All posts by Robotics Research News -- ScienceDaily

A research team has developed a novel haptic device designed to enhance both safety and efficiency for workers in industrial settings.

A new AI decision making tool effectively balances various complex trade-offs to recommend ways of maximizing carbon storage, minimizing economic disruptions and helping improve the environment and people's everyday lives. It uses evolutionary AI, a kind of digital version of biological natural selection, to optimize policies in the face of competing priorities.

A groundbreaking new study introduces an AI-powered smartphone app that noninvasively screens for anemia using a photo of a user's fingernail. The study shows the app provides hemoglobin estimates comparable to traditional lab tests, with over 1.4 million tests conducted by 200,000+ users. An estimated 83 million Americans and more than 2 billion people globally are at high risk for anemia -- populations that stand to benefit significantly from this accessible screening tool. The app offers a low-cost, scalable solution that enhances access, especially in underserved and remote communities, while enabling real-time health monitoring and earlier intervention.

Agents, chatbots and other tools based on artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly used in everyday life by many. So-called large language model (LLM)-based agents, such as ChatGPT and Llama, have become impressively fluent in the responses they form, but quite often provide convincing yet incorrect information. Researchers draw parallels between this issue and a human language disorder known as aphasia, where sufferers may speak fluently but make meaningless or hard-to-understand statements. This similarity could point toward better forms of diagnosis for aphasia, and even provide insight to AI engineers seeking to improve LLM-based agents.

Found in knee replacements and bone plates, aircraft components, and catalytic converters, the exceptionally strong metals known as multiple principal element alloys (MPEA) are about to get even stronger through to artificial intelligence. Scientists have designed a new MPEA with superior mechanical properties using a data-driven framework that leverages the supercomputing power of explainable artificial intelligence (AI).

Researchers have found a way to observe clotting activity in blood as it happens -- without needing invasive procedures. Using a new type of microscope and artificial intelligence (AI), their study shows how platelet clumping can be tracked in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), opening the door to safer, more personalized treatment.

have created a new type of insect cyborg that can navigate autonomously -- without wires, surgery, or stress-inducing electrical shocks. The system uses a small ultraviolet (UV) light helmet to steer cockroaches by taking advantage of their natural tendency to avoid bright light, especially in the UV range. This method not only preserves the insect's sensory organs but also maintains consistent control over time.

Traditional methods of assessing damage after a disaster can take weeks or even months, delaying emergency response, insurance claims and long-term rebuilding efforts. New research might change that. Researchers have developed a new method that combines remote sensing, deep learning and restoration models to speed up building damage assessments and predict recovery times after a tornado. Once post-event images are available, the model can produce damage assessments and recovery forecasts in less than an hour.

Scientists are using artificial intelligence to determine which genes collectively govern nitrogen use efficiency in plants such as corn, with the goal of helping farmers improve their crop yields and minimize the cost of nitrogen fertilizers.

Scientists inspired by the octopus's nervous system have developed a robot that can decide how to move or grip objects by sensing its environment.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can predict acute child malnutrition in Kenya up to six months in advance. The tool offers governments and humanitarian organizations critical lead time to deliver life-saving food, health care, and supplies to at-risk areas. The machine learning model outperforms traditional approaches by integrating clinical data from more than 17,000 Kenyan health facilities with satellite data on crop health and productivity. It achieves 89% accuracy when forecasting one month out and maintains 86% accuracy over six months -- a significant improvement over simpler baseline models that rely only on recent historical child malnutrition prevalence trends.

Researchers have developed a digital laboratory (dLab) system that fully automates the material synthesis and structural, physical property evaluation of thin-film samples. With dLab, the team can autonomously synthesize thin-film samples and measure their material properties. The team's dLab system demonstrates advanced automatic and autonomous material synthesis for data- and robot-driven materials science.

Engineers built E-BAR, a mobile robot designed to physically support the elderly and prevent them from falling as they move around their homes. E-BAR acts as a set of robotic handlebars that follows a person from behind, allowing them to walk independently or lean on the robot's arms for support.

A robotic hand can pick up 24 different objects with human-like movements that emerge spontaneously, thanks to compliant materials and structures rather than programming.

Engineers have taught a simple submarine robot to take advantage of turbulent forces to propel itself through water.