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RoboTool enables creative tool use in robotsIf 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 is the outcome of a complex... Read more
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Cult of the drone: At the two-year mark, UAVs have changed the face of war in Ukraine—but not outcomesUnmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, have been central to the war in Ukraine. Some analysts claim that drones have reshaped war, yielding not just tactical-level effects, but shaping operational and strategic outcomes as well.... Read more
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Wormlike, limbless robots that navigate obstacle courses could be used for search and rescue one dayScientists have been trying to build snakelike, limbless robots for decades. These robots could come in handy in search-and-rescue situations, where they could navigate collapsed buildings to find and assist survivors.... Read more
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Our robot harvests cotton by reaching out and plucking it, like a lizard's tongue snatching fliesCotton is one of the most valuable crops grown in the U.S., with a harvest value of some US$7 billion yearly. It is cultivated across a crescent of 17 states stretching from Virginia to California and is used in virtually every type of clothing, as well as in medical supplies... Read more
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Soft robot fingers that can carefully squeeze without sensorsWith 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' to determine whether the fruit was ripe enough.... Read more
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Are shape-shifting 'soft machines' in our future? Scientists advance light-responsive materialResearchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have furthered a new type of soft material that can change shape in response to light, a discovery that could advance "soft machines" for a variety of fields, from robotics to medicine.... Read more
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Novel robot mimics insects' optics-to-neurons pathwayWith 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 of an insect's brain can help us in our search towards energy-efficient computing; physicist Elisabetta... Read more
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Engineers build robot swarm that can assemble and repair its shape in a distributed mannerResearchers have proposed a new strategy for the shape assembly of robot swarms based on the idea of mean-shift exploration: When a robot is surrounded by neighboring robots and unoccupied locations, it actively gives up its current location by exploring the highest density of nearby unoccupied locations in the desired... Read more
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How ancient sea creatures can inform soft roboticsSoft 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 efficiency in various tasks. Additionally, using different forms of robotic movement may also serve us well... Read more
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Q&A: Researcher discusses how newly developed method can help robots identify objects in cluttered spacesImagine a coffee cup sitting on a table. Now, imagine a book partially obscuring the cup. As humans, we still know what the coffee cup is even though we can't see all of it. But a robot might be confused.... Read more
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Researchers develop and test the first unmanned forestry machineA study published in the Journal of Field Robotics assessed the world's first unmanned machine designed for autonomous forestry operations.... Read more
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Adaptive robot can open all the doorsA 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 improve as it teaches itself how to modify its techniques when faced... Read more
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A deep reinforcement learning approach to enhance autonomous robotic grasping and assemblySemi-autonomous and autonomous robots are being introduced in a growing number of real-world environments, including industrial settings. Industrial robots could speed up the manufacturing of various products by assisting human workers with basic tasks and lightening their workload.... Read more
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Exploring the eating experience of a pneumatically-driven edible robot: Perception, taste, and textureIn a landmark study, Associate Professor Yoshihiro Nakata of the University of Electro-Communications, Japan, in collaboration with researchers from Osaka University, conducted research on edible robotics. Published in PLOS ONE, this study is the first to explore the experience of consuming a moving edible robot.... Read more
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Research team develops metamaterial to enable real-time shape and property controlInspired by the remarkable adaptability observed in biological organisms like the octopus, a breakthrough has been achieved in the field of soft robotics. A research team, led by Professor Jiyun Kim in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at UNIST has successfully developed an encodable multifunctional material that can... Read more