Robotics News – Latest Headlines

Robot dexterity will be the next big breakthrough in smart machines

While drones and driverless cars dominate the headlines, another breakthrough - robot dexterity - is likely to have an even greater impact in both business and everyday life.

Jan 24th, 2018

Stingray soft robot could lead to bio-inspired robotics

The development of a tissue-based soft robot that mimics the biomechanics of a stingray could lead to advances in bio-inspired robotics, regenerative medicine and medical diagnostics.

Jan 15th, 2018

Artificial muscles power up with new gel-based robotics

Researchers have designed a wearable robot to support a person's hip joint while walking.

Jan 10th, 2018

Soft robots could be the factory workers of the future

The latest research is focusing on flexible robots inspired by animals that do not have skeletons, such as caterpillars, worms, octopuses or an elephant's trunk.

Jan 10th, 2018

Robotic weeders: to a farm near you?

Technology provides alternative to herbicides, hand-weeding.

Jan 10th, 2018

New technique eases production, customization of soft robotics

By helping rubber and plastic stick together under pressure, chemists have simplified the production of small fluid-carrying channels that can drive movement in soft robotics and enable chemical analyses on microscopic scales.

Jan 9th, 2018

Soft, self-healing devices mimic biological muscles (w/video)

A new class of soft, electrically activated devices mimics the expansion and contraction of natural muscles.

Jan 4th, 2018

One bad apple can spoil a robot swarm

Coordinated robot swarms can achieve amazing feats, but even a single faulty unit can have serious consequences.

Jan 2nd, 2018

Can computers help us synthesize new materials?

Machine-learning system finds patterns in materials 'recipes', even when training data is lacking.

Dec 22nd, 2017

Engineers program tiny robots to move, think like insects

A group of engineers has been experimenting with a new type of programming that mimics the way an insect's brain works, which could soon have people wondering if that fly on the wall is actually a fly.

Dec 14th, 2017

Brittle Stars inspire new generation robots able to adapt to physical damage

Researchers have succeeded in developing a robot capable of immediately adapting to unexpected physical damage.

Dec 14th, 2017

Micro-grippers may be able to navigate unstructured environments

Micro-grippers less than 1mm long steered through Pacman-like virtual maze.

Dec 13th, 2017

New robots can see into their future (w/video)

Researchers have developed a robotic learning technology that enables robots to imagine the future of their actions so they can figure out how to manipulate objects they have never encountered before.

Dec 5th, 2017

With 'material robotics', intelligent products won't even look like robots

A researcher argues against looking at robotics as a 'dichotomy of brain versus body'.

Nov 29th, 2017

Robotic device tracks plant growth at the cellular level

A new open-source device allows scientists to identify treatments and conditions that affect the mechanical properties of plant cells.

Nov 20th, 2017

Speedy collision detector could make robots better human assistants

Electrical engineers have developed a faster collision detection algorithm that uses machine learning to help robots avoid moving objects and weave through complex, rapidly changing environments in real time.

Nov 14th, 2017