Engineers developing moveable robot components may soon take advantage of a trick plants use. Researchers have devised porous materials that could serve as actuators, or motors. The dynamic mechanism of the material resembles that of some plant tissues.
Jun 29th, 2015
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Sensors and drones can be among the farmers' best friends, helping them to use less fertilizers and water, and to control the general condition of their crops.
Jun 24th, 2015
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Researchers have developed microrobotic tentacles that can be the hands and fingers of small robots designed to safely handle delicate objects.
Jun 22nd, 2015
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Controlled by magnetic fields, tiny robot climbs inclines, swims, and carries loads twice its weight.
Jun 12th, 2015
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Last weekend was the final round of competition in the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's contest to design control systems for a humanoid robot that could climb a ladder, remove debris, drive a utility vehicle, and perform several other tasks related to a hypothetical disaster.
Jun 11th, 2015
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The way insects see and track their prey is being applied to a new robot in the hopes of improving robot visual systems. The project - which crosses the boundaries of neuroscience, mechanical engineering and computer science - builds on years of research into insect vision.
Jun 10th, 2015
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Researchers are developing a new algorithm to help robots better plan their actions in complex environments. It's designed to help robots be more useful in the real world, but it's being developed with the help of a virtual world - that of the video game Minecraft.
Jun 8th, 2015
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Development of a lightweight robotic glove is moving closer to the ultimate goal of assisting patients in their ability to grasp objects independently.
Jun 4th, 2015
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Algorithm for planning multirobot collaborations makes complex models practical.
Jun 3rd, 2015
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Imagine that everything in your mind had been erased, and you had to learn everything all over again. What would that process be like?
Jun 2nd, 2015
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Can understanding insects' mating behavior be useful for robotics research? Yes, according to two entomologists whose research using computer simulations shows that such insect behavior has implications for airborne robots (drones) that ply the sky searching for signature odors.
May 29th, 2015
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In a leap for robot development, the MIT researchers who built a robotic cheetah have now trained it to see and jump over hurdles as it runs - making this the first four-legged robot to run and jump over obstacles autonomously.
May 29th, 2015
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A material inspired by the unique physics of geckos' fingertips could allow robotic hands to grip nearly any type of object without applying excessive pressure.
May 28th, 2015
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Scientists have created underwater robot swarms that function like schools of fish, exchanging information to monitor the environment, searching, maintaining, exploring and harvesting resources in underwater habitats.
May 28th, 2015
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Seeking to advance minimally invasive medical treatments, researchers have proposed using tiny robots, driven by magnetic potential energy from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners.
May 27th, 2015
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New algorithm lets autonomous robots divvy up assembly tasks on the fly.
May 27th, 2015
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Researchers have developed and started studying a novel concept in robotics - intelligent handheld robots.
May 26th, 2015
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Drones say goodbye to pilots. With the goal of achieving autonomous flight of these aerial vehicles, researchers developed a vision and learning system to control and navigate them without relying on a GPS signal or trained personnel.
May 26th, 2015
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