Using a transparent elastomer, Iowa State University scientists have created tiny tentacles that robots can wrap around delicate objects to handle them safely. The spiraling microrobotic tentacles are described in a research paper published in the journal Scientific Reports. Demonstrating how one of the tentacles encircled an ant’s thorax, softly trapping the insect, lead researcher […]
Harvard computer scientists have demonstrated how a self-organizing swarm of 1,024 small robots can collaborate to enact complex behaviors. According to lead developer Radhika Nagpal, the small, simple robots (named “Kilobots”) represent a significant milestone in the development of collective artificial intelligence. The three-legged Kilobots and their swarming behaviors are detailed in the latest issue […]
Designed to explore rough, inaccessible terrain or to aid in search and rescue operations, researchers from the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have unveiled a novel, grasshopper-inspired jumping robot at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Pasadena, California. The robot weighs a miniscule 7 grams, and […]
Australian scientists claim they have found another use for crayfish (rock lobster) besides a seafood salad. Rather than a tasty treat, Professor David Macmillan of the University of Melbourne argues that these crustaceans could provide new models for robots destined for NASA space missions. While the good Professor acknowledges that crayfish (Cherax destructor) are not […]
NASA technologist Vladimir Lumelsky from the Goddard Space Flight Center believes the future of robotics lies with the development of a high-tech, sensor-embedded covering that would be able to sense the environment, much like human skin. Lumelsky has begun setting up a laboratory at Goddard to develop a high-tech covering that would enable robots to […]
