Robotics, AI and SmartTech News – Latest Headlines

Exceptional catapulting jump mechanism in a tiny beetle could be applied in robotic limbs

Researchers describe the fascinating and highly efficient jumping mechanism in flea beetles. Despite having been known since 1929, the explosive jump has not been fully understood. The scientists tested the existing theories, using micro-computed tomography, 3D reconstructions, high-speed filming and dissection. The team also proposed a design of a bionic limb inspired by their findings.

February 25, 2020 Read more

Swarming robots avoid collisions, traffic jams

Researchers have developed the first decentralized algorithm with a collision-free, deadlock-free guarantee and validated it on a swarm of 100 autonomous robots in the lab.

February 24, 2020 Read more

Watch 2 robots work together to make a hot dog (w/video)

An advance in machine learning allows two robots, named Jaco and Baxter, to make a hot dog.

February 20, 2020 Read more

Slithering snakes on a 2-D plane (w/video)

By studying how snakes move, engineers have created a snake robot that can nimbly and stably climb large steps.

February 19, 2020 Read more

New method proposed to achieve better robot self-learning

Researchers have proposed a new framework of incremental learning method based on Q-Learning and adaptive kernel linear (AKL) model. The framework allows robot to learn new behaviors without forgetting the previous ones.

February 18, 2020 Read more

Sensorized skin helps soft robots find their bearings

Flexible sensors and an artificial intelligence model tell deformable robots how their bodies are positioned in a 3D environment.

February 13, 2020 Read more

Robot sweat regulates temperature, key for extreme conditions

Just when it seemed like robots couldn't get any cooler, researchers have created a soft robot muscle that can regulate its temperature through sweating.

January 30, 2020 Read more

Spider-Man-style robotic graspers defy gravity

Scientists have developed a suction unit that can be used on rough surfaces, no matter how textured, and that has applications in the development of climbing robots and robotic arms with grasping capabilities.

January 17, 2020 Read more

Robotic gripping mechanism mimics how sea anemones catch prey

The doughnut-shaped, plastic rubber device crimps its skin to latch onto anything from cloth to beakers filled with liquid.

January 14, 2020 Read more

Can sea star movement inspire better robots?

What researchers uncovered about sea star locomotion could help scientists design simpler, decentralized systems in robotics and beyond.

January 8, 2020 Read more

A soft robotic insect that survives being flattened by a fly swatter (w/video)

Researchers have developed an ultra-light robotic insect that uses its soft artificial muscles to move at 3 cm per second across different types of terrain. It can be folded or crushed and yet continue to move.

December 18, 2019 Read more

A robot and software make it easier to create advanced materials

A team of engineers has developed an automated way to produce polymers, making it much easier to create advanced materials aimed at improving human health.

December 5, 2019 Read more

Researchers create new metallic material for flexible soft robots (w/video)

Researchers have created a material that is half as light as paper and highly flexible but also shows enhanced characteristics for electrical conductivity, heat generation, fire-resistance, strain-sensing and is inherently capable of wireless communications.

November 25, 2019 Read more

How to design and control robots with stretchy, flexible bodies

Optimizing soft robots to perform specific tasks is a huge computational problem, but a new model can help.

November 21, 2019 Read more

Soft skin-like robots you can put in your pocket

Stretchable skin-like robots that can be rolled up and put in your pocket have been developed by researchers using a new way of embedding artificial muscles and electrical adhesion into soft materials.

November 20, 2019 Read more

A better understanding of soft artificial muscles

Artificial muscles will power the soft robots and wearable devices of the future. But more needs to be understood about the underlying mechanics of these powerful structures in order to design and build new devices. Now, researchers have uncovered some of the fundamental physical properties of artificial muscle fibers.

November 16, 2019 Read more

Magnets for the second dimension

Scientists have developed cube-shaped magnetic building blocks that can be assembled into two-dimensional shapes and controlled by an external magnetic field. They can be used for soft robotics applications.

November 11, 2019 Read more

Flexible yet sturdy robot is designed to 'grow' like a plant

Its extendable appendage can meander through tight spaces and then lift heavy loads.

November 7, 2019 Read more