News

Imagine an automated delivery vehicle rushing to complete a grocery drop-off while you are hurrying to meet friends for a long-awaited dinner. At a busy intersection, you both arrive at the same time. Do you slow down to give it space as it maneuvers around a corner? Or do you expect it to stop and let you pass, even if normal traffic etiquette suggests it should go first?

Strategy outlines key policy priorities, including establishing a central Robotics Office and Robotics Commission, to strengthen U.S. competitiveness in robotics, drive innovation, and support workforce development

From virtual reality to rehabilitation and communication, haptic technology has revolutionized the way humans interact with the digital world. While early haptic devices focused on single-sensory cues like vibration-based notifications, modern advancements have paved the way for multisensory haptic devices that integrate various forms of touch-based feedback, including vibration, skin stretch, pressure and temperature. Recently, a team of experts analyzed the current state of wearable multisensory haptic technology, outlining its challenges, advancements and real-world applications.

Gemini 2.5 is our most intelligent AI model, now with thinking built in.

Gemini 2.5 is our most intelligent AI model, now with thinking built in.

Gemini 2.5 is our most intelligent AI model, now with thinking built in.

Gemini 2.5 is our most intelligent AI model, now with thinking built in.

Gemini 2.5 is our most intelligent AI model, now with thinking built in.

Gemini 2.5 is our most intelligent AI model, now with thinking built in.

To get around the constraints of quantum physics, researchers have built a new acoustic system to study the way the minuscule atoms of condensed matter talk together. They hope to one day build an acoustic version of a quantum computer.

This a robot can walk, without electronics, and only with the addition of a cartridge of compressed gas, right off the 3D-printer. It can also be printed in one go, from one material.

Imagine a robot that can walk, without electronics, and only with the addition of a cartridge of compressed gas, right off the 3D-printer. It can also be printed in one go, from one material.

As President Trump's second term unfolds, the manufacturing landscape in the United States is poised for a significant transformation. The administration's renewed focus on reshoring manufacturing operations presents both opportunities and challenges for industry leaders.

We deployed 100 reinforcement learning (RL)-controlled cars into rush-hour highway traffic to smooth congestion and reduce fuel consumption for everyone. Our goal is to tackle "stop-and-go" waves, those frustrating slowdowns and speedups that usually have no clear cause but lead to congestion and significant energy waste. To train efficient flow-smoothing controllers, we built fast, data-driven simulations that RL agents interact with, learning to maximize energy efficiency while maintaining throughput and operating safely around human drivers.

Overall, a small proportion of well-controlled autonomous vehicles (AVs) is enough to significantly improve traffic flow and fuel efficiency for all drivers on the road. Moreover, the trained controllers are designed to be deployable on most modern vehicles, operating in a decentralized manner and relying on standard radar sensors. In our latest paper, we explore the challenges of deploying RL controllers on a large-scale, from simulation to the field, during this 100-car experiment.

Read More

How many robots does it take to screw in a lightbulb? The answer is more complicated than you might think. New research from Northeastern University upends the riddle by making a robot that is both flexible and sensitive enough to handle the lightbulb, and strong enough to apply the necessary torque.