Reconfigurable soft robots. In this paper, we address challenges in controlling reconfigurable—or shape-shifting—robots, who can change their morphology to accomplish desired tasks. The figure illustrates a task where a circular robot needs to alter its body shape to fit within a confined chamber to manipulate the square cargo to the target point (right). We introduce […]
Robotics
Robotic system feeds people with severe mobility limitations
A robotic system developed by Cornell researchers feeds a student participant during a lab demonstration. Credit: Cornell University Cornell researchers have developed a robotic feeding system that uses computer vision, machine learning and multimodal sensing to safely feed people with severe mobility limitations, including those with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. “Feeding […]
New approach uses generative AI to imitate human motion
Central pattern generator (CPG) and reflex network coordinated by speed adjustment commands from a higher-level nerve center (a), and overall control framework (b). Credit: Tohoku University An international group of researchers has created a new approach to imitating human motion by combining central pattern generators (CPGs) and deep reinforcement learning (DRL). The method not only […]
Teaching robots to move by sketching trajectories
Credit: arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2309.03835 Getting robots to perform even a simple task requires a great deal of behind-the-scenes work. Part of the challenge is planning and executing movements, everything from turning wheels to lifting a robotic arm. To make this happen, roboticists collaborate with programmers to develop a set of trajectories—or pathways—that are clear […]
Video shows how swarms of miniature robots simultaneously clean up microplastics and microbes
To clean water, researchers have designed swarms of tiny, spherical robots (light yellow) that collect bacteria (green) and small pieces of plastic (gray). Credit: Adapted from ACS Nano 2024, DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c02115 When old food packaging, discarded children’s toys and other mismanaged plastic waste break down into microplastics, they become even harder to clean up from […]
Scientists create robot snails that can move independently using tracks or work together to climb
a Morphological evolution from a snail to a snail robot. b Snails outdoors may climb onto another snail’s shell for various reasons. Inspired by this, snail robots can also interconnect with each other. c Comparative illustration of snail foot adhesion and snail robot connection mechanism under varying external forces. Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47788-2 […]
Engineers create a caterpillar-shaped robot that splits into segments, reassembles, hauls and crawls
The robot is made of segments that can fold into a flat disk and extend into a cylinder. Partial folds bend the robot and allow for motion and steering. Credit: Frank Wojciechowski/Princeton University Engineers at Princeton and North Carolina State University have combined ancient paper-folding and modern materials science to create a soft robot that […]
Stretchable e-skin could give robots human-level touch sensitivity
Nanshu Lu. Credit: University of Texas at Austin A first-ever stretchy electronic skin could equip robots and other devices with the same softness and touch sensitivity as human skin, opening up new possibilities to perform tasks that require a great deal of precision and control of force. The new stretchable e-skin, developed by researchers at […]
Leveraging robots to help make wind turbine blades
Robot cell with a band saw attachment and a 5-m test blade section (top left), Pushcorp grinding tool with custom dust collection shroud (top right), Tyrolit sanding tool (bottom left), and the Zivid II structured light camera (bottom right). Credit: Wind Energy (2024). DOI: 10.1002/we.2913 Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy […]
Random robots are more reliable: New AI algorithm for robots consistently outperforms state-of-the-art systems
Although the current study tested the AI algorithm only on simulated robots, the researchers have developed NoodleBot for future testing of the algorithm in the real world. Credit: Northwestern University Northwestern University engineers have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm designed specifically for smart robotics. By helping robots rapidly and reliably learn complex skills, […]
Natural language boosts LLM performance in coding, planning and robotics
Three new frameworks from MIT CSAIL reveal how natural language can provide important context for language models that perform coding, AI planning, and robotics tasks. Credit: Alex Shipps/MIT CSAIL, with components from the researchers and Pixabay Large language models (LLMs) are becoming increasingly useful for programming and robotics tasks, but for more complicated reasoning problems, […]
A miniature wireless robot that can effectively move through tubular structures
The wireless miniature flow-powered tube robot capable of navigating complex tubular environments. Credit: Chong Hong and Yingdan Wu. Robots have already proved to be promising tools to complete complex and demanding maintenance tasks. While engineers have developed a wide range of robots that could help to maintain and repair infrastructure, many of these robots need […]
