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A team led by Northwestern University researchers has developed the first artificial intelligence (AI) to date that can intelligently design robots from scratch.

A robot rushes down a busy hospital corridor dodging random foot traffic. With a subtle gesture from a care provider, the robot enters a room and hands over drugs to a waiting bedside nurse.

Researchers have designed a robot which can change form to tackle varying scenarios.

With the rapid-paced rise of AI in everyday life, nothing, not even the traditional farmer, is untouched by the technology.

A team of mechanical engineers at Chung-Ang University in South Korea has developed an exosuit that can help runners cover short distances faster. Their project is reported in the journal Science Robotics.

Small mobile robots carrying sensors could perform tasks like catching gas leaks or tracking warehouse inventory. But moving robots demands a lot of energy, and batteries, the typical power source, limit lifetime and raise environmental concerns. Researchers have explored various alternatives: affixing sensors to insects, keeping charging mats nearby, or powering the robots with lasers. Each has drawbacks: Insects roam, chargers limit range, and lasers can burn people's eyes.

Running on the beach versus a paved road can change an athlete's stride, speed and stability. Alter the force of gravity, and that runner may break their personal record or sink into the ground. Researchers have to consider such parameters when designing extraterrestrial rovers and landers—which can trawl where no person has stepped foot.

A new study by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, Imperial College London and The University of Melbourne has found that people can learn to use supernumerary robotic arms as effectively as working with a partner in just one hour of training.

A team of robotic and acoustic engineers from the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, and Institut für Theoretische Physik, Center for Soft Nanoscience, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, has developed a microrobot that can be propelled through narrow tubes using sound waves. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances the group describes how they designed their robots and how well they worked when tested.

A research team led by Assistant Professor Mizuki Takeda from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, has developed a technique to generate training data for robots that operate based on estimations of the user's state using machine learning. The research is published in the journal IEEE Access.

A lizard-like soft robot that can creep into walls, ductwork, and pipes to perform inspections and three-dimensional mapping tasks that could be dangerous or impossible for humans has been developed by WPI researchers partnered with the City of Worcester.

Mobile robots have become increasingly sophisticated and are now being deployed in a growing number of real-world environments, including airports, malls, museums, health care facilities and other settings. So far, however, most of these robots have been introduced in clearly defined indoor environments, as opposed to completing missions that would require them to travel across the city or explore unknown and unmapped spaces.

In what is being called a milestone in mobile robotics, an AI-assisted drone has defeated drones controlled by humans in an obstacle course testing precision flight patterns and speed.

Soft inflatable robots have emerged as a promising paradigm for applications that require inherent safety and adaptability. However, the integration of sensing and control systems in these robots has posed significant challenges without compromising their softness, form factor, or capabilities.

A team of mechanical engineers at Cornell University, working with a colleague from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, has designed and built a tiny robot that is powered by a combustion engine. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes how they built their tiny engine and possible uses for it. Ryan Truby, with Northwestern University, has published a Perspective piece in the same journal issue outlining the work done by the team on this new effort.