Insect-scale robots can squeeze into places their larger counterparts can't, like deep into a collapsed building to search for survivors after an earthquake. However, as they move through the rubble, tiny crawling robots might encounter tall obstacles they can't climb over or slanted surfaces they will slide down. While aerial robots could avoid these hazards, the amount of energy required for flight would severely limit how far the robot can travel into the wreckage before it needs to return to base and recharge.
It's a game a lot of us played as children—and maybe even later in life: unspooling measuring tape to see how far it would extend before bending. But to engineers at the University of California San Diego, this game was an inspiration, suggesting that measuring tape could become a great material for a robotic gripper.
Angiography is a widely used medical imaging technique that allows medical researchers and doctors to capture the vascular network (i.e., blood vessels) using contrast agents, substances that enhance the visibility of specific structures inside the body when exposed to X-rays or other imaging approaches. Conventional angiography techniques rely on contrast agents that are distributed through blood vessels, leveraging the natural flow of blood in the body.
A team of researchers led by Professor Keisuke Takahashi at the Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, have created FLUID (Flowing Liquid Utilizing Interactive Device), an open-source robotic system constructed using a 3D printer and off-the-shelf electronic components.
A tiny, soft, flexible robot that can crawl through earthquake rubble to find trapped victims or travel inside the human body to deliver medicine may seem like science fiction, but an international team led by researchers at Penn State are pioneering such adaptable robots by integrating flexible electronics with magnetically controlled motion.
Researchers at EPFL's Neuroengineering Laboratory, led by Pavan Ramdya, aim to replicate the workings of the brain of the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. EPFL spoke with Ramdya about the exciting prospects for robotics.
How does a robotic arm or a prosthetic hand learn a complex task like grasping and rotating a ball? The challenge for the human, prosthetic or robotic hand has always been to correctly learn to control the fingers to exert forces on an object.
When major disasters hit and structures collapse, people can become trapped under rubble. Extricating victims from these hazardous environments can be dangerous and physically exhausting. To help rescue teams navigate these structures, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Notre Dame, has developed the Soft Pathfinding Robotic Observation Unit (SPROUT).
Ever asked a question and been met with a blank stare? It's awkward enough with a person—but on a humanoid robot, it can be downright unsettling. Now, an international team co-led by Hiroshima University and RIKEN has found a fix: giving androids a "thinking face." Their study reveals that when robots squint and furrow their brow while processing information, they appear more relatable, easing the eerie discomfort we feel with artificial beings that look almost, but not quite, human—known as the "uncanny valley" effect.
Growing up in Spain, Cecilia Huertas Cerdeira was captivated by the elegant movements of aquatic life during frequent vacations to the Atlantic coast. Later, as a doctoral student at the California Institute of Technology, she steered her surfboard into Pacific waves.
Like a bumblebee flitting from flower to flower, a new insect-inspired flying robot created by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, can hover, change trajectory and even hit small targets. Less than 1 centimeter in diameter, the device weighs only 21 milligrams, making it the world's smallest wireless robot capable of controlled flight.
Many of the robotic systems developed in the past decades are inspired by four-legged (i.e., quadruped) animals, such as dogs, cheetahs and horses. By replicating the agile movements of these animals, quadruped robots could move swiftly on the ground, crossing long distances on various terrains and rapidly completing missions.
A company that specializes in early wildfire detection has developed a new, AI-based drone it says will help speed up the detection, location and monitoring of fires.
Recent work in 6D object pose estimation holds significant promise for advancing robotics, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), as well as autonomous navigation. The research, published in the International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering, introduces a method that enhances the accuracy, generalization, and efficiency of determining an object's rotation and translation from a single image. This could significantly improve robots' ability to interact with objects, especially in dynamic or obstructed environments.
Aging and illness in humans are accompanied by decline in motor and cognitive functions, causing difficulties in daily life and communication and often leading to anxiety and depression. Human-collaborative robots that can interpret the intentions of humans promise to mitigate these issues and enhance independence.