Category robots

Designing a conveyor system that overcomes common challenges like scalability, expansion, automation, and integration is possible with the right manufacturer. Here are 5 ways you can solve your application challenges with conveyor design.

Photo credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

By Silvia Cernea Clark

Researchers at Rice University have developed a soft robotic arm capable of performing complex tasks such as navigating around an obstacle or hitting a ball, guided and powered remotely by laser beams without any onboard electronics or wiring. The research could inform new ways to control implantable surgical devices or industrial machines that need to handle delicate objects.

In a proof-of-concept study that integrates smart materials, machine learning and an optical control system, a team of Rice researchers led by materials scientist Hanyu Zhu used a light-patterning device to precisely induce motion in a robotic arm made from azobenzene liquid crystal elastomer ⎯ a type of polymer that responds to light.

According to the study published in Advanced Intelligent Systems, the new robotic system incorporates a neural network trained to predict the exact light pattern needed to create specific arm movements. This makes it easier for the robot to execute complex tasks without needing similarly complex input from an operator.

“This was the first demonstration of real-time, reconfigurable, automated control over a light-responsive material for a soft robotic arm,” said Elizabeth Blackert, a Rice doctoral alumna who is the first author on the study.

Elizabeth Blackert and Hanyu Zhu (Photo credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University).

Conventional robots typically involve rigid structures with mobile elements like hinges, wheels or grippers to enable a predefined, relatively constrained range of motion. Soft robots have opened up new areas of application in contexts like medicine, where safely interacting with delicate objects is required. So-called continuum robots are a type of soft robot that forgoes mobility constraints, enabling adaptive motion with a vastly expanded degree of freedom.

“A major challenge in using soft materials for robots is they are either tethered or have very simple, predetermined functionality,” said Zhu, assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering. “Building remotely and arbitrarily programmable soft robots requires a unique blend of expertise involving materials development, optical system design and machine learning capabilities. Our research team was uniquely suited to take on this interdisciplinary work.”

The team created a new variation of an elastomer that shrinks under blue laser light then relaxes and regrows in the dark ⎯ a feature known as fast relaxation time that makes real-time control possible. Unlike other light-sensitive materials that require harmful ultraviolet light or take minutes to reset, this one works with safer, longer wavelengths and responds within seconds.

“When we shine a laser on one side of the material, the shrinking causes the material to bend in that direction,” Blackert said. “Our material bends toward laser light like a flower stem does toward sunlight.”

To control the material, the researchers used a spatial light modulator to split a single laser beam into multiple beamlets, each directed to a different part of the robotic arm. The beamlets can be turned on or off and adjusted in intensity, allowing the arm to bend or contract at any given point, much like the tentacles of an octopus. This technique can in principle create a robot with virtually infinite degrees of freedom ⎯ far beyond the capabilities of traditional robots with fixed joints.

“What is new here is using the light pattern to achieve complex changes in shape,” said Rafael Verduzco, professor and associate chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering and professor of materials science and nanoengineering. “In prior work, the material itself was patterned or programmed to change shape in one way, but here the material can change in multiple ways, depending on the laser beamlet pattern.”

To train such a multiparameter arm, the team ran a small number of combinations of light settings and recorded how the robot arm deformed in each case, using the data to train a convolutional neural network ⎯ a type of artificial intelligence used in image recognition. The model was then able to output the exact light pattern needed to create a desired shape such as flexing or a reach-around motion.

The current prototype is flat and moves in 2D, but future versions could bend in three dimensions with additional sensors and cameras.

Photo credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

“This is a step towards having safer, more capable robotics for various applications ranging from implantable biomedical devices to industrial robots that handle soft goods,” Blackert said.

STURDeCAM31 from e-con Systems® is designed to make robotics and autonomous vehicles safer and more reliable. Powered by the Sony® ISX031 sensor and featuring GMSL2 interface, this compact 3MP camera delivers 120dB HDR + LFM imaging with zero motion blur — even in the most challenging outdoor conditions. Engineered to automotive-grade standards, STURDeCAM31 is IP69K certified, making it resistant to dust, water, vibration, and extreme temperatures. With support for up to 8 synchronized cameras, it enables powerful surround-view and bird’s eye systems on NVIDIA® Jetson AGX Orin™.

