Concrete is the world's most widely consumed material after water, and its production contributes to more than 7% of global CO2 emissions. Achieving global ambitions to limit warming to 1.5ºC will require significant change across the construction sector—not least in how we use concrete.
From the rubble of Iraq's war-ravaged city of Mosul arises the sight of androids gliding back and forth in a restaurant to serve their amused clientele.
The use of magnetic microrobots with miniature size and the ability of swimming in liquids with low Reynolds numbers is promising in targeted therapy, since these robots can move in narrow environments flexibly.
Magnetic soft robots are systems that can change shape or perform different actions when a magnetic field is applied to them. These robots have numerous advantageous characteristics, including a wireless drive, high flexibility and infinite endurance.
When the Norwegian production company Fantefilm searched the internet to find the coolest underwater robot in the world, they discovered to their surprise that it was being manufactured in Norway. The robot has thus become the first to land a movie role in the film "North Sea," which is premiering now.
If you have sex with an android doll and then knock it around the room, are you being abusive? If you're in a foul mood and boot your robotic pet down the stairs, are you being a jerk? In either scenario, is the device's owner culpable of bad behavior?
People rarely walk at a constant speed and a single incline. We change speed when rushing to the next appointment, catching a crosswalk signal, or going for a casual stroll in the park. Slopes change all the time too, whether we're going for a hike or up a ramp into a building. In addition to environmental variably, how we walk is influenced by sex, height, age, and muscle strength, and sometimes by neural or muscular disorders such as stroke or Parkinson's Disease.
As robots are introduced in an increasing number of real-world settings, it is important for them to be able to effectively cooperate with human users. In addition to communicating with humans and assisting them in everyday tasks, it might thus be useful for robots to autonomously determine whether their help is needed or not.
Princeton researchers have invented bubble casting, a new way to make soft robots using "fancy balloons" that change shape in predictable ways when inflated with air.
One flaw in the notion that robots will take over the world is that the world is full of doors.
At just one year old, a baby is more dexterous than a robot. Sure, machines can do more than just pick up and put down objects, but we're not quite there as far as replicating a natural pull towards exploratory or sophisticated dexterous manipulation goes.
Robots can deliver food on a college campus and hit a hole in one on the golf course, but even the most sophisticated robot can't perform basic social interactions that are critical to everyday human life.
For people with motor impairments or physical disabilities, completing daily tasks and house chores can be incredibly challenging. Recent advancements in robotics, such as brain-controlled robotic limbs, have the potential to significantly improve their quality of life.
A robotic boat has been used for the first time to survey fish populations around oil platforms in the North Sea.
The sheer expanse of the deep sea and the technological challenges of working in an extreme environment make these depths difficult to access and study. Scientists know more about the surface of the moon than the deep seafloor. MBARI is leveraging advancements in robotic technologies to address this disparity.