Robotics, AI and SmartTech News – Latest Headlines

Standard knowledge for robots

What do you know? There is now a world standard for capturing and conveying the knowledge that robots possess - or, to get philosophical about it, an ontology for automatons.

May 22, 2015 Read more

Robotic sonar system inspired by bats

Engineers have taken the first steps toward building a novel dynamic sonar system inspired by horseshoe bats that could be more efficient and take up less space than current man-made sonar arrays.

May 21, 2015 Read more

Robots grasping hands (w/video)

Researchers are developing tests to take full measure of robotic grasping - specifically, the motion and effort that gripping and manipulating entail. Their immediate goal: To provide useful performance-benchmarking tools to support research and innovation leading to ever-more handy capable robot appendages.

May 19, 2015 Read more

Why you should always shake hands with a robot

There are many unspoken rules of human interaction, whether that's whether or not to look them in the eyes, the firmness of the handshake, smiling or words of greeting. Little things like this can lead to big judgements about trustworthiness or social acceptability. What if we can use this type of behaviour to help humans and robots interact?

May 15, 2015 Read more

Controlling swarms of robots with light and a single finger (w/video)

Using a smart tablet and a red beam of light, researchers have created a system that allows people to control a fleet of robots with the swipe of a finger.

May 12, 2015 Read more

Researchers hack a teleoperated surgical robot to reveal security flaws

To make cars as safe as possible, we crash them into walls to pinpoint weaknesses and better protect the people who use them. That's the idea behind a series of experiments by an engineering team who hacked a next generation teleoperated surgical robot to test how easily a malicious attack could hijack remotely-controlled operations in the future and to make those systems more secure.

May 7, 2015 Read more

Engineers hand 'cognitive' control to underwater robots

A new programming approach gives robots more 'cognitive' capabilities, enabling humans to specify high-level goals, while a robot performs high-level decision-making to figure out how to achieve these goals.

May 7, 2015 Read more

Toward a squishier robot

Engineers design synthetic gel that changes shape and moves via its own internal energy.

May 5, 2015 Read more

PAN-ROBOTS: Automating logistics for the factory of the future

Mass production and packaging in factories is already highly automated these days, but the same cannot be said for logistics. Movements of raw materials and finished products still depend heavily on manual labour. However, EU-funded research on Automatic Guided Vehicles means this is about to change over the next decade.

April 20, 2015 Read more

How robots can help build better doctors

Research seeks to make better 'human patient simulators'.

April 7, 2015 Read more

Octopus-inspired robot is the fastest underwater robot based on the given power (w/video)

Ability to morph (change shape), propel itself and turn quickly in water (i.e. super-manoeuvrability) efficiently and silently, lending itself to future possibilities in surveillance and inspection.

April 2, 2015 Read more

Soft, energy-efficient robotic wings

New discovery that can make a dielectric elastomer joint bend up and down demonstrates its potential in soft robotic applications as lightweight, energy-efficient flapping wings.

March 31, 2015 Read more

Human Interface: Virtual robotization for human limbs

A new virtual reality robotization gaming system called Jointonation, has taken gaming to a new level by allowing the player to discover what it feels like to become a robot. The robotic simulation uses a combination of visual, auditory and tactile sensations to 'transform' the player's arms and legs into metallic limbs.

March 25, 2015 Read more

Robobarista can figure out your new coffee machine (w/video)

In the near future we may have household robots to handle cooking, cleaning and other menial tasks. They will be teachable: Show the robot how to operate your coffee machine, and it will take over from there.

March 24, 2015 Read more

Artificial hand able to respond sensitively thanks to muscles made from smart metal wires

Engineers have taken a leaf out of nature's book by equipping an artificial hand with muscles made from shape-memory wire. The new technology enables the fabrication of flexible and lightweight robot hands for industrial applications and novel prosthetic devices.

March 24, 2015 Read more

Cyborg beetle research allows free-flight study of insects (w/video)

Hard-wiring beetles for radio-controlled flight turns out to be a fitting way to learn more about their biology. Cyborg insect research is enabling new revelations about a muscle used by beetles for finely graded turns.

March 16, 2015 Read more

Bio-inspired eye stabilizes robot's flight without need for an accelerometer

Biorobotics researchers have developed the first aerial robot able to fly over uneven terrain that is stabilized visually without an accelerometer. Called BeeRotor, it adjusts its speed and avoids obstacles thanks to optic flow sensors inspired by insect vision.

March 10, 2015 Read more

Kids and robots learn to write together (w/video)

Who is the teacher: the student or the machine? By showing a robot how to write letters, children improve their writing skills and gain self-­confidence. This system, called CoWriter, was developed by EPFL researchers.

March 4, 2015 Read more