Problems of racial and gender bias in artificial intelligence algorithms and the data used to train large language models like ChatGPT have drawn the attention of researchers and generated headlines. But these problems also arise in social robots, which have physical bodies modeled on nonthreatening versions of humans or animals and are designed to interact with people.
Compared to robots, human bodies are flexible, capable of fine movements, and can convert energy efficiently into movement. Drawing inspiration from human gait, researchers from Japan crafted a two-legged biohybrid robot by combining muscle tissues and artificial materials. Published on January 26 in the journal Matter, this method allows the robot to walk and pivot.
Over the past four years, a research team at the Artificial and Mechanical Intelligence (AMI) lab at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) in Genova (Italy) has developed advanced avatar technologies, known as the iCub3 system, in continuous testing with real-world scenarios.
We typically don't think about it while doing it, but walking is a complicated task. Controlled by our nervous system, our bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissues (i.e., the musculoskeletal system) must move in coordination and respond to unexpected changes or disturbances at varying speeds in a highly efficient manner. Replicating this in robotic technologies is no small feat.
A team of biomedical engineers and roboticists affiliated with multiple institutions across China has developed a type of small, soft robot that can swim through water and test for contaminants. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the team notes that the robot can be powered and controlled using radio waves.
As people age, they gradually lose muscle strength in their arms and legs, making it difficult for them to participate in leisure activities such as hiking and traveling, and they often need to rely on assistive devices such as canes and wheelchairs for mobility. However, these devices do not improve muscle strength, so wearable robots that can compensate for the lack of muscle strength are attracting attention as an innovative technology to improve the health and quality of life of the elderly.
A trio of soft robotics researchers at Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, in Italy, working with a colleague from the University of Montpellier, in France, has developed a unique type of robot that 3D prints its own body as a means to grow longer. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the group describes how they created their robot and the possible uses for it.
Two insect-like robots, a mini-bug and a water strider, developed at Washington State University, are the smallest, lightest and fastest fully functional micro-robots ever known to be created.
A combined team of engineers from NASA Ames Research Center and KBR has designed and built a robot system that can autonomously build structures using specially designed lattice blocks. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the group describes the robots and the lattice blocks they use to build structures and how they whole system works.
A team of robotics engineers at Robotic Systems Lab, in Switzerland, has developed a hybrid control architecture that combines the advantages of current quadruped robot control systems to give four-legged robots better walking capabilities on rough terrain.
An AI (artificial intelligence) technology for robot work, which allows robots to be easily applied to manufacturing processes, has been developed for the first time in the world. The newly developed technology can be used in a variety of processes, such as the manufacturing of automobiles and machine parts, as well as assembly and production, and is expected to contribute to the improvement of the working environment at manufacturing sites in the future.
Future generation networks must provide high transmission speeds and flexible coverage. One way to do this is through networks of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. They operate in the millimeter wave range. But the use of a wide range of antennas and higher losses during signal propagation are disadvantages. All this requires energy, and drone batteries have limited capacity.
"Soft robots," medical devices and implants, and next-generation drug delivery methods could soon be guided with magnetism—thanks to a metal-free magnetic gel developed by researchers at the University of Michigan and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany.
Long the stuff of science fiction, autonomous weapons systems, known as "killer robots," are poised to become a reality, thanks to the rapid development of artificial intelligence.
The barista tipped the jug of smooth, foamy milk over the latte, pouring slowly at first, then lifting and tilting the jug like a choreographed dance to paint the petals of a tulip.