Robotics

DARPA has announced that it has given the green light to a new series of field tests at Camp Roberts, California, aimed at producing autonomous off-road combat vehicles that can keep up with crewed ones while driving at speed over rough ground.

As their sense of balance deteriorates, seniors are at an increased risk of potentially debilitating falls. A new wearable assistive robot could help, by detecting and preventing such falls before they actually occur.

Israel is gearing up to test a new robotic combat vehicle equipped with a 30-mm autonomous turret, an array of active sensors, and an onboard drone it can deploy and retrieve for reconnaissance missions. The missile launcher is optional.

We've been hearing a lot about synthetic skins made for robotic hands, which would give the devices human-like qualities. Scientists in Japan have gone a step further, by covering a robotic finger in a self-healing skin made from live human cells.

Milrem Robotics has rolled out its latest THeMIS Observe battlefield robot variant based on its modular THeMIS UGV platform, with an emphasis on Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), as part of the EU's fourth iMUGS project demonstration.

Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois have demonstrated the world's smallest remote-controlled walking robot. These tiny machines can bend, twist, crawl, walk, turn and jump without hydraulics or electricity, using shape-memory alloys.

California's Marine Advanced Robotics has made considerable progress on its remarkable Wave-Adaptive Modular Vessel since we first saw these wild suspension-legged spider-boats 16 years ago on a list of urban legends.

The buildup of bacteria deep in our teeth can cause infections in difficult to reach areas, and scientists at the Indian Institute of Science have developed tiny cleaning robots they believe are up to the task.

We see a lot of wacky concept vehicles, but few as nutty as Hyundai's Ultimate Utility Vehicles with their robotic stilt legs. And the company is dead serious about building them, too, with a new development and test facility to be built in Montana.

In order to keep running at peak efficiency, solar panels regularly have to be cleaned of accumulated dust and other debris. Such panels can be difficult to reach, though, which is why the Helios system uses not one but two drones to do the job.

Researchers at Harvard and Emory have created a biohybrid fish out of human heart cells that swims autonomously for months at a time as the cells beat. The project is a sidestep on the way to eventually growing new functional hearts for transplant.

Most robots are designed for a specific job, and aren’t very adaptable. But a new soft robot can morph into a range of shapes for driving, flying or swimming, thanks to a rubber skin full of a metal that switches between liquid and solid forms.