Soft robots driven by pressurized fluids could explore new frontiers and interact with delicate objects in ways that traditional rigid robots can't. But building entirely soft robots remains a challenge because many of the components required to power these devices are, themselves, rigid.
Singapore is in the midst of a three-week trial for a pair of autonomous robots that patrol the public for "undesirable social behaviors" that include smoking in prohibited areas and violating COVID-19 gathering regulations.
Super-stretchy wormlike robots capable of 'feeling' their surroundings could find applications in industry and prosthetics, scientists say.
It's not uncommon in the Bay Area to spot a driverless test car sharing the highway, a whirling lidar array atop its roof. Not so much in Southern California, where little robot car testing has been conducted to date.
Geckos' impressive climbing abilities give them agility rarely surpassed in nature. With their highly specialized adhesive lamellae on their feet, geckos can climb up smooth vertical surfaces with ease and even move on a ceiling hanging upside down. Their ability to run on water is another superpower. Now one more can be added.
A team of researchers at the University of California has developed a way to create an artificial fiber that performs very much like human muscle fibers. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the researchers describe their process and how well the fiber worked when tested.
Cleveland Clinic researchers have engineered a first-of-its-kind bionic arm for patients with upper-limb amputations that allows wearers to think, behave and function like a person without an amputation, according to new findings published in Science Robotics.
Jeffrey McKee made a peculiar sighting on his way to work at Ohio State a few weeks ago. Rolling around campus was what appeared to be a food cooler with wheels and a camera perched on its roof.
Over the past few decades, roboticists and computer scientists have developed robots that can grasp and manipulate various objects in their surroundings. Most of these robots are primarily trained to grasp rigid objects or objects with specific shapes.
To perform well on highly dynamic tasks, robots should be able to move quickly and be highly reactive. As robots typically have physical constraints and hardware limitations, computer scientists should also develop planners and trajectory optimization techniques that will enable them to perform rapid movements.
A combined team of researchers from The Ohio State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a robot arm that moves like an octopus arm without the need for a motor. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their robot arm, which moves in response to changes in a magnetic field around it.
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration is turning to a Japanese startup for help in creating maps of the wind that will make it safer for drones and air taxis to take to the skies around the world.
Machines and robots undoubtedly make life easier. They carry out jobs with precision and speed, and, unlike humans, they do not require breaks as they are never tired.
Mantis shrimp pack the strongest punch of any creature in the animal kingdom. Their club-like appendages accelerate faster than a bullet out of a gun and just one strike can knock the arm off a crab or break through a snail shell. These small but mighty crustaceans have been known to take on octopus and win.
To train robots how to work independently but cooperatively, researchers at the University of Cincinnati gave them a relatable task: Move a couch.