Robotics

You may not know what a springtail is but man, those little things can jump! Scientists have now copied the creatures' jumping mechanism in a small robot that could one day explore places that people can't go.

Figure is leveling up its humanoid robot business far more rapidly than any other robotics company I can think of. CEO Brett Adcock just announced it plans to begin alpha testing its robots in the home sometime in 2025 – two years ahead of schedule.

If a robot is going to excel at traversing multiple types of terrain, it shouldn't have an unadaptable "Jack of all trades, master of none" body shape. That's where the GOAT comes in, as it automatically changes shape depending on the landscape.

Cue the self-replicating robot revolution: Apptronik's humanoid Apollo robot is gearing up to assist in manufacturing copies of itself. The Texas-based company is dropping the bipedal bot on to assembly lines to produce more Apollos this year.

If a robot is being used to gather data in sensitive aquatic environments, it shouldn't have a whirring propeller that could harm wildlife or get caught in weeds. A new bot addresses that issue by utilizing a swimming mechanism inspired by flatworms.

1X has just dropped a video of its new at-home robot helper, the Neo Gamma. It can clean, serve, and act as a voice companion. Never has a humanoid robot looked so huggable. Or in such need of a hug.

Inspired by the humble bee, robotics researchers at MIT have designed insect-sized aerial bots with a reimagined wing system that can fly for up to 1,000 seconds – 100 times more than any similar bots we've seen in the past.

Only weeks after Figure.ai announced ending its collaboration deal with OpenAI, the Silicon Valley startup has announced Helix – a commercial-ready humanoid robot with an entirely new type of "hive-mind" AI brain called Helix VLA.

California's Clone Robotics has just posted a video of its full-body Protoclone humanoid robot, and well … it's a wee bit creepy. The prototype's less disturbing Clone descendants, however, could one day be vacuuming our carpets.

Combining lab-grown muscle tissue with a series of flexible mechanical joints has led to the development of an artificial hand that can grip and make gestures. The breakthrough shows the way forward for a new kind of robotics.

The Pixar lamp has inspired researchers at Apple to develop ways to make robots more expressive, and improve human-machine interactions – and it is simply adorable. Watch it help out with tasks and even dance along to music in the kitchen.

Chinese robotics company Unitree has shown 16 of its H1 robots busting moves alongside human dancers at a Spring Festival Gala event. They not only danced in sync, but each of them also flawlessly spun and caught a handkerchief in the air.

Following a thrill-packed pre-launch for its Lynx robodog last year, where the wheeled wonder was seen speeding through fair-weather wilderness, Deep Robotics has hit the slopes to prove its all-weather mettle – with impressive acrobatic style.

Researchers at Cornell University have been working on batteries that can 'flow' through the internal structures of robots, kind of like blood in humans' veins. They showcased this fascinating approach in soft-bodied worm and jellyfish bots.

If you're setting out to build an underwater robot that's speedy, maneuverable and versatile, why not just copy what already works in the natural world? That's exactly what Beatbot has done, with its bio-inspired Amphibious RoboTurtle.