Toyohashi University of Technology

Although there are rigs that allow gamers to walk on the spot while their avatar walks in a VR environment, such setups tend to be large and complex. A new system, however, simulates walking simply by buzzing the seated user's feet.

​Combining suction cups and shower hoses, robotics researchers have created a wall-climbing robot said to be inspired by one of nature's congenital suckers: the leech. They're calling it a "world's first achievement in developing soft and flexible robot that is capable of free movement on a wall."

Doctors and nurses in Japan may soon have some robotic company when making their rounds. That's because researchers at Toyohashi University of Technology are developing an omnidirectional robot named Terapio, that's designed to take the place of a traditional medical cart.

Two issues preventing the widespread uptake of electric vehicles are recharging time and lack of range. Now, scientists have shown one potential means of negating these issues. Their demonstration of electric power transfer via the car-wheel is claimed as the world's first.

Wouldn't it be great if we had robotic garbage cans that could move around on their own and pick up litter? Well, engineers from Japan's Toyohashi University of Technology are part-way there. Their bots, however, ask people to pick up the trash for them.