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Researchers recently sent hundreds of ants to the orbiting International Space Station. By studying how the ants adjust their behavior to cope with near-zero gravity conditions, scientists could improve the algorithms autonomous robots follow to search disaster scenes for survivors.
Jan 20th, 2014
Read moreNow it's not just people - robots are also connected by internet thanks to RoboEarth. Last week, after four years of research, scientists at Eindhoven University of Technology, Philips and four other European universities presented this online platform through which robots can learn new skills from each other worldwide - a kind of 'Wikipedia for robots'.
Jan 20th, 2014
Read moreJanuary is a time when many of us seek to better ourselves. We want to learn a new skill or improve an existing one. A network designed especially for robots, RoboEarth, is being tested in the Netherlands this week to help them with their own attempts at self-improvement. Soon our mechanical friends will be able to swap tips on how to best care for us and learn about their worlds.
Jan 17th, 2014
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Using arm sensors that can 'read' a person's muscle movements, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have created a control system that makes robots more intelligent. The sensors send information to the robot, allowing it to anticipate a human's movements and correct its own. The system is intended to improve time, safety and efficiency in manufacturing plants.
Jan 16th, 2014
Read moreMedical implants, complex interfaces between brain and machine or remotely controlled insects: Recent developments combining machines and organisms have great potentials, but also give rise to major ethical concerns. A new review entitled 'The Chemistry of Cyborgs - Interfacing Technical Devices with Organisms' discusses the state of the art of research, opportunities, and risks.
Jan 10th, 2014
Read moreWhat if, in a few years from now, human surgeons were only needed for the most delicate operations, leaving more common tasks to robots? This not-so-fictional future is the dream of Dr Paolo Fiorini, who coordinated the EUROSURGE project, which ultimately targets the commercialisation of newly developed technologies in this sector.
Jan 9th, 2014
Read moreGoogle recently acquired eight high profile start-up robotics companies, providing strong evidence of a strategy to create breakthrough applications for robotics over the next decade. This strategy is most likely to concentrate on manufacturing and logistics.
Jan 8th, 2014
Read moreFIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) will be joined by public figures to launch the 2014 season of the FIRST� Robotics Competition (FRC�) with a worldwide Kickoff event originating from Manchester, N.H.
Jan 6th, 2014
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The sticky feet of a climbing, gecko-like robot developed by SFU researchers could be useful in space, international tests show.
Jan 6th, 2014
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The Cubli is a 15 � 15 � 15 cm cube that can jump up and balance on its corner. Reaction wheels mounted on three faces of the cube rotate at high angular velocities and then brake suddenly, causing the Cubli to jump up.
Dec 20th, 2013
Read moreThe trials for the final 2014 event will take place at December 20-21, 2013 and you can watch them live on YouTube.
Dec 20th, 2013
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Mechatronics is an exciting, interdisciplinary field that combines electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials, robotics, and control systems. here is a list of 99 sites that cater o advanced mechatronics students and professionals, as well as those just starting out.
Dec 19th, 2013
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Maintenance and repair work in the aeronautics and construction industries can be both time-consuming and dangerous, which is why an EU project is developing robots that are a cost-effective way to get the job done without exposing workers to potential harm.
Dec 17th, 2013
Read moreCollaborations between robotics specialists and biologists have never been so successful. The former draw their ideas from animal morphology while the latter have found in technology a useful tool for studying nature.
Dec 11th, 2013
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Increasingly small robots that carry out their functions even inside the human body. No, this isn't a sci-fi dream but a close possibility. On one condition: the miniaturization of these devices requires them to acquire the same 'softness' and flexibility as biological tissues.
Dec 5th, 2013
Read more'Twill be nearly the night before Christmas, but at Florida's Homestead-Miami Speedway many a robotic creature will be stirring, while visions of a $2 million prize and international prestige dance in the heads of the machines' creators.
Dec 4th, 2013
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Human interaction with robots is about to get a little more personal. Meet 'Furhat', the face of tomorrow's interactive technology.
Dec 3rd, 2013
Read moreIntelligence is a very difficult concept and, until recently, no one has succeeded in giving it a satisfactory formal definition.
Nov 28th, 2013
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