Researchers have uncovered serious security flaws with the Unitree G1 humanoid robot, a machine that is already being used in laboratories and some police departments. They discovered that G1 can be used for covert surveillance and could potentially launch a full-scale cyberattack on networks.

Researchers have uncovered serious security flaws with the Unitree G1 humanoid robot, a machine that is already being used in laboratories and some police departments. They discovered that G1 can be used for covert surveillance and could potentially launch a full-scale cyberattack on networks.

Fidget poppers are an example of "bistability," as the popped circles rest in one of two stable states. Purdue University researchers have taken this idea to its extreme, building robots that can be preprogrammed and controlled using just the physical properties of these fidget poppers.

A mechatronic subsystem is a fully integrated functional unit that combines mechanical, electrical, electromechanical, and control elements into a single pre-engineered solution.

A research team has developed a new "Physical AI" technology that improves the efficiency of multi-robot autonomous navigation by modeling the spread and forgetting of social issues. This achievement is expected to become a key technology for boosting the productivity of autonomous mobile robots in logistics centers, large-scale warehouses, and smart factories.

Could the future of rescue missions and exploration lie in the hands—or rather, the flexible movements—of a swarm of lightweight, soft, and intelligent robots? Imagine swarms of soft-bodied robots working with the coordinated efficiency of an ant colony to navigate complex and unpredictable environments, seamlessly transitioning between murky waters, muddy banks, and rugged obstacles to deliver essential payloads. This vision is steadily moving from science fiction to tangible reality through the field of soft robotics.

Chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude have experienced a meteoric rise in usage over the past three years because they can help you with a wide range of tasks. Whether you're writing Shakespearean sonnets, debugging code, or need an answer to an obscure trivia question, artificial intelligence (AI) systems seem to have you covered. The source of this versatility? Billions or even trillions of textual data points across the Internet.

A new paradigm is emerging—Industry 5.0—that offers a powerful solution, not by replacing the human workforce, but by augmenting it through a revolutionary collaboration with machines.

A new study that needs to hit the desk of every CEO and business owner finds that what 99% of workers want most from AI is simple: ‘Be my friend.’

Equally eye-opening from the KPMG study: At least 50% of workers say they’d take a sizeable cut in salary simply to be able to work with close friends.

Observes writer Kristin Stoller: “There’s a business case, too: Nearly 90% said friendship-enabling cultures are crucial for retention” in workplaces.

In other news and analysis on AI writing:

*In-Depth Look: Google Tightly Integrates Chrome Browser With Its Top AI: While Google has been offering ‘AI Mode’ in its Chrome browser for a while now, its latest upgrade promises to take AI in Chrome to an entirely new level.

This 11-minute video — from AI Revolution — offers an excellent overview of all the new features you’ll be able to access once the new integration rolls-out to your Chrome browser.

Key upgrades to look for include:

–Context Awareness: Google Chrome with Gemini studies everything you do with the browser and responds to your inputs armed with that knowledge

–Pinpoint Search of YouTube Videos on Request: Access a specific, timestamped moment in a qualifying video any time you’d like

–Agentic Browsing: Promised for some time in the near future, Google says you’ll be able to direct Gemini within Chrome to visit a number of Web sites and perform a number of tasks for you – without your supervision

*Now You Can Set ChatGPT to Do Research While You Sleep: ChatGPT is rolling out a new feature – dubbed ‘Pulse’ — that enables you to program the chatbot to engage in personalized research for you overnight and pops-up in the form of info cards that you can tap on for more information.

A kind of personalized newsletter that updates you every morning on your current interests – based on your interactions with ChatGPT the day before – the auto-researcher can also be customized to unearth only the specific insights and information you want.

Alas, Pulse availability is initially limited to top-tier subscribers to ChatGPT, who pay $200/month – although ChatGPT’s maker is promising availability down-the-road to ChatGPT Plus users ($20/month).

*Coming Soon: ChatGPT With Ads: If you’re a ChatGPT user who has oft-looked wistfully at the platform and fantasized, “If only this thing had ads,” you’re in luck.

