Scientists have developed a biorobotic arm that can mirror human tremors, such as those experienced by individuals that live with Parkinson's disease. Artificial muscles on either side of the forearm contract and relax to suppress the involuntary shaking of the wrist and hand. The researchers see their biorobotic arm not only as a platform for other scientists in the field to test new ideas in exoskeleton technology. The arm also serves as a test bed to see how well artificial muscles known as HASELs can one day become the building blocks of wearable devices. The vision is to one day develop a sleeve that tremor patients can comfortably wear to be able to better cope with everyday tasks such as holding a cup.
A team of researchers created Morpho, an open-source programmable environment that enables researchers and engineers to conduct shape optimization and design for soft materials. Applications can be for anything from artificial hearts to robot materials that mimic flesh and soft tissue.
A research team has developed a way for self-driving vehicles to share their knowledge about road conditions indirectly, making it possible for each vehicle to learn from the experiences of others even when they rarely meet on the road.
Springtails, small bugs often found crawling through leaf litter and garden soil, are expert jumpers. Inspired by these hopping hexapods, roboticists have made a walking, jumping robot that pushes the boundaries of what small robots can do. The research glimpses a future where nimble microrobots can crawl through tiny spaces, skitter across dangerous ground, and sense their environments without human intervention.
A bioinspired robot can change shape to alter its own physical properties in response to its environment, resulting in a robust and efficient autonomous vehicle as well as a fresh approach to robotic locomotion.
A low-energy challenger to the quantum computer also works at room temperature. The researchers have shown that information can be transmitted using magnetic wave motion in complex networks.
How does a tennis player like Carlos Alcaraz decide where to run to return Novak Djokovic's ball by just looking at the ball's initial position? These behaviours, so common in elite athletes, are difficult to explain with current computational models, which assume that the players must continuously follow the ball with their eyes. Now, researchers have developed a model that, by combining optical variables with environmental factors such as gravity, accurately predicts how a person will move to catch a moving object just from an initial glance. These results could have potential applications in fields such as robotics, sports training or even space exploration.
Most AI diagnostic tools are black boxes, but the approach allows doctors and patients to understand how the computer reached a diagnosis.
A novel system that chases larval zebrafish around an arena with predator robots is enabling scientists to understand how these days-old fish quickly learn in the real world.
Ballbots are versatile robotic systems with the ability to move around in all directions. This makes it tricky to control their movement. In a recent study, a team has proposed a novel proportional integral derivative controller that, in combination with radial basis function neural network, robustly controls ballbot motion. This technology is expected to find applications in service robots, assistive robots, and delivery robots.
A survey of adults found most had low trust in their health care system to use artificial intelligence responsibly or to make sure an AI tool would not harm them.
The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and NTT Research, Inc., a division of NTT, announced the publication of research showing an application of machine-learning directed optimization (ML-DO) that efficiently searches for high-performance design configurations in the context of biohybrid robots. Applying a machine learning approach, the researchers created mini biohybrid rays made of cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) and rubber with a wingspan of about 10 mm that are approximately two times more efficient at swimming than those recently developed under a conventional biomimetic approach.
A research team has developed two new autonomous navigation systems for cyborg insects to better navigate unknown, complex environments. The algorithms utilized only simple circuits that leveraged natural insect behaviors, like wall-following and climbing, to navigate challenging terrain, such as sandy, rock-strewn surfaces. For all difficulties of terrain tested, the cyborg insects were able to reach their target destination, demonstrating the potential of cyborg insects for surveillance, disaster-site exploration, and more.
From predicting potholes to designing more durable concrete, artificial intelligence is paving the way for smarter infrastructure, new studies show.
Researchers are designing a global real-time monitoring system to help save the world's coral reefs from further decline, primarily due to bleaching caused by global warming.