Robotics

If a robot is going to be tiny, then it better have a way of getting around the many obstacles that will block its way. A new type of robot takes a unique approach to doing so, by jumping like a click beetle.

Back in 2012, we heard about tiny biped "biobot" robots that used actual muscle tissue to walk. Well, the descendants of those bots are now equipped with LEDs, which allow them to be remotely steered in a practical fashion.

In a serendipitous discovery, engineers have developed a material that first deforms and then shoots into the air when it is heated. The researchers say the material could one day be used to help soft robots jump or lift objects.

Boston Dynamics continues to astound us with progress on Atlas, its humanoid robot. In a new video, Atlas goes to work on a construction site, showing off some fascinating new abilities, spiced up with some acrobatics that'd get most of us sacked.

When we think of agricultural robots, we tend to picture things that pick produce or apply chemicals. The SentiV is different, though, in that it's designed to check crops for problems while autonomously wandering the fields.

According to Japanese robotics firm Agrist, there's a shortage of farm workers in that country. The company is offering a partial solution to the problem, though, in the form of a pepper-picking robot.

We've seen fast, nimble, self-balancing wheeled robots, plus we've also seen robots that can grasp and carry objects. The evoBOT could prove to be particularly useful, however, as it combines both traits in one clever machine.

If fruit is going to be grown using herbicides – which is still largely the case – then the fewer of the chemicals that are used, the better. The Herbicide GUSS autonomous robotic spray vehicle was designed with just such concerns in mind.

Many people are already creeped out by quadruped robots, which walk on four legs instead of rolling on wheels or tracks. Well, the MARVEL robot likely won't do much to change such feelings, as it can walk straight up ferromagnetic metal walls.

One ant is not very smart, but together they can achieve some remarkable things. Inspired by this emergent cooperative behavior, Harvard researchers have built robots that can work together to escape from a “prison,” without needing a specific plan.

Sci-fi fans may recall the bipedal robots from the 1972 film Silent Running, which performed maintenance on the outside of the spaceship. Well, the new MARM robot is reminiscent of them – except it has three limbs, for optimum dexterity and mobility.

Imagine if you were tasked with sorting and separating thousands of tiny fossils, most of them less than a millimeter wide. It would quite a tedious, time-consuming task … which is why scientists have recently created a robot to do the job.

In order for a soft-bodied robot to be practical, it has to be simple, light and energy-efficient, yet still reasonably quick. A newly developed mechanism fits the bill, and it's inspired by the humble hair clip.

Plastic ketchup bottles have a valve in the lid that opens to let ketchup out, and that "sputters" if the bottle is squeezed too hard. Scientists have copied that mechanism to create an actuator that could be used in autonomous soft robotic devices.

Scientists regularly draw ideas from the natural world in a bid to improve robotic performance, and the latest creation in this space is a soft robot that mimics butterfly stroke in humans to move through the water with unparalleled speed.