JPL

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has engineered a self-propelled, autonomous robot snake designed to explore extreme extraterrestrial terrain. Its first-of-a-kind propulsion system means it can boldly go where no robot snake has gone before.

A quantum internet would be much faster and more secure than the regular web – and now it may be one step closer to reality. Scientists have used quantum teleportation to send information over long distances, with a higher fidelity than ever before.

This week DARPA kicks off a competition called the Subterranean Challenge, where hordes of robots are unleashed into caves and tunnels to test how well they can autonomously navigate these environments. One team's designs could lead to robots that explore caves on other planets.

A new study shows how fluoride might be put to work in better batteries. Researchers at Caltech, JPL, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Honda Research Institute have developed fluoride-based batteries that could potentially last much longer than existing lithium-ion-based devices.

NASA's Curiosity lander touched down on the surface of Mars in August, 2012, and its rover payload rolled out shortly after to begin its meandering mission. Now tinkerers and students can build their very own mini Mars rover for exploring backyard craters and vast garden mountain ranges.

​​One particularly active area of robotics research involves the exploration of soft parts, which are opening up new possibilities and making machines safer for humans to work around. Now they are gaining a helping hand from the amazing adhesive properties of the gecko.

The question of how to track and locate first responders in an involved structure that blocks radio signals has long frustrated firefighters. Could a NASA electromagnetic tracker help them rescue lives without risking theirs​?

NASA's JPL and Homeland Security are working together to take some of the load off firefighters' shoulders, by developing a new machine learning system that collects data on the emergency environment, and feeds relevant information and recommendations to the responders.

In anticipation of more ambitious planetary missions, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with Masten Space Systems have recently tested new landing technologies using a vehicle called the Autonomous Descent and Ascent Powered-flight Testbed.

In October, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena. California unveiled a new and improved version of its RoboSimian robot. Called Surrogate, it has many advantages over its predecessor, but it's RoboSimian that is going to next year's DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals.

The Curiosity rover has taken its first drive on Mars.