Robotics

With large high-tech sustainable farming facilities located in California and Texas, Silicon Valley-based startup Iron Ox relies heavily on robots to help shoulder the workload. The company's latest bot, named Grover, can lift over 1,000 lb (454 kg).

Tiny 3D-printed robotic animals could one day delivering drugs directly to cancers, to help reduce side effects. These microrobots are steered by magnets, and only release their drug payload when they encounter the acidic environment around a tumor.

Although soft-bodied robots show great promise for tasks like squeezing through tight spaces, it's a bit counterproductive if their soft appendages are moved by hard actuators. A new technology addresses that problem, via the use of "fancy balloons."

While there are now several powered exoskeletons designed for use by specific groups, there are few if any that are aimed at the general public. Hong Kong-based Enhanced Robotics is out to change that, with its Sportsmate 5.

While there are now a number of robotic hands that can grasp objects, it's usually impossible to change a grasped object's orientation within the hand without releasing it. A new robotic hand is able to do so, however, via its rolling fingers.

Nature is a never-ending source of inspiration for robots, whether it’s bees, bacteria or fish. Now an unlikely new candidate has joined the list – starfish larvae, which use tiny hairs to create a vortex to propel themselves or suck in food.

Although the deep ocean floor may seem isolated from life on the rest of the planet, it actually plays a vital role in the carbon cycle. Scientists are now gaining a better understanding of that role, thanks to a tracked robotic underwater rover.

It goes without saying that a lot of people are receiving the COVID-19 vaccine these days, and will continue to do so for some time. A new robot is designed to help streamline the process, by autonomously – and needle-lessly – vaccinating patients.

Flippy the burger-flipping robot has received an upgrade as Miso Robotics rolls out its Flippy 2 model. Using feedback from a White Castle pilot program, the new cybernetic chef boasts twice the capabilities and can operate a fry station on its own.

Spot the robot dog has never been afraid to bust a move, and for its latest showpiece the quadruped has taken after the Rolling Stones in celebration of the 1981 album Tattoo You, recreating the groups' classic track "Start me up."

If an ant encounters a gap too wide for it to cross, the insect will sometimes signal other ants to form a bridge of their linked bodies. Such behaviour has now been copied in a small four-legged robot, that may inspire better search-and-rescue bots.

Although fiber optic internet cable has many advantages over metal cable, it frequently has to be distributed underground – this limits its usability. Facebook, however, has developed a robot that could wrap the cable around existing power lines.