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Simpler, air-powered soft robots could help with space exploration
Soft robots promise a kinder, gentler approach to automation, but they're frequently hamstrung by complexity, costs and the need for wires. Thankfully, Harvard researchers have found a way to simplify matters. They've developed a softrobot driven by pressurized air that doesn't need the multiple control systems that frequently guide these machines. A lone input pumps air to the robot's legs through tubes of different sizes, which determines how those legs behave. If you want the robot to crawl forward, you just have to send air through the right set of tubes.
Jon Fingas06.02.2019
Adorable internet-connected bunny Nabaztag is being resurrected
Robot pets have come a long way since the heady days of Tamagotchi -- we've got Sony's adorable Aibo that requires training and Groove X's fuzzy Lovot that follows you affectionately around the house. But none have quite captured the spirit of the delightful Nabaztag, the cute internet-connected robo-bunny released in 2005, which communicated information through color, motion and sound. Now, thanks to a crowdfunding endeavor, Nabaztag is hopping back into our lives.
Rachel England05.28.2019
MIT's 'RoboRaise' helps you lift things by studying your muscles
It's all well and good having a virtual assistant like Alexa or Siri in your lounge, but they make for a pretty useless robotic companion when it comes to shifting a sofa or getting a heavy box from a cupboard. MIT CSAIL has a solution in its sights though, and has developed a robot that can help lift things by studying a human's biceps.
Rachel England05.22.2019
Ford wants this creepy robot to bring its autonomous deliveries to your door
Autonomous deliveries and self-driving vehicles may be the future, but there are still a few gaps that need to be addressed -- namely that it's not always possible for people to leave their homes to retrieve deliveries from the roadside (and if you're hungover and ordering take out, you definitely don't want to). Ford is working on a solution for this final stretch, though, and it's come right out of a sci-fi movie.
Rachel England05.22.2019
Stanford students' robot dog does backflips for (relatively) cheap
Robots with dog-like talents are nothing new, but it's not exactly practical to buy one that can do more than the basics. The new Aibo is cute, for instance, but not very athletic. A group of Stanford students might have a better solution. They've created Doggo, a four-legged bot that can dance, backflip, jump and trot without requiring exotic hardware. The mechanical canine is made of readily available supplies that achieve the intended acrobatics at minimal cost -- less than $3,000. Instead of using springs to bounce around, it uses force-sensing external motors that continuously determine the levels of force and torque needed for each movement. If the robot's ever out of position, the motors are ready to counteract.
Jon Fingas05.20.2019
NASA's Astrobee cube robot completes first hardware tests in space
NASA just inched closer to having robots take care of spacecraft. The agency recently completed its first hardware checkouts for Bumble (above), one of three Astrobee robots that will research automated caretaking aboard the International Space Station. The bot won't float on its own until later in the spring, but it should be good to go -- including for automated recharging at its docking station, Kibo.
Jon Fingas05.19.2019
Amazon's warehouse robots won't replace humans for at least a decade
Are you worried your job is going to be taken by a robot? You needn't be if you work for Amazon, which has dismissed the idea of fully-automated warehouses becoming a reality any time soon. According to Amazon's director of robotics fulfilment, Scott Anderson, such technology in its current form is "very limited."
Rachel England05.02.2019
Delivery robots will soon be allowed on Washington sidewalks
Washington has become the eighth state to greenlight the use of delivery robots on sidewalks and crosswalks. Governor Jay Inslee signed the bill yesterday, following support from Starship Technologies, which specializes in autonomous last-mile and local deliveries.
Rachel England05.01.2019
Apple is making it easier to recycle iPhones in the US
With Earth Day just around the corner, Apple announced it's quadrupling the number of locations US customers can send their iPhones for recycling. The company's recycling robot, Daisy, will now disassemble select iPhones returned to Best Buy stores in the US, KPN retailers in the Netherlands, as well as those recycled at any Apple Store or online through the Apple Trade In program.
Christine Fisher04.18.2019
Ubisoft is donating $564,000 to help rebuild Notre-Dame
Following the fire that devastated Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris this week, Ubisoft has pledged €500,000 ($564,000) to help restore the iconic church. The studio, which faithfully recreated Notre-Dame in Assassin's Creed Unity, is also offering that game for free until April 25th on PC to honor the landmark. "We want to give everyone the chance to experience the majesty and beauty of Notre-Dame the best way we know how," Ubisoft, which is headquartered in France and has studios in Paris, said.
Kris Holt04.17.2019
Recycling robot can sort paper and plastic by touch
It can be a pain for workers to sort recycling, both because of the safety and the sheer monotony of it. But how do you get robots to do the job when they can't always tell the difference between a can and a cardboard tube? For MIT CSAIL, it's simple: give the robots a sense of touch. Its researchers have developed a recycling robot, RoCycle, that uses sensors in its hand to determine the nature of an item and sort it accordingly. A strain sensor gauges an object's size, while two pressure sensors determine how squishy that object may be, whether it's easily-crushed paper or more rigid plastic. It can even detect the presence of metal, since the sensors are conductive.
