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A new study shows that jumping can be much more complicated than it might seem. In research that could extend the range of future rescue and exploration robots, scientists have found that hopping robots could dramatically reduce their power demands by adopting a unique two-part "stutter jump".
Oct 26th, 2012
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Robots have the potential to help older adults with daily activities that can become more challenging with age. But are people willing to use and accept the new technology? A study by the Georgia Institute of Technology indicates the answer is yes, unless the tasks involve personal care or social activities.
Oct 25th, 2012
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The Robot Hall of Fame inducted four robots chosen for the first time by a popular vote ? Aldebaran Robotics' NAO humanoid, iRobot's PackBot bomb disposal robot, Boston Dynamics' four-legged BigDog and WALL-E, the fictional robot of the namesake Pixar movie - during a ceremony tonight at Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh.
Oct 24th, 2012
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Roboticists at Carnegie Mellon University will field two teams in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge, a competition in which robots will perform complex, physically challenging tasks as they respond to disaster scenarios in human-engineered environments, such as nuclear power plants.
Oct 24th, 2012
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Teaching a robot a new trick is a challenge. You can?t reward it with treats and it doesn?t respond to approval or disappointment in your voice. For researchers in the biological sciences, however, the future training of robots has been made much easier thanks to a new program called "PaR-PaR".
Oct 23rd, 2012
Read moreScientists from eight countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and the United States) have created the first detailed 3D map of the underside of sea ice in Antarctica.
Oct 19th, 2012
Read morePerceive first, act afterwards.The architecture of most of today's robots is underpinned by this control strategy. The eSMCs project has set itself the aim of changing the paradigm and generating more dynamic computer models in which action is not a mere consequence of perception but an integral part of the perception process. It is about improving robot behaviour by means of perception models closer to those of humans.
Oct 18th, 2012
Read moreA research team from the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) have been awarded a new $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue developing a small robot that could one day be a huge aid to neurosurgeons in removing difficult-to-reach brain tumors.
Oct 16th, 2012
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On the horizon: A new generation of robots made of soft materials and capable of performing tasks too complex for conventional robots.
Oct 16th, 2012
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A research team led by Professor Mike Stilman at the Georgia Institute of Technology hopes to change that by giving robots the ability to use objects in their environments to accomplish high-level tasks. The team recently received a three-year, $900,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research to work on this project.
Oct 9th, 2012
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Scientists at the Universities of Sheffield and Sussex are embarking on an ambitious project to produce the first accurate computer models of a honey bee brain in a bid to advance our understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and how animals think.
Sep 27th, 2012
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A new vineyard worker is looking for a job in France. White with red trim, 50 centimetres (20 inches) tall and 60 wide, he has four wheels, two arms and six cameras, prunes 600 vines per day, and never calls in sick.
Sep 25th, 2012
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Using a novel method of integrating video technology and familiar control devices, a research team from the Georgia Institute of Technology is developing a technique to simplify remote control of robotic devices. The researchers' aim is to enhance a human operator's ability to perform precise tasks using a multi-jointed robotic device such as an articulated mechanical arm.
Sep 25th, 2012
Read moreTechnique may enable robotic animals that move with the strength and flexibility of their living counterparts.
Aug 30th, 2012
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Where other roboticists try to suppress the complex dynamics of mechanical systems, Russ Tedrake exploits them, to make control more efficient and versatile.
Aug 29th, 2012
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Touted as possible first responders or super spies, insect cyborgs could be the research community's next big breakthrough. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have taken one step closer to bringing these tiny techno-wonders out of science fiction and into reality.
Aug 27th, 2012
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Justin Hart (Computer Science) and his adviser Brian Scassellati are pursuing research into human self-awareness using a humanoid robot, Nico. Their work stands at the crossroads of computer science and psychology and complements the work of psychologists, neuroscientists, sociologists, and anthropologists.
Aug 24th, 2012
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This glove will eventually allow patients to diagnosis their own illnesses. The glove interface allows for data from the physical exam to be a component of automated diagnosis.
Aug 23rd, 2012
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