Robots

Engineers at the University of Liverpool have developed a robot scientist that can autonomously perform experiments, analyze results and decide what to do next based on those results – and it’s already making new discoveries on its own

Construction kits have been a blessing in lockdown, and a new one might appeal to those interested in tinkering with robots. ArmPal is a robot arm kit that you build yourself, then pit against other robot arms in battles based on picking stuff up.

Festo has good form for pushing the envelope in robot development, previously showing off bio-inspired bot versions of ants, a kangaroo, flying penguins and more. Now the firm has revealed the latest developments, including aerobatic BionicSwifts.

Robot toy maker Sphero has turned its Public Safety Division into a brand new company focused on developing robots and AI software for emergency personnel, government and defense clients, and folks with dangerous jobs.

As electronic devices shrink batteries are becoming too heavy and inefficient for some uses. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a new type of robot that powers itself by “eating” metal from its environment.

As ships travel the seas, an assortment of barnacles, mussels, algae and other greeblies accumulate on their hulls. This is definitely troublesome, which is why a new robot-based system has been developed as a possible solution.

Shimon the robot is a marimba-mashing musical maestro we first saw back in 2017. Now he’s learned to sing, dance, write lyrics and compose his own melodies – and he’s about to go on tour to promote his first album.

Engineers from Johns Hopkins have looked to how snakes move around to inform the design of a nimble new robot. It is hoped that the development could lead to search and rescue bots able to tackle all kinds of obstacles with ease.

A delicate procedure called supermicrosurgery requires a high-level of expertise by surgeons, but they may soon have a new robotic tool at their disposal called Musa, which has performed its first round of procedures with great success.

A couple of years ago, we heard about a robotic device that was designed to draw blood samples. And while it had only been tested on artificial arms at the time, it's now been successfully trialed on real live humans.

The port of Yokohama will play host to a colossal, walking Gundam robot for a year starting this October. With 24 degrees of motion, it'll be the most advanced full-sized Gundam ever built, and the engineering challenge of making it work is enormous.

After a successful Kickstarter last year, Robosen Robotics has launched the T9, a robot that transforms into a vehicle through voice commands or via an app.