Robotics, AI and SmartTech News – Latest Headlines

Sensors and drones: hi-tech sentinels for crops

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.

June 24, 2015 Read more

Engineers develop micro-tentacles so tiny robots can handle delicate objects

Researchers have developed microrobotic tentacles that can be the hands and fingers of small robots designed to safely handle delicate objects.

June 22, 2015 Read more

Centimeter-long origami robot (w/video)

Controlled by magnetic fields, tiny robot climbs inclines, swims, and carries loads twice its weight.

June 12, 2015 Read more

Robotics competition generated groundbreaking research (w/video)

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.

June 11, 2015 Read more

Robot eyes will benefit from insect vision

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.

June 10, 2015 Read more

Using Minecraft to unboggle the robot mind (w/video)

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.

June 8, 2015 Read more

Soft robotic glove puts control in the grasp of hand-impaired patients (w/video)

Development of a lightweight robotic glove is moving closer to the ultimate goal of assisting patients in their ability to grasp objects independently.

June 4, 2015 Read more

Helping robots handle uncertainty

Algorithm for planning multirobot collaborations makes complex models practical.

June 3, 2015 Read more

The robot that learns everything from scratch

Imagine that everything in your mind had been erased, and you had to learn everything all over again. What would that process be like?

June 2, 2015 Read more

Insect mating behavior has lessons for drones

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 29, 2015 Read more

Cheetah robot lands the running jump (w/video)

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 29, 2015 Read more

Engineers debut an incredibly adhesive material that doesn't get stuck (w/video)

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 28, 2015 Read more

Robot swarms use collective cognition to perform tasks (w/video)

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 28, 2015 Read more

Medical millirobots offer hope for less-invasive surgeries (w/video)

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 27, 2015 Read more

Helping robots put it all together

New algorithm lets autonomous robots divvy up assembly tasks on the fly.

May 27, 2015 Read more

Researchers develop intelligent handheld robots

Researchers have developed and started studying a novel concept in robotics - intelligent handheld robots.

May 26, 2015 Read more

Scientist created drones that fly autonomously and learn new routes

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 26, 2015 Read more

Robot masters new skills through trial and error (w/video)

Researchers have developed algorithms that enable robots to learn motor tasks through trial and error using a process that more closely approximates the way humans learn, marking a major milestone in the field of artificial intelligence.

May 22, 2015 Read more