https://techxplore.com/rss-feed/robotics-news/ en-us The latest news on robotics, robots, robotics sciences and technology science. Lab-grown skeletal muscle tissue can contract, but the movement is often so slight that it is barely visible. This poses a problem for biohybrid robots designed to move using living muscles. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now demonstrated that it is not just the amount of muscle tissue that matters, but above all how the muscle and the artificial scaffold interact. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-lab-grown-mouse-muscles-enable.html Robotics Thu, 22 Oct 2026 15:40:19 EDT news711901442 It's important for a robot not just to learn a task optimally, but to complete it without going off the rails of reasonable expectations. Until now, roboticists could have one or the other. Aerospace engineering researchers in The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, combined reinforcement learning with control theory to guarantee robot stability and improve tracking performance by up to 15% compared with existing methods. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-wheeled-flying-legged-robots-stay.html Robotics Wed, 21 Oct 2026 15:20:10 EDT news711814381 Large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and Google Gemini are increasingly being used to help robots perform tasks, but what if LLMs could be exploited to turn helpful robots into harmful robots? https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-secret-trigger-words-ai-powered.html Robotics Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:40:14 EDT news711732961 A robot artificial intelligence (AI) system has been developed that can understand human instructions, predict what a scene will look like after an action and then carry out the task. Rather than simply translating instructions into physical movements, the technology also uses the anticipated outcomes of those actions to control the robot. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-robot-ai-future-scenes.html Robotics Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:20:01 EDT news711647401 A research team at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed an Embodied Sensorimotor Robotic Arm (EmArm) capable of whole-arm tactile sensing and adaptive manipulation. By embedding a soft optical tactile skin directly into a robotic skeleton and integrating it with a real-time decision-making algorithm, EmArm can perceive and analyze contact information across its upper and lower arms, enabling human-like tactile perception and adaptive object manipulation. The system can also distinguish between different touch interactions, such as tickling and patting, respond in real time and avoid obstacles through tactile feedback, opening new possibilities for the development of embodied intelligent robots. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-team-embodied-robotic-arm-emarm.html Robotics Sat, 17 Oct 2026 07:00:13 EDT news711366390 What does it take for an autonomous robot to be faster around a course than human drone pilots? At these dizzying speeds, humans need lightning-fast reflexes. Researchers at Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands) have developed an AI system that enables a racing drone to navigate demanding courses at extreme speed using only a single camera. It outperformed even former world champion human drone pilots in a race. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-ai-drone-outpaces-world-champions.html Robotics Wed, 14 Oct 2026 14:00:07 EDT news711124285 Researchers from the Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed an electrohydraulically actuated soft robotic fish that can swim at high speeds and perform agile three-dimensional (3D) maneuvers. The soft robotic fish addresses a longstanding design challenge by combining a rigid–flexible coupled propulsion system with dynamic buoyancy regulation. This allows for fast propulsion without sacrificing maneuverability. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-soft-robotic-fish-combines-high.html Robotics Tue, 13 Oct 2026 15:40:04 EDT news711124270 Researchers have developed a technology that lets a user move a small robot by bending and straightening a finger. The user can also pick up and move objects while checking the images and contact information that the robot sends back. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-beetle-soft-robot-finger-relay.html Robotics Tue, 13 Oct 2026 10:40:14 EDT news711104490 Humans can move their limbs very rapidly and coordinate their movements with high precision to tackle specific manual tasks. While robots have become increasingly advanced in recent years, many of them remain less agile than humans and struggle to interact with moving objects of different shapes, weights and textures. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-armed-robot-balls-human-movements.html Robotics Fri, 09 Oct 2026 09:40:04 EDT news710671638 Smartphones combine cameras, motion sensors and powerful processors in devices that fit inside a pocket. These features could also make them useful components for robots, reducing the need to buy and connect separate sensors, processors or other electronics. