Robotics, AI and SmartTech News – Latest Headlines

How to train a robot (using AI and supercomputers)

Computer scientists use deep learning systems to generate synthetic objects for robot training.

January 20, 2021 Read more

Getting the right grip: Designing soft and sensitive robotic fingers

Researchers make a big leap in development of soft robotic grippers by integrating sensing mechanisms into 3D printable fingers.

January 7, 2021 Read more

A robotic revolution for urban nature

Drones, robots and autonomous systems can transform the natural world in and around cities for people and wildlife.

January 5, 2021 Read more

Spontaneous robot dances highlight a new kind of order in active matter

A team of physicists and engineers have proposed a new principle by which active matter systems can spontaneously order, without need for higher level instructions or even programmed interaction among the agents.

January 3, 2021 Read more

'Chaotic' way to create insectlike gaits for robots

By using small networks of Roessler systems, a locomotion controller enables a brain-machine interface for a six-legged antlike robot.

December 15, 2020 Read more

'The robot made me do it': Robots encourage risk-taking behaviour in people

New research has shown robots can encourage people to take greater risks in a simulated gambling scenario than they would if there was nothing to influence their behaviours. Increasing our understanding of whether robots can affect risk-taking could have clear ethical, practical and policy implications, which this study set out to explore.

December 11, 2020 Read more

Designing self-powered, soft and sensitive robotic fingers

Scientists make a big leap in development of soft robotic grippers by integrating sensing mechanisms into 3D printable fingers.

December 10, 2020 Read more

'Smellicopter' uses a live moth antenna to seek out scents

Researchers have developed an autonomous drone that uses a live antenna from a moth to navigate toward smells. Smellicopter can also sense and avoid obstacles as it travels through the air.

December 10, 2020 Read more

Shape-changing robots that adapt to their environments (w/video)

When danger approaches, the Moroccan flic-flac spider takes the shape of a ball and rolls away to safety. Just as the trick of shape-shifting to one's environment has proved invaluable for many creatures, researchers say it could be equally useful for robots.

December 1, 2020 Read more

Computer-aided creativity in robot design

A new system optimizes the shape of robots for traversing various terrain types.

November 30, 2020 Read more

Novel magnetic spray transforms objects into millirobots for biomedical applications

Researchers have developed an easy way to make millirobots by coating objects with a glue-like magnetic spray. Driven by the magnetic field, the coated objects can crawl, walk, or roll on different surfaces.

November 25, 2020 Read more

Curved origami provides new range of stiffness-to-flexibility in robots

New research that employs curved origami structures has dramatic implications in the development of robotics going forward, providing tunable flexibility - the ability to adjust stiffness based on function - that historically has been difficult to achieve using simple design.

November 19, 2020 Read more

Physics can assist with key challenges in artificial intelligence

A physical mechanism a priori reveals how many examples in deep learning are required to achieve a desired test accuracy. It surprisingly indicates that learning each example once is almost equivalent to learning examples repeatedly.

November 12, 2020 Read more

Robotic AI learns to be spontaneous - Researchers use dynamical systems and machine learning to add spontaneity to AI

Researchers are exploring novel ways for exploiting the dynamics of high-dimensional chaos to implement humanlike cognitive functions.

November 12, 2020 Read more

On the way to lifelike robots

In order for robots to be able to achieve more than simple automated machines in the future, they must not only have their own 'brain'. Researchers postulate that artificial intelligence must be expanded to include the capabilities of a Physical Artificial Intelligence, PAI. This will redefine the field of robotics and the relationship between man and machine.

November 11, 2020 Read more

New 'robotic snake' device grips, picks up objects (w/video)

An invention similar to an elephant's trunk has potential benefits for many industries where handling delicate objects is essential.

November 9, 2020 Read more

Dog training methods help researchers teach robots to learn new tricks (w/video)

With a training technique commonly used to teach dogs to sit and stay, computer scientists showed a robot how to teach itself several new tricks, including stacking blocks. With the method, the robot, named Spot, was able to learn in days what typically takes a month.

October 26, 2020 Read more

Robots that can transform their wheels into legs

A team of researchers is creating mobile robots that can determine, with or without human intervention, whether wheels or legs are more suitable to travel across terrains.

October 26, 2020 Read more