This very talented robotic leg learned to walk all by itself
Researchers at the University of Southern California have developed a robotic limb capable of walking without preprogrammed knowledge of the task. It’s an impressive feat that could help future robots navigate the world independently.
Check out MIT and Harvard’s unusual new Venus flytrap robot gripper
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University have developed a new kind of suction-based soft robot gripper that is capable of picking up and moving an assortment of objects. Check it out in all its Venus flytrap-inspired dexterity.
Sony could use a robot to turn your PlayStation into a fitness machine
Sony has submitted a patent application for a robotic device equipped with a camera to assist in your workout. The images included seem to suggest that the device will work with your PlayStation console, but it remains to be seen if this is referring to the PS4 or whatever comes next, like the PS5.
MIT has a robotic mini-cheetah that can do backflips. Humanity is doomed
Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a four-legged mini cheetah robot that is able to pull off picture-perfect backflips. Here are some of the other tricks it can perform for good measure. Check it out in all its nature-inspired robot glory.
FedEx’s new autonomous delivery robots can hop curbs and climb stairs
Courier delivery service FedEx has announced its entry into the fast-growing field of delivery robots with the SameDay Bot. The company's delivery bots are capable of roaming the streets autonomously, and can even hop curbs and climb stairs to deliver packages to your front door.
Engineer turns his old Apple lle into an wheeled robot, and even gives it a sword
How do you breath new life into an unused 30-year-old computer? Software engineer Mike Kohn found a way by transforming his old Apple IIe into a wheeled robot that looks like the mutant offspring of a vintage computer and a Roomba. Check it out in all its 1980s era glory.
Hong Kong’s vision for a smart prison is a full-blown Orwellian nightmare
Hong Kong wants to bring its prisons into the twenty-first century by introducing new wearable, location-tracking wristbands, and a robot arm whose job is to comb through poop looking for contraband. Here's how the next-gen correctional facilities plan to use their new tech.
Words are so 2018. The Peeqo robot speaks exclusively in GIFs and video clips
Move over, Amazon Echo and Google Home! Peeqo is a cute robot that will answer your spoken word questions by displaying a specially selected short video or GIF. Because, you know, it’s 2019 and nobody feels comfortable talking to one another the old-fashioned way anymore.
Caltech’s bird-inspired robot uses thrusters to help stay on its feet
Researchers have developed a new bird-inspired robot that uses thrusters on its torso to help it stay on its feet. The resulting movement is somewhere between hovering and walking. Here's why Leonardo could solve a challenge that has been facing robot designers for years.
Does a steam-powered spacecraft hold the key to exploring the solar system?
Steam power might be poised to make a comeback. Researchers at University of Central Florida have built an experimental spacecraft that runs on steam — and it’s not nearly as ridiculous as it might sound.
In the future, welding robots could be controlled by operators’ thoughts
Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a brain-computer interface system that makes it possible for a person to control a welding robot using only their thoughts. Here's how it works, and why it could turn out to be useful in the workplace.
Grab a magnifying glass and feast your eyes on the world’s tiniest walking robot
Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed what may well be the world’s tiniest four-legged crawling robot. measuring just 2.5 mm x 1.6 mm x 0.7 mm. For those keeping track at home, that's smaller than the size of an ant’s head. Check it out in diminutive action.
Little Sophia is the pint-sized robot buddy that promises to teach kids to code
Intended for kids aged 7 to 13, Little Sophia is a 14-inch robot, capable of walking, talking, recognizing faces, and pulling a variety of different facial expressions. Oh, and teaching kids the all-important skill of coding. Here's how you can get your hands on one as soon as possible.
MIT’s new robot can play everyone’s favorite block-stacking game, Jenga
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a robot which uses the latest machine learning computer vision to play everyone’s favorite tower-toppling game, Jenga. Here's how it works -- and why it could turn out to be surprisingly useful in the real world.
FoosFit foosball trainer gives you a robot opponent to hone your skills against
Created by a crack team of foosball enthusiasts, FoosFit is the robot foosball trainer thatpromises to give you an intelligent opponent to practice your moves against. Here's how it works, and how you'll soon be able to get your hands on one to start honing your skills.
ANYmal dog robot can get back on its feet when someone pushes it over
Roboticists at ETH Zurich have demonstrated how their ANYmal four-legged robot is capable of taking a kicking and keeping on ticking -- or keeping on walking at least. If it does get pushed over, it's also capable of figuring out how to climb back to its feet. Check it out.
Too buzzed to drive? Don’t worry — this autonomous car-bar will drive to you
It might just be the best or the worst idea that we've ever heard: A self-driving robot bartender users can summon with a mobile app, which promises to mix you the perfect drink wherever you happen to be. Coming soon to a block party near you? Hey, we can dream, can't we?
