Robotics, AI and SmartTech News – Latest Headlines

Emerging robotics technology may lead to better buildings in less time

Innovators developed and are testing a novel construction robotic system that uses an innovative mechanical design with advances in computer vision sensing technology to work in a construction setting.

February 10, 2021 Read more

Robots sense human touch using camera and shadows

Researchers have created a low-cost method for soft, deformable robots to detect a range of physical interactions, from pats to punches to hugs, without relying on touch at all. Instead, a USB camera located inside the robot captures the shadow movements of hand gestures on the robot?s skin and classifies them with machine-learning software.

February 9, 2021 Read more

How modern robots are developed

Robots are interesting to neuroscience and neuroscience is interesting to robots. Such collaborative development contributes to progress in both fields, bringing us closer to developing more advanced android robots and a deeper understanding of the structure of the human brain.

February 3, 2021 Read more

Discovery could lead to self-propelled robots

Researchers discovered how to make materials capable of self-propulsion, allowing materials to move without motors or hands.

February 1, 2021 Read more

'Bleep-bloop-bleep! Say 'cheese', human'

Good portrait photography is as much art as it is science. There are technical details like composition and lighting, but there's also a matter of connecting emotionally with the photo?s subjects. Can you teach that to a robot?

January 29, 2021 Read more

Squid-inspired robot is a good swimmer (w/video)

Using the pulse-jet mode that squid and jellyfish use to propel themselves, researchers developed a flexible robot that is as efficient at swimming as its biological models. Further research could lead to robots that can move even more efficiently than aquatic animals.

January 22, 2021 Read more

Designing customized 'brains' for robots

A new system devises hardware architectures to hasten robots' response time.

January 21, 2021 Read more

Bio-inspired robotics: learning from dragonflies

Scientists have completely decrypted the biomechanical functional principle of what is known as the labial mask of dragonfly larvae. The technology used here could lead to a significant enhancement of agile robot systems.

January 20, 2021 Read more

How to train a robot (using AI and supercomputers)

Computer scientists use deep learning systems to generate synthetic objects for robot training.

January 20, 2021 Read more

Getting the right grip: Designing soft and sensitive robotic fingers

Researchers make a big leap in development of soft robotic grippers by integrating sensing mechanisms into 3D printable fingers.

January 7, 2021 Read more

A robotic revolution for urban nature

Drones, robots and autonomous systems can transform the natural world in and around cities for people and wildlife.

January 5, 2021 Read more

Spontaneous robot dances highlight a new kind of order in active matter

A team of physicists and engineers have proposed a new principle by which active matter systems can spontaneously order, without need for higher level instructions or even programmed interaction among the agents.

January 3, 2021 Read more

'Chaotic' way to create insectlike gaits for robots

By using small networks of Roessler systems, a locomotion controller enables a brain-machine interface for a six-legged antlike robot.

December 15, 2020 Read more

'The robot made me do it': Robots encourage risk-taking behaviour in people

New research has shown robots can encourage people to take greater risks in a simulated gambling scenario than they would if there was nothing to influence their behaviours. Increasing our understanding of whether robots can affect risk-taking could have clear ethical, practical and policy implications, which this study set out to explore.

December 11, 2020 Read more

Designing self-powered, soft and sensitive robotic fingers

Scientists make a big leap in development of soft robotic grippers by integrating sensing mechanisms into 3D printable fingers.

December 10, 2020 Read more

'Smellicopter' uses a live moth antenna to seek out scents

Researchers have developed an autonomous drone that uses a live antenna from a moth to navigate toward smells. Smellicopter can also sense and avoid obstacles as it travels through the air.

December 10, 2020 Read more

Shape-changing robots that adapt to their environments (w/video)

When danger approaches, the Moroccan flic-flac spider takes the shape of a ball and rolls away to safety. Just as the trick of shape-shifting to one's environment has proved invaluable for many creatures, researchers say it could be equally useful for robots.

December 1, 2020 Read more

Computer-aided creativity in robot design

A new system optimizes the shape of robots for traversing various terrain types.

November 30, 2020 Read more