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-phonebot-smartphones-job-legs.html Robotics Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:20:06 EDT news710689127 Researchers have created an aquatic soft robot inspired by marine invertebrates called feather stars. The feather star robot is able to move through the water in all three dimensions, powered by only two actuators. The paper, "Minimal-Actuation Feather Star–Inspired Soft Swimmers for Multimodal 3D Maneuverability," is published in the journal Science Advances. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-feather-star-underwater-robot-3d.html Robotics Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:00:40 EDT news710515263 Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) could fly deep into the heart of a raging wildfire, avoiding sudden flare-ups and dodging falling tree branches to gather critical information for rescuers. But in this dangerous situation, the UAV could easily be damaged or destroyed by falling debris. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-sando-robot-flight-path-collision.html Robotics Wed, 07 Oct 2026 10:40:09 EDT news710586961 In 2023, researchers in the Soft Transducers Laboratory in EPFL's School of Engineering presented the world's first pump in the form of a fiber. The pump's flexible tubing can generate its own fluid pressure and flow rate and be sewn into smart textiles to circulate fluids for thermoregulation and haptic feedback or to power wearable assistive devices. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-threadlike-motor-fibers-flexible-robotic.html Robotics Wed, 07 Oct 2026 10:20:13 EDT news710586661 Professors at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and the Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA) have developed a soft robotic gripper capable not only of picking up and holding objects but also of manipulating and repositioning what it holds between its fingers without losing its grip. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-rubber-ducks-screwdrivers-dexterous-soft.html Robotics Sun, 04 Oct 2026 09:40:06 EDT news710147827 Remote waters are difficult to monitor. Boats can take a long time to reach them, while aircraft cannot remain there for extended periods. To close that gap, researchers at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) have developed a nature-inspired robotic platform. Released from the air, it lands on water, rights itself and then sails autonomously using wind energy. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-robot-falls-maple-seed-boat.html Robotics Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:20 EDT news710072905 A research team from the Vision and Action Laboratory, Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory and Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology, led by associate professor Hideki Tamura, has demonstrated that, even when an object moves at the same physical speed, its approach is perceived as faster when it comes from behind than when it approaches from the front. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-robots-approaching-faster-reveal.html Robotics Thu, 01 Oct 2026 11:00:19 EDT news710070001 Let's say you ask ChatGPT a question that stumps it, or a Waymo vehicle encounters something unusual in the road, or an autonomous factory faces an unexpected disruption. Most people would recognize that something unexpected has happened and adjust accordingly. For machines, it's not always that simple. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-machine-ai-agent-autonomous-unexpected.html Robotics Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:20:02 EDT news710064301 In-home assistive robots could clean and organize a home while the owner is away, but without enhanced memory capabilities, they could cause more problems than they solve. They could, for example, cause a major inconvenience if they move important objects like wallets and keys but are unable to tell the owner where they put them. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-benchmark-ai-memory-household-robots.html Robotics Wed, 30 Sep 2026 12:20:09 EDT news709989421 An octopus can bend one part of an arm around an obstacle while another reaches into a small crevice to grab an object. Reproducing that local control in a soft robot requires multiple actuators—components that turn energy into movement—together with their mounting hardware and connections. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-artificial-muscle-dexterous-soft-robot.html Robotics Wed, 30 Sep 2026 12:00:13 EDT news709987321 We are used to seeing images of humanoid robots clumsily walking, stumbling over objects and awkwardly freezing in place. Struggling with real-world movement is one of the biggest drawbacks of current robotics. But now a team of researchers has come up with a new system to make them move and react far more reliably, and they worked everything out on a bunch of soccer-playing robots. