Robotics, AI and SmartTech News – Latest Headlines

Bees' 'waggle dance' may revolutionize how robots talk to each other in disaster zones

Study is the first to take inspiration from the dance honeybees use to describe the location of food and employ a version for robot-robot communication.

July 7, 2022 Read more

Shapeshifting robotic microswarm acts as a toothbrush, rinse, and dental floss in one

A shapeshifting robotic microswarm may one day act as a toothbrush, rinse, and dental floss in one.

July 6, 2022 Read more

Nasa considers sending swimming robots to habitable ocean worlds of the Solar System

Nasa has recently announced funding for a study into the feasibility of sending swarms of miniature swimming robots to explore oceans beneath the icy shells of our Solar System's many 'ocean worlds'. But don’t imagine metal humanoids swimming frog-like underwater. They will probably be simple, triangular wedges.

July 4, 2022 Read more

Breaking AIs to make them better

Researchers investigate ways to make AIs more robust by studying patterns in their answers when faced with the unknown.

June 30, 2022 Read more

Exploring alien worlds with robotic teams: Test mission on Mt. Etna

Conditions similar to those on the Moon or Mars can be found on Mt. Etna, where researchers are testing robotic swarms with which they plan to explore alien worlds in the future.

June 30, 2022 Read more

'Fake' data helps robots learn the ropes faster (w/video)

A way to expand training data sets for manipulation tasks improves the performance of robots by 40% or more.

June 29, 2022 Read more

Is AI good or bad for the climate? It's complicated

As the world fights climate change, will the increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) be a help or a hindrance? A team of experts in AI, climate change, and public policy present a framework for understanding the complex and multifaceted relationship of AI with greenhouse gas emissions, and suggest ways to better align AI with climate change goals.

June 29, 2022 Read more

Tough new robots will aim to think and act for themselves in the most hazardous places on Earth - and beyond

Experts are combining expertise in 'hot-robotics' and AI to make a new generation of robots to work in harsh hotspots.

June 27, 2022 Read more

Third and fourth robotic arms feel like a part of the user's own body

Researchers have developed supernumerary robotic arms operated by the user's foot movements in a virtual environment. It has shown that users can feel the supernumerary robotic arms as a part of their own body.

June 27, 2022 Read more

Flawed AI makes robots racist, sexist

A robot operating with a popular internet-based artificial intelligence system consistently gravitates to men over women, white people over people of color, and jumps to conclusions about peoples' jobs after a glance at their face.

June 26, 2022 Read more

Machine learning meets fingers, hands and elbows for enhanced robotic therapy

A new AI platform's advanced musculoskeletal models could speed up the development of prosthetics and post-injury rehab.

June 25, 2022 Read more

Study provides insights into blockchain vulnerabilities

The study resulted in a report that provides holistic analysis that's available to anyone considering blockchains for important matters so they can better understand the potential vulnerabilities within these systems.

June 25, 2022 Read more

Engineers devise a recipe for improving any autonomous robotic system (w/video)

A new general-purpose optimizer can speed up the design of walking robots, self-driving vehicles, and other autonomous systems.

June 23, 2022 Read more

Are babies the key to the next generation of artificial intelligence?

New research proposes a new direction to overcome limitations of machine learning.

June 23, 2022 Read more

Can robotics help us achieve sustainable development?

An international team of scientists have assessed how robotics and autonomous systems might facilitate or impede the delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

June 22, 2022 Read more

Predicting when and where glass will break

Researchers demonstrate that artificial intelligence can predict when quartz glass will fracture based on information learned from images of its atomic microstructure.

June 22, 2022 Read more

Robotic fireflies take flight (w/video)

Inspired by fireflies, researchers create insect-scale robots that can emit light when they fly, which enables motion tracking and communication.

June 21, 2022 Read more

Engineers create single-step, all-in-one 3D printing method to make robotic materials (w/video)

A 3D-printed 'meta-bot' is capable of propulsion, movement, sensing and decision-making. It is manufactured all at once by a new type of 3D printing process for engineered active materials with multiple functions (also known as metamaterials).

June 17, 2022 Read more