Robotics, AI and SmartTech News – Latest Headlines

Fruit fly research could help design small bio-inspired flying robots (w/video)

Caltech researchers uncover a mechanism for how fruit flies regulate their flight speed, using both vision and wind-sensing information from their antennae.

April 16, 2014 Read more

Look who's evolving now: Using robots to study evolution

Researchers have successfully used a colony of rodent-like robots to watch different mating strategies evolve. The work not only generated interesting and unexpected results, but it has also helped validate the use of robots in the study of evolution.

April 14, 2014 Read more

Eye of the beholder - improving the human-robot connection (w/video)

Researchers are programming robots to communicate with people using human-like body language and cues, an important step toward bringing robots into homes.

April 11, 2014 Read more

Startup creates underwater robotics with a human touch (w/video)

It should be just as easy to use a robotic arm as it is to use your own hand. That's the thinking behind University of Washington startup BluHaptics, which is taking telerobotics - controlling robots from a distance - to a new level: underwater.

April 8, 2014 Read more

As fast as their tiny 'bot' legs will carry them (w/video)

Micro-robots, smaller than a penny, could one day swarm to the rescue.

April 7, 2014 Read more

Orienteering for robots

Algorithm for determining orientation of objects could aid robots in navigation, scene understanding.

April 4, 2014 Read more

EU funding for robots that learn and think for themselves

An EU-funded project, SMEROBOTICS, seeks to develop SME-suitable robots that are sufficiently agile to enable companies to change processes and robot assignments without having to call in specialists.

April 1, 2014 Read more

Mobile robots support airplane manufacturers

In production facilities, robots, and people will soon be working side-by-side. A new mobile assistant is intended to support technicians in the airplane manufacturing industry when applying sealant, measuring, and testing - without putting them at risk.

April 1, 2014 Read more

IPAnema - cable-driven robot for intralogistics

Their very large workspaces, good mobility and high payload capacity allow cable-driven robots to meet high requirements. The IPAnema cable-driven robot is an innovative robot system featuring state-of-the-art control techniques and proven components.

March 27, 2014 Read more

XPRIZE and TED announce a global competition to advance artificial intelligence

XPRIZE announces today the creation of a prize competition presented by TED, the nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) so advanced that it could deliver a compelling TED Talk with no human involvement.

March 27, 2014 Read more

3D-printed robot MARC to be showcased at national engineering event

A 3D-printed robot will be one of the star attractions at an annual event aimed at inspiring the next generation of manufacturers and engineers. MARC (Multi-Actuated Robotic Companion) will interact with visitors to the Get up to Speed with Engineering and Manufacturing event.

March 26, 2014 Read more

Robotic arm probes chemistry of 3-D objects by mass spectrometry

A new robotic system at Georgia Tech's Center for Chemical Evolution could soon let scientists better simulate and analyze the chemical reactions of early Earth on the surface of real rocks to further test the theory that catalytic minerals on a meteorite's surface could have jump-started life's first chemical reactions.

March 26, 2014 Read more

Field oc competitors expands for DARPA Robotics Challenge

Team SCHAFT, the highest-scoring team at the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Trials in December 2013, has elected to switch to the self-funded Track D of the program. The team was recently acquired by Google Inc.

March 25, 2014 Read more

ROS: software components for industrial robotics

Already firmly established among the research community, ROS is now set to become the industry standard. The open-source 'Robot Operating System' (ROS) offers a host of highly developed software components that can be efficiently employed also for industrial applications.

March 25, 2014 Read more

Modular and versatile: key technologies for robot-assisted cleaning

Commercial cleaning robots are designed to clean offices and dispose of waste paper. As part of the collaborative project 'Plug and Play for Automation Systems' (AutoPnP), scientists at Fraunhofer IPA have developed the necessary software components for such applications.

March 25, 2014 Read more

'RoboClam' replicates a clam's ability to burrow while using little energy

Robot builds on insights into Atlantic razor clam dynamics.

March 24, 2014 Read more

Cognitive and collaborative: CoWeldRob - the welding robot assistant

It can localize components, automatically generate programs, learn from the worker and collaborate with him. For the European research initiative SMErobotics, scientists are developing a cognitive and collaborative welding robot assistant called CoWeldRob.

March 18, 2014 Read more

Human-robot interaction: sensor-controlled assembly

The focus is on effective human-robot interaction at a workstation similar to those on a shop floor, the goal being to enable the worker to easily program the robot and use it intuitively like a tool.

March 18, 2014 Read more