Piezoelectric and triboelectric tactile sensors are designed to convert mechanical stimuli into electrical signals, making them critical components in intelligent systems. Piezoelectric sensors leverage voltage generation through mechanical stress in non-centrosymmetric materials, such as quartz and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), while triboelectric sensors operate on contact-induced charge transfer.
Robot systems explore unfamiliar terrain, buildings or danger zones with cameras. In the 3D-InAus project, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE are using a LiDAR laser on a mobile robot, emitting laser pulses to measure distances. The results are used to produce geometrically accurate 3D environments.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-enabled robots are becoming a bigger part of our daily lives. Real-time, flexible interactions between humans and robots are no longer just science fiction. As robots become smarter and more human-like in both behavior and appearance, they are transforming from mere tools to potential partners and social entities.
Even if an android's appearance is so realistic that it could be mistaken for a human in a photograph, watching it move in person can feel a bit unsettling. It can smile, frown, or display other various, familiar expressions, but finding a consistent emotional state behind those expressions can be difficult, leaving you unsure of what it is truly feeling and creating a sense of unease.
In recent years, roboticists have developed a wide range of systems that could eventually be introduced in health care and assisted living facilities. These include both medical robots and robots designed to provide companionship or assistance to human users.
Federal authorities have provided new details in the case of "the mysterious drones" spotted around the northeastern U.S.
Imagine trying to move a heavy piece of furniture with a group of people. Everyone's effort matters, but how do you ensure that each person is pulling their weight? This challenge of fairly distributing the load is a critical issue not only in human teamwork but also for coordinating robotic swarms.
Moving in a dense cloud, like throngs of people walking across a crowded public square, 100 drones maneuver through the night sky in Hungary's capital, the result of over a decade of research and experimentation that scientists believe could change the future of unmanned flight.
Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated an autonomous robotic field monitoring, sampling and data-gathering system that could accelerate understanding of interactions among plants, soil and the environment.
University of Queensland researchers have developed a 3D printing method to produce shape-shifting liquid metal robotics with musculoskeletal qualities inspired by animal physiology.
Wearable haptic devices, which provide touch-based feedback, can provide more realistic experiences in virtual reality, assist with rehabilitation, and create new opportunities for silent communication. Currently, most of these devices rely on vibration, as pressure-based haptics have typically required users to wear stiff exoskeletons or other bulky structures.
The recent spate of unidentified drone sightings in the U.S., including some near sensitive locations such as airports and military installations, has caused significant public concern.
A month after mysterious drones were first reported over New Jersey, authorities are still trying to determine where they are coming from as sightings increase in frequency and spread into neighboring states.
Two roboticists from the University of Leeds and University College London have developed a framework that enables robots to traverse complex terrain without extra sensors or prior rough terrain training. Joseph Humphreys and Chengxu Zhou outlined the details of their framework in a paper posted to the arXiv preprint server.
From answering questions from Cabinet ministers, academics and students on climate change, substance abuse and the law to children's inquiries about her "birth" and links to God and being described as a talkative feminist, Sophia, the world-famous robot won hearts at an innovation fair in Zimbabwe this week.