Humans are interacting more than ever with artificial intelligence (AI)—from the development of the first "social robots" (a robot with a physical body programmed to interact and engage with humans) like Kismet in the 1990s to smart speakers such as Amazon's Alexa.
Most robotic systems developed to date can either tackle a specific task with high precision or complete a range of simpler tasks with low precision. For instance, some industrial robots can complete specific manufacturing tasks very well but cannot easily adapt to new tasks. On the other hand, flexible robots designed to handle a variety of objects often lack the accuracy necessary to be deployed in practical settings.
Can a robot mimicking a climbing and walking lizard give new insights into the evolution and advantages of different movements in humans and other animals?
Researchers are calling for regulation to guide the responsible and ethical development of bio-hybrid robotics—a pioneering science which fuses artificial components with living tissue and cells.
The UK's new Labor government has pledged to build 1.5 million homes during its first term in office. To achieve this, it promises planning reform and the reintroduction of local housing targets. Yet little attention has been given to the role of new technologies.
A team of engineers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology has found that ferrofluidic drops in a tank of water can be forced to rise in desired ways using light. The study is published in the journal Science Advances.
To be successfully deployed in real-world settings, robots should be capable of reliably completing various everyday tasks, ranging from household chores to industrial processes. Some of the tasks they could complete entail manipulating fabrics, for instance when folding clothes to put them in a wardrobe or helping older adults with mobility impairments to knot their ties before a social event.
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), have developed an innovative wearable fabric that is flexible but can stiffen on demand.
A team of engineers at Beihang University, working with a colleague from Center of Advanced Aero-Engine, both in China, has developed a micro-aerial vehicle that flies using direct sunlight. They reported their results in the journal Nature.
Have you ever wondered how insects are able to go so far beyond their home and still find their way? The answer to this question is not only relevant to biology but also to making the AI for tiny, autonomous robots.
Neural networks have made a seismic impact on how engineers design controllers for robots, catalyzing more adaptive and efficient machines. Still, these brain-like machine-learning systems are a double-edged sword: Their complexity makes them powerful, but it also makes it difficult to guarantee that a robot powered by a neural network will safely accomplish its task.
A team of engineers and roboticists at EPFL in Switzerland has designed and built a gliding drone that can use its wings as a gripping tool to perch on a vertical object. In their project, reported in the journal Communications Engineering, the group created a drone inspired by animals such as bats that can land on vertical poles and tree limbs.
Imitation learning is a promising method to teach robots how to reliably complete everyday tasks, such as washing dishes or cooking. Despite their potential, imitation learning frameworks rely on detailed human demonstrations, which should include data that can help to reproduce specific movements using robotic systems.
A combined team of roboticists from MIT and the University of California, San Diego, has developed a new type of remote control for robots called Open-TeleVision that allows for VR-type control. The team has posted a paper describing their robot system on the arXiv preprint server. They also posted videos on YouTube showing the robot and its pilot in action.
Four-legged animals are innately capable of agile and adaptable movements, which allow them to move on a wide range of terrains. Over the past decades, roboticists worldwide have been trying to effectively reproduce these movements in quadrupedal (i.e., four-legged) robots.