed, 27 May 2026 15:40:04 EDT news699114181