Robotics - General News

[publiusr]

Still slower than Fido

Why can't robots outrun animals?

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.

techxplore.com

Look out

Study explores why human-inspired machines can be perceived as eerie

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...

techxplore.com

Automated machine learning robot unlocks new potential for genetics research

University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers have constructed a robot that uses machine learning to fully automate a complicated microinjection process used in genetic research.

phys.org

Built-in bionic computing: Researchers develop method to control pneumatic artificial muscles

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 has drawn much recent attention. However...

techxplore.com

Robotic nerve 'cuffs' could help treat a range of neurological conditions

Researchers have developed tiny, flexible devices that can wrap around individual nerve fibers without damaging them.

medicalxpress.com

People, not design features, make a robot social

It takes a village to nurture social robots. Researchers who develop social robots—ones that people interact with—focus too much on design features and not enough on sociological factors, like human-to-human interactions, the contexts where they happen, and cultural norms involving robots...

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Sub-aquatic drones?

Underwater robot pioneers new energy-efficient buoyancy control

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...

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[publiusr]

The body electric sings?

Organic electrochemical transistors: Scientists solve chemical mystery at the interface of biology and technology

Researchers who want to bridge the divide between biology and technology spend a lot of time thinking about translating between the two different "languages" of those realms.

phys.org

Marriage of synthetic biology and 3D printing produces programmable living materials

Scientists are harnessing cells to make new types of materials that can grow, repair themselves and even respond to their environment. These solid "engineered living materials" are made by embedding cells in an inanimate matrix that's formed in a desired shape. Now, researchers report in ACS...

phys.org

Bacteria 'nanowires' could help develop green electronics

Engineered protein filaments originally produced by bacteria have been modified by scientists to conduct electricity. In a study published recently in the journal Small, researchers revealed that protein nanowires—which were modified by adding a single compound—can conduct electricity over short...

phys.org

For inspection

A miniature wireless robot that can effectively move through tubular structures

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 to be plugged into external power sources, which limits...

techxplore.com

Random robots are more reliable: New AI algorithm for robots consistently outperforms state-of-the-art systems

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, the new method could significantly improve the practicality—and safety—of robots for a range of...

techxplore.com

Leveraging robots to help make wind turbine blades

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have successfully leveraged robotic assistance in the manufacture of wind turbine blades, allowing for the elimination of difficult working conditions for humans and the potential to improve the...

techxplore.com

An affordable miniature car-like robot to test control and estimation algorithms

The development and testing of algorithms for robotics applications typically requires evaluations in both simulated and physical environments. Some algorithms, however, can be difficult to deploy in simple hardware experiments, due to the high costs of robotics hardware or to difficulties...

techxplore.com

Computational workflow engine, matched with robotic platform, used to drive experiments for the first time

Computational and experimental methods in materials science are often described as entirely separate affairs. On one side, computer simulations are used to explain and predict the properties of materials, including novel ones that were not yet synthesized. On the other, experiments test the...

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Stretchable e-skin could give robots human-level touch sensitivity

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.

techxplore.com

Sea slugs inspire highly stretchable biomedical sensor

The revolution in personalized medicine is well underway—with wearable devices and DIY home testing, it's easier than ever to track everything from heart rate, to glucose levels, to microbiome diversity.

medicalxpress.com

Robots can't outrun animals. A new study explores why

The question may be the 21st century's version of the fable of the tortoise and the hare: Who would win in a foot race between a robot and an animal?

phys.org

Trotting robots reveal emergence of animal gait transitions

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.

techxplore.com

A six-armed robot for precision pollination

Over the past decades, dozens of animal species have become extinct, while thousands of others are now at risk of disappearing. Endangered species include various pollinators, including bees and some types of moths, butterflies, and flies.

techxplore.com

Tractor-trailers with no one aboard? The future is near for self-driving trucks on US roads

On a three-lane test track along the Monongahela River, an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rounded a curve. No one was on board.

techxplore.com

 

[shin_getter]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5mdW1yPXIg

 

[publiusr]

The Moravec Barrier is shattering.

The video above makes me understand the reason early sci-fi heroes were philologists, from Morbius to C. S. Lewis characters.

Where Tegmark thinks everything is math—I think everything is language.

LLM to provide proprioception? Who would have thought?

Maybe Boston Dynamics needs to quit kicking them.

Robots are patient—for now…