Robotics, AI and SmartTech News – Latest Headlines

Assembler robots make large structures from little pieces

Systems of tiny robots may someday build high-performance structures, from airplanes to space settlements.

October 16, 2019 Read more

These new soft actuators could make soft robots less bulky

Engineers have developed a way to build soft robots that are compact, portable and multifunctional. The advance was made possible by creating soft, tubular actuators whose movements are electrically controlled, which makes them easy to integrate with small electronic components.

October 11, 2019 Read more

Researchers develop intelligent, shape-morphing, self-healing material for soft robotics

Researchers have developed a material that exhibits a unique combination of high electrical and thermal conductivity with actuation capabilities that are unlike any other soft composite.

October 10, 2019 Read more

Deep3DFly: the deep-learning way to design fly-like robots

DeepFly3D can infer the 3D pose of the fly - or even other animals - meaning that it can automatically predict and make behavioral measurements at unprecedented resolution for a variety of biological applications.

October 9, 2019 Read more

Soft robot programmed to move like an inchworm (w/video)

Researchers take inspiration from nature to design tiny flexible robots outfitted with smart materials.

October 7, 2019 Read more

Research developing sensors for 'worm robots' to be used after disasters

Researchers are developing chemical sensors that can be mounted on to 'worm robots', as part of a project involving partners in four European countries to improve detection of people trapped under debris after a disaster.

October 2, 2019 Read more

Artificial intelligence improves biomedical imaging

Researchers use artificial intelligence to improve quality of images recorded by a relatively new biomedical imaging method. This paves the way towards more accurate diagnosis and cost-effective devices.

September 30, 2019 Read more

Researchers build microscopic biohybrid robots propelled by muscles, nerves

Researchers have developed soft robotic devices driven by neuromuscular tissue that triggers when stimulated by light - bringing mechanical engineering one step closer to developing autonomous biobots.

September 23, 2019 Read more

Shape-shifting robot built from 'smarticles' shows new locomotion strategy

Building conventional robots typically requires carefully combining components like motors, batteries, actuators, body segments, legs and wheels. Now, researchers have taken a new approach, building a robot entirely from smaller robots known as 'smarticles' to unlock the principles of a potentially new locomotion technique.

September 19, 2019 Read more

Researchers explore fish movement to enhance underwater robots

By taking a deep dive into the complex interaction between structure and fluid dynamics, mechanical engineering professors hope to advance bio-inspired technology.

September 18, 2019 Read more

'Flying fish' robot can dive and fly (w/video)

A bio-inspired bot uses water from the environment to create a propelling gas and launch itself from the water's surface.

September 12, 2019 Read more

Nerve-like 'optical lace' gives robots a human touch

A new synthetic material that creates a linked sensory network similar to a biological nervous system could enable soft robots to sense how they interact with their environment and adjust their actions accordingly.

September 11, 2019 Read more

Scurrying roaches help researchers steady staggering robots

Bomechanics researchers boiled down the sprints of cockroaches to handy principles and equations they then used to make a test robot amble about better.

August 23, 2019 Read more

Understanding the animal brain could help robots wash your dishes

Neuroscientists show how evolution and animal brains can be a rich source of inspiration for machine learning, especially to help AI tackle some enormously difficult problems, like doing the dishes.

August 22, 2019 Read more

The future of robots: A psychological approach to human-automation interaction

The increasingly digital nature of our world introduces a seemingly endless list of considerations when it comes to ensuring automated systems can successfully meet human needs.

August 17, 2019 Read more

A miniature stretchable pump for the next generation of soft robots

Scientists have developed a tiny pump that could play a big role in the development of autonomous soft robots, lightweight exoskeletons and smart clothing. Flexible, silent and weighing only one gram, it is poised to replace the rigid, noisy and bulky pumps currently used.

August 14, 2019 Read more

'MacGyver'-like robot can build own tools by Aassessing form, function of supplies

Thanks to new technology that enables them to create simple tools, robots may be on the verge of their own version of the Stone Age.

August 13, 2019 Read more

Guided by AI, robotic platform automates molecule manufacture

New system could free bench chemists from time-consuming tasks, may help inspire new molecules.

August 9, 2019 Read more