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-soccer-playing-humanoid-robots-score.html Robotics Wed, 30 Sep 2026 09:30:02 EDT news709978468 A quick search of humanoid robot videos will deliver demonstrations of two-legged robots playing soccer, dancing, jumping several feet in the air, even competing in kickboxing matches. It is all dazzling, certainly. But roboticist Aaron Ames, the Booth-Kresa Leadership Chair and director of Caltech's Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST) and a leader in the field of robotic safety, has deep concerns. What is crucially missing before humanoids can play a larger role in our lives and society, Ames says, is safety. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-roboticist-safety-humanoid-robots.html Robotics Wed, 30 Sep 2026 09:00:05 EDT news709976821 Swimming can take a lot of muscle. But as MIT engineers have found, even a single layer of muscle cells can power through water if designed right. In a paper published Sept. 28 in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, the team presents a design for a thin, muscle-powered swimming robot. The "skeleton" of the aquabot is made from a film of gel about the length and width of a stick of gum. The two halves of the gel form the bot's "fins." Each fin is covered with a layer of live muscle cells much thinner than a single strand of hair. The cells are genetically engineered to twitch in response to light. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-powered-muscle-cells-paper-thin.html Robotics Tue, 29 Sep 2026 10:00:05 EDT news709893781 A Venus flytrap closes its leaves to trap prey when it senses a stimulus. Taking inspiration from this plant, KAIST researchers have combined the roles of skin that senses approaching objects and muscle that grasps them in a single soft material. When an electrically charged object comes near, ions inside the material move and produce an electrical signal. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-venus-flytrap-robot-material-grasps.html Robotics Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:40:18 EDT news709893062 Researchers in the Bio-Inspired Robotics Laboratory at Cambridge are exploring how soil behaves as an intelligent system. By studying its structure, chemistry and biological network of microbes and fungi, they aim to inspire new technologies in bio-inspired computing, precision agriculture and environmental sensing. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-soil-brain-perspective-case.html Robotics Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:40:01 EDT news709811170 Getting up from a chair is something most of us don't think about. The movement is almost second nature: Our legs and hips work together in a precise sequence. But performing this task can be difficult for older people, often because of declining strength and reduced coordination in the hip and leg muscles. If a robot-assisted suit is going to support part of that effort, it must respond intuitively and in sync with the body's movements. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-soft-exosuit-easier.html Robotics Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:20:01 EDT news709811165 A four-legged robot that can complete a marathon on a single battery charge has been demonstrated by a team from KAIST. The robot, which completed the Sangju Marathon in South Korea in 4 hours and 19 minutes alongside human runners, traveled three times as far per charge than existing robots and could pave the way for improved battery life in legged robots. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-robot-dog-marathon-battery.html Robotics Wed, 23 Sep 2026 16:00:16 EDT news709395301 As our skies increasingly crowd with buzzing, hovering, flitting drones, spare a thought for the humble hopping robot. Hopping, a popular form of locomotion in the insect and amphibian worlds, is nearly two orders of magnitude more energy-efficient than flying. Unlike a mosquito that must constantly expend energy to stay aloft, a flea only works out when it jumps. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-tiny-robot-precisely-height.html Robotics Wed, 23 Sep 2026 15:20:08 EDT news709394701 For many of us, the last—and only—time we've seen a walking hand was Thing in "The Addams Family" movies or TV series. Now there's another. Engineers from the Soft Robotics Lab at ETH Zurich have adapted an off-the-shelf detached robotic hand so it can crawl across different surfaces, balance and interact with its environment. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-robotic-keys.html Robotics Wed, 23 Sep 2026 13:30:01 EDT news709387524 A simple pattern of black-and-white stripes could cause an autonomous vehicle or robot to misjudge how far away an obstacle is, potentially triggering an unexpected maneuver or even a collision, according to new University of Florida research. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-simple-visual-patterns-ai-powered.html Robotics Wed, 23 Sep 2026 10:00:04 EDT news709372295 Humanoid robots, robotic systems with a human-like body structure, could assist people in homes, offices, health care facilities, public spaces and various other environments. Before they can be reliably deployed in these settings, however, robots should be able to safely navigate cluttered and dynamic environments. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-humanoid-robots-narrow-gaps-obstacles.html Robotics Wed, 23 Sep 2026 06:20:01 EDT news709302867