An artificial mind, with a lifelike body: Amid a world of evolving AI, a Las Vegas man brings his creations to life
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain You wanna see her move? I think that’s the fun part. The room is thick with anticipation and fabricated skulls. She’s gonna wake up. Give her a second. Matt McMullen eyes his creation as her eyes flutter open in return, her gaze settling upon all the disembodied faces and mechanical mandibles […]
Paper power: Origami technology makes its way into quadcopters
In this study, researchers developed a self-folding origami gripper that abruptly changes conformation when force is applied. By mounting this low-cost and biodegradable structure on top of a quadcopter, it is possible to hold onto and carry objects from one place to another in a convenient way. Credit: Hiroki Shigemune from Shibaura Institute of Technology; […]
Trotting robots reveal emergence of animal gait transitions
Guillaume Bellegarda, Milad Shafiee and Auke Ijspeert. Credit: EPFL/Jamani Caillet—CC-BY-SA 4.0 A four-legged robot trained with machine learning by EPFL researchers has learned to avoid falls by spontaneously switching between walking, trotting, and pronking—a milestone for roboticists as well as biologists interested in animal locomotion. With the help of a form of machine learning called […]
Researchers use ChatGPT for choreographies with flying robots
Prof. Angela Schoellig. Credit: Technical University Munich Prof. Angela Schoellig from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) uses ChatGPT to develop choreographies for swarms of drones to perform along to music. An additional safety filter prevents mid-air collisions. The researcher’s results demonstrate the first time that large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT can be […]
A six-armed robot for precision pollination
Stickbug, the six-armed precision pollination robot tasked with autonomously navigating, mapping, and pollinating bramble flowers in a greenhouse. Each arm acts as an independent greedy agent that a referee oversees to resolve inter-agent conflicts. Credit: Smith et al. Over the past decades, dozens of animal species have become extinct, while thousands of others are now […]
Built-in bionic computing: Researchers develop method to control pneumatic artificial muscles
Artificial muscles control rich soft component dynamics by using them as a computational resource. Credit: KyotoU/MEDICAL FIG. Creating robots to safely aid disaster victims is one challenge; executing flexible robot control that takes advantage of the material’s softness is another. The use of pliable soft materials to collaborate with humans and work in disaster areas […]
Researchers develop an automated benchmark for language-based task planners
Case Study of Procedural Generation Following the Command: “Put a chilled apple in the microwave.” Credit: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute(ETRI) If instructed to “Place a cooled apple into the microwave,” how would a robot respond? Initially, the robot would need to locate an apple, pick it up, find the refrigerator, open its door, and […]
Underwater robot pioneers new energy-efficient buoyancy control
Rafe Neathery. Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University A remotely operated underwater robot built by a team of Rice University engineering students pioneers a new way to control buoyancy via water-splitting fuel cells. The device, designed and constructed at the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen over the course of a year-long senior design capstone class, offers a more […]
Study explores why human-inspired machines can be perceived as eerie
The uncanny valley: An artwork representing the recent study. Credit: Karl F. MacDorman. Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and robots are becoming increasingly advanced, exhibiting capabilities that vaguely resemble those of humans. The growing similarities between AIs and humans could ultimately bring users to attribute human feelings, experiences, thoughts, and sensations to these systems, which some […]
Swedish research project makes several advancements toward the autonomous airport of the future
A drone taking off from Örnsköldsvik Airport. Credit: SLICE A three-year research project at Mid Sweden University has made several advancements in creating the airport of the future with safe and cost-effective solutions, including autonomous measurements of the runway surface as well as more opportunities to monitor vehicles and drones at airports. “We have had […]
Why can’t robots outrun animals?
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Robotics engineers have worked for decades and invested many millions of research dollars in attempts to create a robot that can walk or run as well as an animal. And yet, it remains the case that many animals are capable of feats that would be impossible for robots that exist today. […]
Virtual sensors help aerial vehicles stay aloft when rotors fail
Chung’s group used a model of its Autonomous Flying Ambulance to test its NFFT control method. Credit: California Institute of Technology No crystal ball is needed to envision a future that engineers have in mind, one in which air taxis and other flying vehicles ferry passengers between urban locations, avoiding the growing gridlock on the […]