Robotics

AI-powered robots are set to track across thousands of kilometers of baked, uneven ground, reducing the danger for maintenance workers on Australia's large-scale solar farms. A successful trial by CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, repurposed autonomous robots originally designed for the mining industry. Without robots, the work is done on... Read more

While space structures and robotic arms require lightweight actuation devices capable of repetitive movement, conventional motor-based systems face limitations due to their heavy weight and complex structures. A KAIST research team has developed a smart material-based actuation technology that operates rapidly in less than a second without a motor, suggesting... Read more

The next time you're scrolling on your phone, take a moment to appreciate the feat: The seemingly mundane act is possible thanks to the coordination of 34 muscles, 27 joints, and over 100 tendons and ligaments in your hand. Indeed, our hands are the most nimble parts of our bodies.... Read more

Amazon has acquired Fauna Robotics, just under two months after the startup introduced a humanoid robot called Sprout designed to be a friendly addition to social spaces like homes and schools.... Read more

A combination of infrared imaging, thermal imaging and color cameras on an uncrewed drone, along with an AI system to interpret the data, can help emergency responders and search-and-rescue teams locate, identify and track people who have gone missing in the wilderness. The experimental system helps responders pinpoint where a... Read more

Imagine a horse stumbling on a rock. It regains momentum, then hits bumpier terrain and slows to a walk. Back on steady ground, the horse picks up its pace to catch up with the herd. How is the horse able to transition between these different gaits? Researchers at Brown University's... Read more

A research team from Fraunhofer HNFIZ has published a newly developed evaluation model that classifies the technical capabilities of humanoids into five levels. Applications can also be classified based on the required robot capabilities. The model makes humanoids comparable, facilitates finding the right humanoid for a specific application, and highlights... Read more

A bird banking in a crosswind doesn't rely on spinning blades. Its wings flex, twist and respond instantly to its environment. Engineers at Rutgers University have taken a major step toward building bird-like drones that move the same way, flapping their wings like real birds, using electricity-driven materials instead of... Read more

When a nuclear plant reaches the end of its life or is damaged, it must be decommissioned. This process can take more than 20 years and includes decontamination, dismantling, and handling radioactive materials so the site can be reused. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, almost half of the... Read more

A collaborative research group has developed a bio-inspired robotic system based on insect behavior which can locate odor sources both indoors and outdoors with consistent accuracy, even if one of its two sensors fails. The team includes Assistant Professor Shigaki Shunsuke of the National Institute of Informatics (NII), Professor Kurabayashi... Read more

Scientists have developed a network of mechanical motors that mimic the molecular machinery underpinning human muscle contraction. The University of Bristol-led findings, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface this week, could open new possibilities for artificial muscles in robotics.... Read more

In a crowded fourth-grade classroom in Chicago, a new kind of tutor is shaping how children learn about empathy, conflict, and problem-solving. These robots aren't programmed to act like friendly classmates with invented emotions and backstories. Instead, they speak plainly, without pretense or fiction, and the results will attract educators'... Read more

Researchers at Cranfield University have created WANDER-bot, a low-cost, 3D-printed robot that is powered by wind energy. Designed to spend long durations in hostile, windy environments such as certain deserts, polar regions or even other planets, WANDER-bot doesn't need a battery to power movement, enabling longer operations without having to... Read more

Robots are increasingly learning new skills by watching people. From folding laundry to handling food, many real-world, humanlike tasks are too nuanced to be efficiently programmed step by step.... Read more

Roboticists have struggled to get humanoid robots to effectively replicate athletic sports skills, such as those needed for tennis. These sports require highly dynamic motion, quick reactions, and high precision that robots are not usually equipped to handle. Past research attempted to use kinematic data and video-based extraction of human... Read more