Robotics, AI and SmartTech News – Latest Headlines

The strong robot with the gentle touch

Scientists have developed a new experimental nursing care robot, ROBEAR, which is capable of performing tasks such as lifting a patient from a bed into a wheelchair or providing assistance to a patient who is able to stand up but requires help to do so.

February 23, 2015 Read more

Can an LED-filled 'robot garden' make coding more accessible? (w/video)

CSAIL's 100-plus blooming, crawling, swimming bots teach basic programming concepts.

February 18, 2015 Read more

US$ 5 million robotics challenge launched in Abu Dhabi

Khalifa University to organize a USD 5 Million Prize challenging robotics competition.

February 16, 2015 Read more

Soybots - a robotic platform allowing indoor plants to search for light

Soybots: Mobile Micro-Gardens is a responsive robotic-botanic hybrid artwork that utilizes light sensors to track sunlight intensity or to locate LED grow lights.

February 11, 2015 Read more

Prototype of a robotic system with emotion and memory (w/video)

Researchers at the University of Hertfordshire have developed a prototype of a social robot which supports independent living for the elderly, working in partnership with their relatives or carers.

February 5, 2015 Read more

Robot scientist 'Eve' could boost search for new drugs

Eve, an artificially-intelligent 'robot scientist' could make drug discovery faster and much cheaper.

February 5, 2015 Read more

Researchers determine how the brain controls robotic grasping tools

Grasping an object involves a complex network of brain functions. First, visual cues are processed in specialized areas of the brain. Then, other areas of the brain use these signals to control the hands to reach for and manipulate the desired object. New findings suggest that the cerebellum, a region of the brain that has changed very little over time, may play a critical role. Findings could lead to advancements in assistive technologies benefiting the disabled.

February 3, 2015 Read more

Robots that mimic the properties of plant roots

Scientists in Italy are working on creating robots that mimic the properties of plant roots, including the capacity for growth. They believe the potential future applications are not just the stuff of science-fiction.

January 29, 2015 Read more

Fine motor skills for robotic hands

Neuroscientists can predict grip movements of the hand by measuring brain cell activity.

January 22, 2015 Read more

System encourages creativity, makes robot-design fun

A new cardboard-robotic toolkit allows children to create custom robots they control wirelessly with hand gestures without formal education in programming or electronics.

January 20, 2015 Read more

Upgraded Atlas robot to go wireless as the stakes are raised for the DARPA Robotics Challenge finals (w/video)

A total of $3.5 million in prizes will now be awarded to the top three finishers in the DARPA Robotics Challenge, the final event of which will be held June 5-6, 2015, at Fairplex in Pomona, Calif.

January 20, 2015 Read more

Robots as multifunctional gentlemen

Researchers have developed a new service robot model centred on the concept of a universal helper for everyday scenarios: the fourth generation of the Care-O-Bot.

January 15, 2015 Read more

Vision system for household robots

New algorithm could enable household robots to better identify objects in cluttered environments.

January 12, 2015 Read more

Robotic camera mimics human operators to anticipate basketball game action

Automated cameras make it possible to broadcast even minor events, but the result often looks...well, robotic. Now scientists have made it possible for robotic cameras to learn from human operators how to better frame shots of a basketball game.

January 7, 2015 Read more

Underwater robotics: Analyzing the propulsion of a soft robotic fish

Propulsion by undulation entails complicated interplay between body deformation and fluid motion. Developing high performance robots by utilizing such complex dynamics is a main goal of the research on robotic fish.

December 24, 2014 Read more

Artificial intelligence: Brain-training for baseball robot

Researchers have created a model of the cerebellum comprising over 100,000 'neurons' - which was implemented on dedicated hardware for parallel computing known as a graphics processing unit (GPU) - s able to train a robot to accurately hit a ball bowled in real-time.

December 24, 2014 Read more

Robo turtle may take plunge for tough tasks

Latest turtle robot capable of performing more complicated tasks such as surveillance and energy harvesting, and operates on a self-charge mode.

December 23, 2014 Read more

New findings from the mind-controlled robot arm project

Using mind control, woman with quadriplegia moves robot arm and hand in '10D'.

December 17, 2014 Read more