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Robot overcomes uncertainty to retrieve buried objectsFor humans, finding a lost wallet buried under a pile of items is pretty straightforward—we simply remove things from the pile until we find the wallet. But for a robot, this task involves complex reasoning about the pile and objects in it, which presents a steep challenge.... Read more
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A novel Kalman filter for target tracking in spaceThe space station is a bridgehead for human space exploration missions. During its construction, operation, and maintenance, there are a variety of tasks that need to be performed. However, the space environment has harsh conditions such as microgravity, high vacuum, strong radiation, and large temperature differences, which seriously threaten the... Read more
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Open-source and open hardware autonomous quadrotor flies fast and avoids obstaclesA team of researchers at the University of Zurich, has developed a highly agile quadrotor drone that is able to avoid obstacles and carry out trajectory tracking. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the group describes how they designed their drone, what they put into it and... Read more
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Using a semi-autonomous robot to understand the psychological connections between machine and userHumans have long been known to sympathize with the machines or computer representations they operate. Whether driving a car or directing a video game avatar, people are more likely to identify with something that they feel in control of. However, how the autonomous behavior of the robots affects their operators... Read more
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Supernumerary virtual robotic arms can feel like part of the bodyResearch teams at the University of Tokyo, Keio University and Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan have developed a virtual robotic limb system which can be operated by users' feet in a virtual environment as extra, or supernumerary, limbs. After training, users reported feeling like the virtual robotic arms had... Read more
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Advanced drone technology streamlining mine clearanceMagnetic technology mounted on drones can identify mines and unexploded munitions on land and at sea much more effectively than conventional mine clearance using handheld detectors. The DTU spinout company Umag Solutions has developed an ultra-precise drone magnetometer technology, and documented that in just a few days it can cover... Read more
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Robots learn to play with play doughThe inner child in many of us feels an overwhelming sense of joy when stumbling across a pile of the fluorescent, rubbery mixture of water, salt, and flour that put goo on the map: play dough. (Even if this happens rarely in adulthood.)... Read more
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Can robotics help us achieve sustainable development?An international team of scientists, led by the University of Leeds, have assessed how robotics and autonomous systems might facilitate or impede the delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).... Read more
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A deep learning framework to estimate the pose of robotic arms and predict their movementsAs robots are gradually introduced into various real-world environments, developers and roboticists will need to ensure that they can safely operate around humans. In recent years, they have introduced various approaches for estimating the positions and predicting the movements of robots in real-time.... Read more
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Engineers devise a recipe for improving any autonomous robotic systemAutonomous robots have come a long way since the fastidious Roomba. In recent years, artificially intelligent systems have been deployed in self-driving cars, last-mile food delivery, restaurant service, patient screening, hospital cleaning, meal prep, building security, and warehouse packing.... Read more
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Robots found to turn racist and sexist with flawed AIA robot operating with a popular Internet-based artificial intelligence system consistently gravitates to men over women, white people over people of color, and jumps to conclusions about peoples' jobs after a glance at their face.... Read more
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Observing Arctic marine life, from the seabed to spaceIn late May, NTNU researchers and students used a small satellite, an unmanned aerial vehicle, two unmanned boats and subsea robots to survey the same area simultaneously. This is an approach called an observational pyramid.... Read more
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Emergency-response drones to save lives in the digital skiesUncrewed aircraft responding to fire and medical emergencies will be used to save lives—if digitalized air-traffic control can help them navigate safely in the skies over Europe.... Read more
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Robotic lightning bugs take flightFireflies that light up dusky backyards on warm summer evenings use their luminescence for communication—to attract a mate, ward off predators or lure prey.... Read more
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A technique to teach bimanual robots stir-fry cookingAs robots make their way into a variety of real-world environments, roboticists are trying to ensure that they can efficiently complete a growing number of tasks. For robots that are designed to assist humans in their homes, this includes household chores, such as cleaning, tidying up and cooking.... Read more