Researchers from North Carolina State University and Iowa State University have demonstrated an automated technology capable of accurately measuring the angle of leaves on corn plants in the field. This technology makes data collection on leaf angles significantly more efficient than conventional techniques, providing plant breeders with useful data more quickly.
Robotics specialists from a group led by ETH professor Raffaello D'Andrea have created a new, cube-shaped robot that can balance on its pivot and compensate for external disturbances. What makes the One-Wheel Cubli unique? Unlike its predecessors, it only requires a single reaction wheel.
Researchers from Bochum and Saarbrücken have detected security vulnerabilities, some of them serious, in several drones made by the manufacturer DJI. These enable users, for example, to change a drone's serial number or override the mechanisms that allow security authorities to track the drones and their pilots. In special attack scenarios, the drones can even be brought down remotely in flight.
As technology advances rapidly, the gap between the speed of policy development and technological change is becoming more prominent. This is particularly true in robotics, where current legislation often lags behind and fails to adequately frame robot technologies. This gap increases legal uncertainty and poses safety risks, as developers may not know which regulatory frameworks to follow. The resulting technology may thus perform poorly and lead to biases and discrimination.
If animals and insects can jump across grass and sand, why can't robots? Sarah Bergbreiter, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has found that researchers don't have to look far to enable this in robots. Existing latch mechanisms that were once thought of as an 'on' or 'off' switch to release stored energy can also be used to control jump performance across a wide range of terrains.
Are drones really energy efficient? That depends on the average wind speed. An Argonne study compares drone energy usage to diesel trucks and electric vehicles and aims to help industry determine if they could save money with drone delivery.
Researchers at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) in Genoa has realized a new soft robot inspired by the biology of earthworms, which is able to crawl thanks to soft actuators that elongate or squeeze, when air passes through them or is drawn out.
While robots have become increasingly advanced over the past few years, most of them are still unable to reliably navigate very crowded spaces, such as public areas or roads in urban environments. To be implemented on a large-scale and in the smart cities of the future, however, robots will need to be able to navigate these environments both reliably and safely, without colliding with humans or nearby objects.
Ankle exoskeletons that can help people extend their endurance are a step closer to reality with a new control algorithm, developed at the University of Michigan, that could enable future exoskeletons to automatically adapt to individual users and tasks. This would reduce or eliminate the need for manual recalibration.
Amazon has identified a financially beneficial way for robots and humans to coexist, and it's saving the online enterprise half a billion dollars per year. Using robots to bring shelves of inventory to associates to pick customer orders cuts down the distance traveled by robots and decreases the company's storage footprint.
For autonomous cars to be able to navigate, their optic sensors—like cameras and laser—require a clear view. Now, researchers at Örebro University have successfully improved the precision in radar sensors for navigation to such a degree that the sensors can be used in autonomous cars, making them for safe driving whatever the weather.
A tiny robot that could one day help doctors perform surgery was inspired by the incredible gripping ability of geckos and the efficient locomotion of inchworms.
Octopus arms coordinate nearly infinite degrees of freedom to perform complex movements such as reaching, grasping, fetching, crawling, and swimming. How these animals achieve such a wide range of activities remains a source of mystery, amazement, and inspiration. Part of the challenge comes from the intricate organization and biomechanics of the internal muscles.
A team of scientists has developed electronic skin that could pave the way for soft, flexible robotic devices to assist with surgical procedures or aid people's mobility.
Over the past year, images from Ukraine have often portrayed a war resembling other conflicts from the past half-century. Russian forces deploy tanks, fighter planes, warships, amphibious vehicles and attack helicopters. Ukrainians fight back with anti-tank weapons, grenade launchers and anti-aircraft missiles. This is how much of the war appears on the ground.