Hexbot is a modular robot arm that does everything from drawing to playing chess
Who wouldn’t want their own personal desktop robot arm to do everything from laser engraving to competing against you in a game of chess? That’s what Hexbot promises to deliver with its modular attachments, which include a pen holder, soft gripper, suction cup, and more.
Ford’s sweaty robot bottom can simulate 10 years of seat use in mere days
Ford has developed 'Robutt,' a sweaty robot bottom that's designed to simulate the effects of having a pair of human buttocks sitting on its car seats for thousands of hours. And here we were thinking the role of an automotive engineer was just dreaming up concept cars!
The robot invasion arrived at CES 2019 — and it was cuter than we expected
Robots are finally at our doorsteps, but they’re not here to annihilate us (yet). They’re here to listen, they’re here to help, and most importantly, they’re here to be our friends. CES 2019 showed us some of the cutest companion robots we’ve ever seen. Here are some of our favorites.
Scribit graffiti robot climbs your walls to draw (and erase) giant artwork
Scribit, the wall-crawling graffiti robot that can draw (and, just as importantly, erase) any image you can think of onto a vertical surface of your choice, made its debut this week at CES 2019. It's coming soon to a living room, office, food eatery, or some other place else near you.
Ubtech’s new and improved robot assistants take a bow at CES 2019
Chinese startup Ubtech has debuted its new, improved Walker humanoid robot and Cruzr service robot at CES 2019, reminding us that we’re closer than ever to the kind of future promised to us decades ago by The Jetsons. Here's what distinguishes the new models from their predecessors.
With new autonomous train, Australia is now home to the world’s largest robot
Iron ore mining company Rio Tinto has officially launched its fully automated, heavy-haul, long- distance rail network: A series of mine-to-port trains that can run completely free from human intervention. Here's why it decided to replace human drivers with automated ones.
CleanseBot is like a handheld Roomba vacuum that kills germs with UV light
CleanseBot is a smart cleaning and disinfecting robot that emits UV-C light to kill 99.9 percent of germs -- without needing any nasty chemicals to do so. Here's how you can get your hands on one as soon as humanly possible -- and why this is the gadget you need in 2019.
The weird, worrying, and wonderful science that happened in 2018
2019 was full of big scientific news and breakthroughs, so we rounded up all of the best headlines for your perusal
Creepy Christmas carol: 3D-printed robotic hand plays ‘Jingle Bells’ on a piano
Nothing says it’s nearly Christmas' quite like a 3D-printed robot hand busting out a festive classic on the piano. That's what researchers at the U.K.'s University of Cambridge recently developed. And while it's a fun bit of holiday good cheer, it's also important research.
Watch this weird spider robot perform a crazy aerobics routine
Created by Hong Kong-based company Robugtix, this oddball Z6 spider robot could one day be used for search and rescue missions or exploration on the surface of other planets. For now, though, you’ll have to settle for watching it perform in a 1980s-style aerobics music video.
‘Crop duster’ robot is helping reseed the Great Barrier Reef with coral
In a world first, an undersea robot developed by Australia’s Queensland University of Technology has delivered microscopic coral larvae to the Great Barrier Reef to help with its respawning. Meet Larvalbot: the robot 'crop duster' which dispenses coral babies on troubled reefs.
This unusual nature-inspired robot is equally at home on land or in the water
The U.S. startup Pliant Energy Systems has developed an intriguing, nature-inspired robot called Velox that's every bit as comfortable moving on land as it is in the water. Heck, it can even travel on ice without problem! Check it out in full otherworldly action right here.
The U.S. Army could acquire a fleet of 3,000 bomb-defusing scorpion robots
It sounds like something out a science fiction movie, but it’s not: The U.S. Army may be well on its way to acquiring a 3,000 strong fleet of battlefield-ready scorpion robots. The robots are small enough to be carried in a backpack and can be powered up in less than a minute.
The robot waiters in this Japanese cafe are controlled by people with paralysis
A new Japanese popup cafe that's staffed by robot waiters sounds unusual enough. However, the robots in this cafe aren't autonomous bots: They're operated remotely by paralyzed individuals, who can control the robots from their own homes. Here's everything you need to know.
ANYbotics’ creepy, dog-like robot patrols, monitors offshore energy platform
A Swiss-made quadruped robot recently spent a week carrying out autonomous inspection tasks on one of the world's largest offshore power distribution platforms in the North Sea. This involved covering a total of inspection points, including checking gauges, levers, and more.
Meet the robot that trains employees by acting like an awful customer
Trying to train your employees to answer questions from customers with a variety of different needs? What you’re looking for may be a slightly creepy robot bust with a swappable face. Meet Furhat: the social robot designed by a Swedish startup with the goal of human interaction.