A newborn giraffe or foal must learn to walk on its legs as fast as possible to avoid predators. Animals are born with muscle coordination networks located in their spinal cord. However, learning the precise coordination of leg muscles and tendons takes some time. Initially, baby animals rely heavily on hard-wired spinal cord reflexes. While somewhat more basic, motor control reflexes help the animal to avoid falling and hurting themselves during their first walking attempts. The following, more advanced and precise muscle control must be practiced, until eventually the nervous system is well adapted to the young animal's leg muscles and tendons. No more uncontrolled stumbling—the young animal can now keep up with the adults.
Inflatable soft actuators that can change shape with a simple increase in pressure can be powerful, lightweight, and flexible components for soft robotic systems. But there's a problem: These actuators always deform in the same way upon pressurization.
The Tin Man didn't have one. The Grinch's was three sizes too small. And for soft robots, the electronically powered pumps that function as their "hearts" are so bulky and rigid, they must be decoupled from the robot's body—a separation that can leak energy and render the bots less efficient.
As every athletic or fashion-conscious person knows, our body image is not always accurate or realistic, but it's an important piece of information that determines how we function in the world. When you get dressed or play ball, your brain is constantly planning ahead so that you can move your body without bumping, tripping, or falling over.
EPFL researchers have used swarms of drones to measure city traffic with unprecedented accuracy and precision. Algorithms are then used to identify sources of traffic jams and recommend solutions to alleviate traffic problems.
Engineers have developed a new class of smart textiles that can shape-shift and turn a two-dimensional material into 3D structures.
Researchers at I2R ASTAR Singapore and UM-CNRS LIRMM in France have recently developed a framework that could improve the ability of robots to identify objects in their surroundings that could be potential tools and then use them to complete manual tasks, even if they never encountered these objects before. Their approach, introduced in a paper published in Nature Machine Intelligence, could significantly enhance the ability of robotic systems to complete challenging tasks that might require tools, without the need for any prior tool training.
A new form of flexible photodetector could provide future robots with an electronic skin capable of "seeing" light beyond the range of human vision.
In recent years, roboticists have developed increasingly advanced robotic systems, many of which have artificial hands or robot hands with multiple fingers. To complete everyday tasks in both homes and public settings, robots should be able to use their "hands" to efficiently grasp and manipulate objects.
A smartly designed pressure valve allows soft robots to respond to their environment without the need for computer control, reveal AMOLF researchers in their article in the journal Matter. That brings robots with natural movements and tactile responses similar to those of living organisms one step closer to reality. Such developments render soft robots more suitable for exploring rough and unknown terrain or for medical applications.
A transformative experience working with very sick children changed Paul Bucci's mind about how robots used in human therapy should be designed.
Since the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership was designated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as an official drone test site in 2013, its research has helped shape drone integration in the U.S.
When robots appear to engage with people and display human-like emotions, people may perceive them as capable of "thinking," or acting on their own beliefs and desires rather than their programs, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
Where are those flowers and how far away are they? This is the crux of the "waggle dance" performed by honeybees to alert others to the location of nectar-rich flowers. A new study in Frontiers in Robotics and AI has taken inspiration from this technique to devise a way for robots to communicate.
For years, there's been a cardinal rule for flying civilian drones: Keep them within your line of sight. Not just because it's a good idea—it's also the law.