Researchers in Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute (RI) have designed a system that makes an off-the-shelf quadruped robot nimble enough to walk a narrow balance beam—a feat that is likely the first of its kind.
HBP researchers at the Institute of Biophysics of the National Research Council (IBF-CNR) in Palermo, Italy, have mimicked the neuronal architecture and connections of the brain's hippocampus to develop a robotic platform capable of learning as humans do while the robot navigates around a space.
As evidence mounts that gas drilling and sewer systems leak far more greenhouse gases than previously believed, a team of Princeton researchers has developed a method to pinpoint leaks both big and small for speedy repair.
Have you ever wondered why some insects like cockroaches prefer to stay or decrease movement in darkness? Some may tell you it's called photophobia, a habit deeply coded in their genes. A further question would be whether we can correct this habit of cockroaches, that is, moving in the darkness just as they move in bright backgrounds.
In recent years, robots have become incredibly sophisticated machines capable of performing or assisting humans in all tasks. The days of robots functioning behind a security barrier are long gone, and today we may anticipate robots working alongside people in close contact.
Eating a meal involves multiple precise movements to bring food from plate to mouth.
Robots are machines that can sense the environment and use that information to perform an action. You can find them nearly everywhere in industrialized societies today. There are household robots that vacuum floors and warehouse robots that pack and ship goods. Lab robots test hundreds of clinical samples a day. Education robots support teachers by acting as one-on-one tutors, assistants and discussion facilitators. And medical robotics composed of prosthetic limbs can enable someone to grasp and pick up objects with their thoughts.
Researchers have designed a low-cost, energy-efficient robotic hand that can grasp a range of objects—and not drop them—using just the movement of its wrist and the feeling in its "skin."
New York City officials unveiled three new high-tech policing devices Tuesday, including a robotic dog that critics called creepy when it first joined the police pack 2 1/2 years ago.
The Moralities of Intelligent Machines research group headed by Michael Laakasuo investigates people's moral views on imaginary rescue situations where the rescuer is either a human or a robot specifically designed for the task. The rescuer has to decide whether to save, for example, one innocent victim of a boating accident or two individuals whose irresponsible behavior caused the accident.
Robots have become a crucial indicator for measuring the competitive strength of a country in science and technology. Robotic systems have made advancements in fields such as mechanical engineering, control and artificial intelligence technologies. However, the performance of current robotic systems still includes limitations and cannot satisfy the demands of an increasing number of applications. In order to address these problems, researchers have constructed a brain-inspired intelligent robotic system.
Most kids know it's wrong to yell or hit someone, even if they don't always keep their hands to themselves. But what about if that someone's name is Alexa?
To successfully cooperate with humans on manual tasks, robots should be able to grasp and manipulate a variety of objects without dropping or damaging them. Recent research efforts in the field of robotics have thus focused on developing tactile sensors and controllers that could provide robots with the sense of touch and bring their object manipulation capabilities closer to those of humans.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)'s Robomechanics Lab recently introduced two new approaches that could help to improve the ability of legged robots to move on rocky or extreme terrains. These two approaches, outlined in a paper pre-published on arXiv, are inspired by the innate proprioception abilities and tail mechanics of animals.
Commercial airplanes can be controlled by autopilot. But what happens if a wing gets damaged or an engine malfunctions? Is it possible to design a software system with a feedback loop—a system that quickly tests how controls operate on the damaged vessel and makes adjustments on the fly to give it the best chance of landing safely?