Robotics

BAE Systems has unveiled its Robotic Technology Demonstrator (RTD) as a platform to show off its latest robotic combat systems. Appearing at the AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition, the RTD prototype gives a preview of the unmanned warriors of tomorrow.

US and UK armed forces have completed their first joint field test of robotic convoys at the US Army's Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center.

Scientists at the University of Illinois have come up with a biohybrid robot that can be propelled by a mix of motor neurons, muscular tissue and light.

BAE Systems will demonstrate an unmanned surface vessel fully integrating with the combat systems of a Royal Navy warship for the first time.

Researchers have developed ultra-gentle robotic grippers that can grasp and release jellyfish and other very soft marine animals without harming them.

A new US Air Force kit that can turn a conventional aircraft into a robotic one has completed its maiden flight. The ROBOpilot made its first two-hour flight on August 9 at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah after being installed in a 1968 Cessna 206 small aircraft.

Taking inspiration from the traditional cane, a team of researchers has come up with a LiDAR-enabled robotic assistant which offers light-touch support for the mobility-impaired. Dubbed Canine, the device improves the user's spacial self-awareness, and thus, their walking stability.

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.

Robot arms are getting smarter and smarter all the time, and now a team from Georgia Tech has taught them how to make their own tools. These resourceful robots are first taught to match form and function, then let loose on a series of everyday objects to build what they need to complete a given job.

A new type of underwater robot has completed sea trials in California. Developed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and others, the Mesobot is a semi-autonomous robotic submersible designed to study the marine twilight zone of the mesopelagic region.

​Tails are used throughout the animal kingdom to help with balance or to grip objects. Humans don't have such a thing, so scientists at the Keio University Graduate School of Media Design have built one to improve the agility of wearers.​

Getting real, physical movements accurately depicted in the digital world remains a challenge for programmers and engineers, but a newly developed glove promises to advance the tech significantly. It's able to capture hand movements with much more detail and nuance than most existing solutions.