Robotics

Robots are an increasingly common sight in stores, and now they’re getting a bit more hands-on. Japanese company Telexistence has begun trials in convenience stores of a robot shelf-stacker that can be controlled by a human via VR.

Last year, we got our first look at an ambitious take on high-tech exoskeletons in the Guardian XO from Sarcos Robotics, which has just gathered US$40 million in new funding to bring its full-bodied suit to market in 2021.

Researchers in Australia have succeeded in developing an artificial skin that responds to painful stimuli, heat and pressure like real skin does, which they see as an important step towards intelligent machines and prosthetics.

As the population increasingly moves towards tech jobs, there's now a shortage of coconut harvesters in India. That's why scientists there have built a tree-climbing coconut-harvesting robot, that could perhaps someday take up the slack.

Boston Dynamics’ dog-like robot has now been turned into a tiny mobile doctor, able to remotely measure patients’ vital signs from a distance of over six feet. Dr Spot is being touted as a way to safely triage potentially contagious COVID-19 patients.

Robot vacuums continue to get better at both cleaning and operating autonomously, and the Roborock S6 MaxV is evidence of improving trends in both areas. It's worth shortlisting if you want one of the best robovacs on the market.

A couple of years ago, we heard how Ford was supplying its assembly plant employees with an assistive exoskeleton called the EksoVest. Now, the maker of that device has unveiled a lighter and limberer but just as capable model.

Upon first seeing a dog-like quadruped robot for the first time, many people jokingly ask where they could buy one. Well, they can now get a fully functional miniature dog-bot of their very own via a Kickstarter campaign, for just US$195.

This giant mechanical exo-suit copies the movements of a pilot's limbs. It's 13 feet tall, and has the power to pick up and crush small cars. And if you've got US$1,515 lying about, you can now sign up to strap in and drive it.

One day microscopic robots could be crawling through your body, clearing out disease or delivering drugs. And now we’re one step closer to that future, as scientists from Cornell University have created tiny robots powered by pulses of laser light.

A new tennis-ball-sized machine developed in a Harvard-Sony collaboration could open up some interesting new pathways in the field of robot-assisted surgery, with the ability to handle delicate tasks on a microscopic scale.

There are now several robots that are designed to accompany and assist ground-based army troops. Those machines could soon have a new ability – detecting changes in the environment that may be missed by soldiers.