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.

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.

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.