Observes writer Andrew Cain: “OpenAI is building a team to transform ChatGPT into an advertising platform, leveraging its 700 million users for in-house ad tools like campaign management and real-time attribution.

”Led by ex-Facebook exec Fidji Simo, this move aims to compete with Google and Meta, though it risks user trust and privacy concerns.

”Rollout is eyed for 2026.”

*Information Organizer Notion 3.0 Gets an AI Agents Upgrade: Notion 3.0 is out with a new ‘agents’ feature designed to help automate the creation of documents, databases and multi-step workflows.

Observes writer Maximilian Schreiner: “Users can set up personal agents with custom instructions, context and work styles.”

Plus, the upgraded system also integrates with services like Slack, Google Drive and GitHub.

*90% of Computer Coders Now Use AI: Talk about the transformation of an industry.

A new study finds that a full 90% of coders are now using AI on the job.

And 80% report they’re seeing increased productivity now that they’ve the switch to ChatGPT and similar AI.

Observes writer Craig Hale: Even so, “there remains some resentment over handing over work to computer intelligence, with fewer than a quarter (24%) trusting AI outputs ‘a lot’ or ‘a great deal.’”

“As such, developers tend to see AI as a supportive tool — and not a replacement for human judgment.”

*Another Turnkey AI Marketing Content Generator Drops: Klaviyo has released a new AI-powered marketing tool that:

–Autonomously plans and launches campaigns

–Creates on-brand content

–Continuously learns and refines its marketing skills for your business without prompting

*Now You Can Monitor Your Business’ Exposure on ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode: Semrush has released a new tool that tracks how often your business is showing-up in the responses to user queries generated by ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode.

Observes Andrew Warden, CMO, Semrush: “We built the AI Visibility Index based on 2,500+ real-world prompts in both ChatGPT and Google AI Mode.

“This data-backed approach explores which brands are winning, why they’re on top — and provides a blueprint based on these proven tactics for how you can turn AI visibility into real competitive advantage.”

*New From Perplexity: AI Automated Email Processing: Add Perplexity – the wildly popular AI-powered research chatbot – to the growing list of productivity suites offering automated email processing.

Currently only available in Perplexity’s $200/month tier, ‘Email Assistant’ is designed to write in your style, draft replies and prioritize incoming emails using categories and labels.

One of the coolest features: Each morning, you can wake-up to pre-drafted replies generated by Perplexity that simply require a hit on the ‘send’ button to be completed.

*AI Big Picture: Walmart Taps OpenAI to Coach 50,000 Employees to AI Readiness: From the Department of Not Fooling Around: Walmart is paying OpenAI to ensure that 50,000 of its employees are ‘AI certified’ when it comes to using the new tech.

Observes writer Tim Toole: “Industry insiders see this as a bellwether.

“With AI poised to disrupt supply chains, Walmart’s model—blending tech adoption with human-centric training—could influence competitors.”

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–Joe Dysart is editor of RobotWritersAI.com and a tech journalist with 20+ years experience. His work has appeared in 150+ publications, including The New York Times and the Financial Times of London.

The post Workers to ChatGPT: Be My Friend appeared first on Robot Writers AI.

Diraq has shown that its silicon-based quantum chips can maintain world-class accuracy even when mass-produced in semiconductor foundries. Achieving over 99% fidelity in two-qubit operations, the breakthrough clears a major hurdle toward utility-scale quantum computing. Silicon’s compatibility with existing chipmaking processes means building powerful quantum processors could become both cost-effective and scalable.

Imagine tiny robots zipping across the surface of a lake to check water quality or searching for people in flooded areas. This technology is moving closer to reality thanks to work by researchers at the University of Virginia's School of Engineering and Applied Science. Inspired by nature and insects such as water striders that walk on water, they created two prototype devices that can propel themselves across liquid surfaces.

Remote sensing object detection is a rapidly growing field in artificial intelligence, playing a critical role in advancing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for real-world applications such as disaster response, urban planning, and environmental monitoring. Yet, designing models that balance both high accuracy and fast, lightweight performance remains a challenge.