Robotics news

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

Study explores why human-inspired machines can be perceived as eerie

Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and robots are becoming increasingly advanced, exhibiting capabilities that vaguely resemble those of humans. The growing similarities between AIs and humans could ultimately bring ...

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

A dexterous four-legged robot that can walk and handle objects simultaneously

Four-legged robots, also known as quadrupedal robots, have advantageous characteristics, including the ability to rapidly walk on challenging terrains and keep a low center of gravity. Some four-legged robots can also manipulate ...

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 ...

Robotics

RoboTool enables creative tool use in robots

If an ingredient is out of reach on a high pantry shelf, it wouldn't take you more than a few seconds to find a step stool, or maybe just a chair, to stand on to bring the ingredient within your reach. This simple solution ...

Robotics

Soft robot fingers that can carefully squeeze without sensors

With a brief squeeze, you know whether an avocado, peach or tomato is ripe. This is what a soft robot hand also does, for example, during automated harvesting. However, up until now, such a gripper needed sensors in its 'fingers' ...

Robotics

Novel robot mimics insects' optics-to-neurons pathway

With a brain the size of a pinhead, insects perform fantastic navigational feats. They avoid obstacles and move through small openings. How do they do this with their limited brain power? Understanding the inner workings ...

Robotics

How ancient sea creatures can inform soft robotics

Soft robotics is the study of creating robots from soft materials, which has the advantage of flexibility and safety in human interactions. These robots are well-suited for applications ranging from medical devices to enhancing ...

Robotics

Adaptive robot can open all the doors

A small team of roboticists at Carnegie Mellon University has developed a training regimen that allows a robot to start out with limited abilities, such as carrying out a certain task like opening doors or drawers, and to ...

Robotics

New York bins subway surveillance robot

The New York City subway has pulled its controversial security robot out of service after little more than five months patrolling the busy Times Square station.