Robotics

Unitree has launched a modified version of its B2 quadruped aimed at putting out fires. Able to host various use-specific modules, the robodog hauls a powerful water cannon high-flow and can operate in extreme environments.

Adding new meaning to the term "fusion cuisine," robot science and gastronomy united to create an elaborate cake that features edible components and the world's first edible rechargeable battery. (Well, it's rechargeable until you eat it.)

Ground-going delivery robots are already streamlining operations in various industries, but they typically still have to be loaded and unloaded by humans. That's where the LEVA bot comes in, as it can autonomously lift and drop off cargo boxes.

No sick days, bathroom breaks, and no more curly hairs in your buns. Just cold, hard efficiency. More specifically, BurgerBot is a new fast-food joint where robots are doing all the work that humans aren't interested in, like burger assembly lines.

Cable cars are handy for transporting cargo up mountain slopes, but what if you want to do the same sort of thing on a smaller scale? Well, you could try using a tiny new light-powered robot, which is cable of carrying items up thin mid-air tracks.

We've seen the Lynx robodog from Deep Robotics perform some incredibly athletic feats since launching last year, such as bounding over extreme terrain and chilling in snow. Now the company has debuted a rugged version for industrial use.

Unless you're some boring, unimaginative schmuck, chances are you've sometimes wondered what the world looks like from a tiny creature's point of view. Well, the Goby robot will show you, as you remotely control it via a simple online dashboard.

Even if you've built one of the world's best insect-inspired micro air vehicles, it won't be that useful if it can't stick a landing. That's why Harvard scientists have now given their RoboBee a set of long, jointed legs like those of the crane fly.

Measuring tape is a neat material, in that it's rigid enough to hold its shape when extended, but flexible enough to give way under pressure. Scientists have taken advantage of that dual nature in a robo-gripper designed for handling fragile items.

Flying robots do have advantages over their ground-going counterparts, but they're not very energy-efficient. A new bot addresses that tradeoff by using a wing-assisted mechanism to hop instead of walking or flying in the traditional sense.

You wanna drive a Mars rover? Well sorry, but you can't. You could, however, buy and drive a li'l four-wheel-drive rover that can be controlled from anywhere in the world via 4G cellular networks. Appropriately enough, it's called the EarthRover.

While we've heard a lot about humanoid robots lately, the requirements for their bipedal walking gait will likely keep them quite expensive – and thus little-seen. By contrast, the FlashBot Arm is something you might actually encounter sometime soon.

Scientists have created what they say is the world's smallest untethered flying robot, by taking a unique approach to its design. To minimize size and weight, they've moved the bot's power and control systems out of its sub-centimeter-wide body.

Most people likely think of robots as complex electronic devices, made up of many parts that have to be assembled in factories. An experimental new non-electronic bot, however, can be 3D-printed all in one piece, and it's powered by nothing but air.

Engineers at MIT have devised an ingenious new way to produce artificial muscles for soft robots that can flex in more than one direction, similar to the complex muscles in the human body. It could soon unlock new capabilities for squishy bots.