New Atlas

Robotics Audio available

Hummingbird robot could hover, search and rescue

Michael Irving May 13, 2019

The hummingbird's ability to hover and make sharp turns could teach drones a thing or two. Now researchers at Purdue University have managed to do just that, building a hummingbird-inspired drone and teaching it to fly using algorithms trained on the birds’ natural flight patterns.

Purdue University researchers have developed a robotic hummingbird that can pull off the real thing's characteristic ...

Robotics Audio available

Bees and fish learn to communicate long distance – via robots

Michael Irving March 21, 2019

A colony of bees in Austria and a school of fish in Switzerland have become unlikely allies. In experiments run by several European universities, the two very different animal species were able to communicate and coordinate their movements long-distance with the help of some robotic interpreters.

European researchers have used robots to help bees and fish communicate over long distances

Robotics Audio available

Robotic "particles" swarm together to move towards the light

Michael Irving March 20, 2019

Most robots are usually made to do one particular job, so they’re not very adaptable to new situations. But researchers at MIT, Harvard, Columbia and Cornell Universities have developed particle robots – simple circular devices that can connect to each other magnetically to move and work as a swarm.

A new system of "particle robots" can swarm together to achieve things that individual units can't ...

Robotics Audio available

Food-focused autonomous robot arm knows how to use the forks

Michael Irving March 13, 2019

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed an autonomous robot arm that can figure out the best way to pick up food of any shape and bring it up to a user’s mouth, which should make mealtimes easier for people with limited mobility.

The Assistive Dexterous Arm (ADA) knows how much force to apply to pick up different types ...

Robotics

Programmable Picoh is a versatile blank slate of a robot

Michael Irving February 5, 2019

Most home robots aren’t particularly customizable. Now robotics startup Ohbot has unveiled its newest creation Picoh, a blank slate of a robot that can be programmed to do basically whatever you want it to do.

Picoh is a programmable home robot by Ohbot

Robotics Audio available

Engineers build robot arm with rudimentary self-awareness

Michael Irving January 31, 2019

Researchers from Columbia Engineering have gone and done it, giving a robot arm some form of self-awareness – at least in a rudimentary sense, which allows it to better adapt to changing conditions.

Researchers have given a robot arm a rudimentary form of self-awareness, to help it adapt to ...

Robotics

Sophia the robot's little sister hits Kickstarter as a coding companion for kids

Michael Irving January 31, 2019

While Sophia the robot is busy on UN business or hanging with Jimmy Fallon, her little sister could soon be teaching kids to code. Meet Little Sophia, a new toy robot that looks like an educational Alexa in an unnerving humanoid body.

Little Sophia is a new toy robot based on Hanson Robotics' uncanny Sophia

Robotics Audio available

Plant-inspired robot curls and climbs like a vine

Michael Irving January 29, 2019

Plants might not seem like the most exciting thing to model robots after, but they could make for high-tech decorations or house plants that look after themselves. Now, a team of Italian researchers has developed a soft robot that moves like plant tendrils, climbing and curling around objects.

Italian researchers have developed a soft robot that climbs and curls like a plant tendril

Robotics

3D printed, magnetic mesh "robots" float, bend and grab on demand

Michael Irving January 23, 2019

When you imagine robots, you probably aren’t picturing stretchy meshes that can float on water, but that’s exactly what researchers have developed. These soft structures are 3D printed and embedded with magnetic particles that let them stretch and compress to pick up and move small objects.

This claw robot can retract when a magnetic field is switched on

Robotics Audio available

Meet Leonardo, the walking, jumping, flying robot

Michael Irving January 22, 2019

Traditionally, robots are either airborne or landlubbers – there’s not much crossover. But researchers at Northeastern University have now built a robot that can do both, walking around on two legs before jumping and flying short distances to get over obstacles in its path.