Jon Fingas04.11.2019
Boston Dynamics' new Handle robot heads to the warehouse
When we first met Handle the wheeled robot was hopping and jumping to show off its agility, but a new demo video from Boston Dynamics is much more practical. In this one, larger Handle units work autonomously to move boxes around inside a a warehouse environment. According to the company, the boxes weigh about 11 pounds each, but the robots can handle up to 33 pounds. Whether or not they're truly suited to this work is hard to tell, even with computer vision and all the slick counterbalancing shown, operating in a real-world environment with potential obstacles could be more complicated. Still, just like the first video, the quick sure movement is a reminder that the robot apocalypse is rapidly approaching.
Richard Lawler03.28.2019
Robots will serve as guides for the 2020 Olympics
You didn't think a 2020 summer Olympics set in Japan would go without some robots, did you? Sure enough, they're on their way. The Tokyo Olympics' Organizing Committee has launched a Tokyo 2020 Robot Project that will have automatons providing assistance both to spectators and crews behind the scenes. Robots from Toyota (above) will help wheelchair-bound guests by guiding them to their seats, delivering food and providing event info. Panasonic, meanwhile, will provide Power Assist Suit exoskeletons (below) to help workers carry food, trash and other heavy cargo with relative ease.
Jon Fingas03.19.2019
Shrimp-inspired robot claw could punch through rock
Shrimp may be small, but some of them can pack quite a wallop. One of the pistol shrimp's claws, for instance, delivers such an explosive amount of force that it creates a shockwave of superhot plasma that can take out prey or create impromptu shelters. It only makes sense, then, that scientists hope to harness that power. A team has developed a robot claw that mimics the pistol shrimp's basic behavior to generate plasma and, potentially a valuable tool for underwater science and industry.
Jon Fingas03.17.2019
MIT robot's flytrap gripper can grab both fragile and heavy objects
Robot hands tend to skew toward extremes. They can pick up delicate objects or heavy objects, but rarely both. MIT CSAIL's solution? Avoid hands altogether. Its researchers have developed a Venus flytrap-like gripper that can grab objects as fragile as a grape, but also items 100 times its weight -- even if they're oddly shaped. The trick relies on a combination of clever physics with brute force.
Jon Fingas03.14.2019
Sneaky deep sea robot will take pics of fish without spooking them
Robots typically aren't good choices for studying deep sea animals like jellyfish -- not when their light, noise and movement can scare away those creatures. Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution may have a far less intrusive option, though. Their planned Mesobot observer is designed to move as quietly as possible while collecting data about aquatic life. The four-foot-tall robot moves using six large but low-power thrusters that won't cause a stir, and its LED lights can switch to red (which many deep sea species can't see). A two-day running time should also minimize attention-getting trips to the surface.
Jon Fingas03.13.2019
MIT's Mini Cheetah robot knows how to do backflips
MIT's original Cheetah robot is already quite nimble on its feet, but there's now a smaller counterpart that might put it to shame. Researchers have shown off a new Mini Cheetah that can pull off a number of slick moves, including backflips -- it's the first four-legged robot to pull off the feat, according to MIT. It can also walk upside-down Exorcist-style, pick itself up after falls and trot at a relatively brisk 5.5MPH on less-than-smooth terrain.
Jon Fingas03.02.2019
FedEx will trial autonomous delivery robots this summer
FedEx is making its first moves into autonomous delivery. The company announced today that it's working on the SameDay Bot, a small vehicle that can travel independently along sidewalks and roadsides, helping retailers make same-day and last mile deliveries to their customers.
Rachel England02.27.2019
Qualcomm launches its first platform made for robots
Qualcomm's interest in robots is definitely more than a passing fancy. It just unveiled RB3, its first all-encompassing platform for robotics. The part is based on last year's Snapdragon 845 system-on-a-chip but is "highly optimized" for drones and other automatons, including AI and sensor processing, support for private LTE networks and tight security. More importantly, it's flexible. Companies can customize it to their heart's content if they're not happy with the off-the-shelf hardware, and choose an OS like Linux or Robot Operating System.
Jon Fingas02.25.2019
Mastering Jenga taught this robot real-world physics
Artificial intelligence is already better than humans at video games, quiz shows and an ancient Chinese board game. Next up, the bots are coming for Jenga. In a newly-published paper, scientists from MIT describe how they taught a robot real-world physics and a practical sense of touch by unleashing it on the tricky tower-building game. Why Jenga? Because unlike purely cognitive games that rely on visual cues, such as chess or Go, Jenga "requires mastery of physical skills such as probing, pushing, pulling, placing and aligning pieces," claims MIT's Prof Alberto Rodriguez.
Saqib Shah01.31.2019