robotics

If a robot can’t “see” a target object amid clutter, there’s a chance they will be confused. They lack what psychologists call "object unity," the ability to identify a thing even when they can't see all of that thing. Researchers at the…

Insect brains aren't big. In fact, they're about the size of a pinhead. Could studying insect navigation and behavior help us get to energy-efficient computing by way of robots? It's not really a straight line, is it? But it is... and it…

In August, the news broke that Amazon would acquire iRobot. Today, they announced that they’re terminating the deal due to not getting European Union regulatory approval. Under the deal, Amazon would have invested in continued innovation by…

I’m a big Star Trek geek and always figured the Federation got the short end of the stick in the Treaty of Algeron. They got the Neutral Zone, and the Romulans kept their cloaking tech and a promise that the Federation would not pursue the…

China wants mass production of humanoid robots, fast, and with a twist. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued a lengthy advisory calling on the country's manufacturing sector to "establish a humanoid robot…

Researchers from Tufts University and Harvard University’s Wyss Institute created tiny biological robots called Anthrobots from human tracheal cells. In a lab dish, the robots move across a surface and encourage the growth of neurons across…

According to a new study published in Nature Synthesis, a robot chemist powered by AI could solve the challenge of delivering oxygen to humans on Mars before humans could. The researchers found that an AI robot could solve how to cook up…

Scientists developed a robotic hand made from soft materials with an advantage over conventional metal robots. First author Robert Katzschmann, professor of robotics at ETH Zurich, claims it is the most human-like robotic hand available,…

Engineers from the University of Illinois just released the first known study documenting the long-jumping motion of 3D-printed insect-scale robots. Published in the journal Smart Materials and Structures, the team previously documented the…

An employee of a robot installation company was crushed to death in South Korea when an industrial robot mistook him for a box. He was visiting the plant to decide whether the machine was working correctly. One of two pick-and-place robots…