ANYmal, a robot developed at ETH, can see and hear, and even open doors. An international research team is now working to ensure the robot can function in extreme conditions – a mission that takes them to the labyrinth of drains and tunnels below Zurich.
People's interactions with machines, from robots that throw tantrums when they lose a colour-matching game against a human opponent to the bionic limbs that could give us extra abilities, are not just revealing more about how our brains are wired – they are also altering them.
A robust, adaptable robot that responds to its environment on the fly and overcomes obstacles such as a broken leg without human intervention could be used to rescue people from an earthquake zone or clean up sites that are too hazardous for humans.
Researchers have developed revolutionary new robots that adapt to the culture and customs of the elderly people they assist.
Flexible skin for soft robots, embedded with electrical nanowires, combines conductivity with sensitivity within the same material.
Faced with seesawing commodity prices and the pressure to be more efficient and environmentally friendly, farmer Jamie Butler is trying out a new worker on his 450-acre farm in England's Hampshire countryside.
If wearable technologies are the future, a radioactive-busting robotic suit could represent yet one more dramatic step into the beyond.
This walking and hopping robot is currently being tested in ESA's Mars Yard.
For most people today, robots and smart systems are servants that work in the background, vacuuming carpets or turning lights on and off. Or they're machines that have taken over repetitive human jobs from assembly-line workers and bank tellers. But the technologies are getting good enough that machines will be able work alongside people as teammates – much as human-dog teams handle tasks like hunting and bomb detection.
A 5ft 2ins tall magenta robot, equipped with sensors and cameras, will guide visitors through exhibitions at a Lincoln museum from today.
The film Robot and Frank imagined a near-future where robots could do almost everything humans could. The elderly title character was given a "robot butler" to help him continue living on his own. The robot was capable of everything from cooking and cleaning to socialising (and, it turned out, burglary).
Japan's affection for robots is no secret. But is the feeling mutual in the country's amazing androids? Roboticists are now a step closer to giving androids greater facial expressions to communicate with.
Researchers have developed a humanoid robot prototype, HRP-5P, intended to autonomously perform heavy labor or work in hazardous environments.
Music plays an important role in most people's lives regardless of the genre and in a wide variety of contexts from celebrations and parties to simply providing background while a task is being performed. Until very recently, music was only heard when musicians played it live, the ability to record music displaced that live performance to some degree, and then the invention of electronic musical instruments and digitisation changed our appreciation of music yet again.
"Please enjoy your meal," says Nepal's first robot waiter, Ginger, as she delivers a plate of steaming dumplings to a table of hungry customers.