Robotics
“Sensorized” Skin Helps Soft Robots Find Their Bearings
For the first time, MIT researchers have enabled a soft robotic arm to understand its configuration in 3D space, by leveraging only motion and position data from its own “sensorized” skin. Soft robots constructed from highly compliant materials, similar to those found in living organisms, are being championed as safer, and more adaptable, resilient, and …
The Robot That Can Grip Without Touching
ETH Pioneer Fellow Marcel Schuck is developing a robotic gripper that can manipulate small and fragile objects without touching them. The technology is based on sound waves. The small installation that Marcel Schuck has assembled on his workbench is reminiscent of a school physics lesson: an arrangement, comprising two semi-spheres and resembling a pair of …
ABB And Ericsson Pave The Way For Digital Transformation Of Industries
ABB and Ericsson, together with Swisscom, showcase for the first time, how easily and effectively robots can be controlled over wide distances utilizing the real-time communication capabilities of 5G. Sami Atiya, President of ABB Robotics and Discrete Automation, and Börje Ekholm, CEO of Ericsson During WEF 2020, world leaders will witness the potential of no-latency …
Abstract Thinking Makes Robots Better Planners
Researchers have developed a method for helping robots plan for multi-step tasks by constructing abstract representations of the world around them. Their study is a step toward building robots that can think and act more like people. Planning is a monumentally difficult thing for robots, largely because of how they perceive and interact with the …
Robogamis Are The Real Heirs Of Terminators And Transformers
Ask anyone what image comes to mind when you say the word ‘robot’, and there’s no doubt you’ll receive responses inspired by popular culture. For example, the liquid metal, shape-shifting T-1000 from the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991); or Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots and the main character in the Transformers (2014-) films. …
Robots, AI And Drones: When Did Toys Turn Into Rocket Science?
I’m a geek. And as a geek, I love my tech toys. But over time I’ve noticed toys are becoming harder to understand. Some modern toys resemble advanced devices. There are flying toys, walking toys, and roving toys. A number of these require “configuring” or “connecting”. The line between toy, gadget and professional device is …
How Two Robots Learned To Grill And Serve The Perfect Hot Dog
The list of things robots can do seems to be growing by the week. They can play sports, help us explore outer space and the deep sea, take over some of our boring everyday tasks, and even assemble Ikea furniture. Now they can add one more accomplishment to the list: grilling and serving a hot …
We Have Greater Moral Obligations To Robots Than To Humans
Down goes HotBot 4b into the volcano. The year is 2050 or 2150, and artificial intelligence has advanced sufficiently that such robots can be built with human-grade intelligence, creativity and desires. HotBot will now perish on this scientific mission. Does it have rights? In commanding it to go down, have we done something morally wrong? …
It Could Be Time To Start Thinking About A Cybernetic Bill Of Rights
Like it or loathe it, the robot revolution is now well underway and the futures described by writers such as Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl and Philip K. Dick are fast turning from science fiction into science fact. But should robots have rights? And will humanity ever reach a point where human and machine are treated …
Flexible Yet Sturdy Robot Is Designed To “Grow” Like A Plant
In today’s factories and warehouses, it’s not uncommon to see robots whizzing about, shuttling items or tools from one station to another. For the most part, robots navigate pretty easily across open layouts. But they have a much harder time winding through narrow spaces to carry out tasks such as reaching for a product at …