Robotics

You've seen Spot run. You've seen Spot jump. You've seen Spot do cute little booty-shaking dance routines. Now, see Spot fire lethal weapons. Sword Defense Systems has presented a precision rifle for robot dogs, capable of nailing targets 1.2 km away.

Whether you think it’s cool or unnerving, robots are becoming more agile – and Caltech’s LEONARDO looks like one of the most nimble examples yet. LEO walks on two legs, jumps and flies, can balance on a slackline and even skateboard.

Among other things, the mantis shrimp is known for having the fastest punch of any animal. Harvard scientists have now built a mechanism that simulates that punch, and they believe that it could lead to new capabilities for human technologies.

New videos from Boston Dynamics present its famous Atlas robot performing the most complex parkour routine seen to date, while also offering a rare glimpse behind the scenes of this groundbreaking robotic company.

On Horsea Lake at the Defence Diving School, Portsmouth, the Royal Navy is testing the Otter Pro, a robotic boat designed to survey uncharted waters as part of an investigation into the use of uncrewed vessels for military surveying operations.

Ford Europe has taken automation a step further by introducing robot test drivers. No, this isn't an attempt to save a pay packet, but as a way of testing cars under extreme environmental conditions without risking the health of a human driver.

When someone has suffered a stroke, they often have difficulty relaying commands from their brain to other parts of their body, such as their limbs. A new robotic system, known as NCyborg, may one day help them regain the ability to do so.

ESA has awarded a contract to Milrem Robotics for a series of projects to provide planetary rovers with a higher degree of autonomy by using the capabilities that Milrem developed for its line of modular military robots.

Scientists in China have developed an artificial skin for prosthetic devices and robotics that changes color in response to force, mimicking the bruising process to offer a visual sign that damage has taken place.

IBM's Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS400) has set sail across the Atlantic ocean without a crew or human control. The autonomous trimaran left Plymouth, England and en route to Plymouth, Massachusetts on a journey expected to take about three weeks.

The Estonian Defence Forces Artillery Battalion gave a glimpse into the battlefield of the future in a live-fire exercise with two Milrem Robotics combat robots that provided troops with situational awareness, support fire, and casualty evacuation.

A few years ago a designer named Dani Clode introduced the world to the Third Thumb, a robotic finger controlled using pressure sensors under one’s feet. Now neuroscientists are using the device to investigate how our brain's adapt to extra limbs.