Robomorphic Computing: Designing Customized “Brains” for Robots
A new system devises hardware architectures to hasten robots’ response time. Contemporary robots can move quickly. “The motors are fast, and they’re powerful,” says Sabrina…
Robotics
3D-Printed “Artificial Muscle” Inspired by Color-Changing Octopus Skin
3D-Printed Smart Gel Changes Shape When Exposed to Light Inspired by the color-changing skin of cuttlefish, octopuses and squids, Rutgers engineers have created a 3D-printed…
Smarticle Swarm: Spontaneous Robot Dances Highlight a New Kind of Order in Active Matter
Predicting when and how collections of particles, robots, or animals become orderly remains a challenge across science and engineering. In the 19th century, scientists and…
U.S. Army Research Leads to More Effective Training Model for Robots
Multi-domain operations, the Army’s future operating concept, requires autonomous agents with learning components to operate alongside the warfighter. New Army research reduces the unpredictability of…
Robot Fleet Dives in “Marine Snow” for Climate Answers
Australian research voyage to investigate how life in the Southern Ocean captures and stores carbon from the atmosphere. A fleet of new-generation, deep-diving ocean robots…
Shadow Robot: AI Algorithms Bring Robot Hands One Step Closer to Human
The Shadow Robot Dexterous Hand is comparable to a human hand, reproducing all of its degrees of freedom While dexterous manipulation of objects is a…
ExoMy: 3D Print, Assemble, and Program Your Own Mars Rover
Europe’s Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover has a younger ’sibling’ – ExoMy. The blueprints and software for this mini-version of the full-size Mars explorer are available…
RoboGrammar: Automated & Optimized Robot Design for Traversing Various Terrain Types
MIT researchers’ new system optimizes the shape of robots for traversing various terrain types. So, you need a robot that climbs stairs. What shape should…
Magnetic Spray Transforms Inanimate Objects Into Tiny Robots
Millirobots that can adapt to unstructured environments, operate in confined spaces, and interact with a diverse range of objects would be desirable for exploration and…
“Mechanical Metamaterials” – Versatile Building Blocks Make Structures With Surprising Mechanical Properties
The subunits could be robotically assembled to produce large, complex objects, including cars, robots, or wind turbine blades. Researchers at MIT’s Center for Bits and…
Popular Robotic Vacuum Cleaners Can Be Remotely Hacked to Act As Microphones
Researchers hacked a robotic vacuum cleaner to record speech and music remotely. A team of researchers demonstrated that popular robotic household vacuum cleaners can be…
New Magnetic Spray Transforms Objects Into Insect-Scale Robots for Biomedical Applications
An easy way to make millirobots by coating objects with a glue-like magnetic spray was developed in a joint research led by a scientist from City…
CASH: Using Automation to Revolutionize Materials Research
At the heart of many past scientific breakthroughs lies the discovery of novel materials. However, the cycle of synthesizing, testing, and optimizing new materials routinely…
Chaotic Itinerancy: Robotic AI Learns to Be Spontaneous
Researchers use dynamical systems and machine learning to add spontaneity to AI. Autonomous functions for robots, such as spontaneity, are highly sought after. Many control…
Battery-Free Ocean Exploration: MIT Underwater Navigation System Powered by Sound
New approach could spark an era of battery-free ocean exploration, with applications ranging from marine conservation to aquaculture. GPS isn’t waterproof. The navigation system depends…
Raptor-Inspired Drone With Morphing Wing and Tail for Unprecedented Flight Agility
EPFL engineers have developed a drone with a feathered wing and tail that give it unprecedented flight agility. The northern goshawk is a fast, powerful…
What to Expect When You’re Expecting Robots: The Future of Human-Robot Collaboration
Book co-authored by MIT Associate Professor Julie Shah and Laura Major SM ’05 explores a future populated with robot helpers. As Covid-19 has made it…
NASA’s DuAxel: Transforming Rover That Can Explore the Toughest Terrain
Made of a pair of two-wheeled vehicles, NASA’s DuAxel is designed to descend crater sides and near-vertical cliffs on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. A…