Articles tagged with Robots
Researchers propose a broader definition of learning that includes behavioral adaptation to environmental features, enabling collaboration across fields and promoting new research. This 'mechanism-free' approach highlights the importance of system-level responses to environment in various domains.
Working with robots may lead to increased reports of burnout and incivility among employees. Self-affirmation exercises can help mitigate fears about being replaced by machines.
Researchers used small wheeled robots to study indirect mechanical interactions on deformable surfaces, finding that active matter can interact through non-contact forces. They created a model to control collective behavior by modifying robot design, mirroring celestial bodies' paths in Einstein's General Relativity.
Researchers identified 7 core categories of behaviors important for human-dog bonds, including attunement, communication, and physical affection. These behaviors may be incorporated into robotic systems to provide mental health benefits for humans.
UC Riverside engineers develop low-cost robotic clothing to help children with cerebral palsy. The soft machine garments contain sealed regions that inflate to provide force for movement, enabling natural limb functioning.
A four-legged robot trained through artificial intelligence has mastered jumping to navigate the Moon's rugged terrain. The robot can collect samples and deploy scientific instruments, overcoming limitations of traditional rovers in loose soil and steep slopes.
Researchers at Kyoto University designed a shared-laughter AI system to build empathy into dialogue between robots and humans. The system was tested on the Japanese android Erica, performing better than baseline models in evaluating empathy, naturalness, and human-likeness.
Researchers designed an integrated system to support joint operations between UAVs and mobile robots for surveillance, epidemic prevention, and rescue operations. The system aims to improve public safety while ensuring privacy and security.
A study by Simon Dubé examines the personality traits of people willing to engage with sex robots, revealing that erotophilia, sexual sensation-seeking, and enthusiasm for new experiences are key drivers. The research highlights an opportunity for manufacturers to cater to a female customer base as technology improves and becomes more ...
Researchers have made significant progress in designing and controlling continuum robots, which can be used for targeted therapy and precise control. However, challenges remain, including miniaturization, perception accuracy, and stable simulation engines.
Researchers found that ants and robots can be modeled using the same algorithms, despite differences in slipping motions. The discovery provides a universal model for location that applies to various movements, including walking and slithering.
A study using child-sized humanoid robots found that they can assess mental wellbeing in children more effectively than parent-reported or self-reported testing. The robots were able to encourage children to share their thoughts and feelings, leading to more accurate assessments of their mental health.
Researchers at Rice University have developed a pneumatic robotic arm powered by compressed air that can grasp objects and go, using textile-based energy harvesting system. The device is designed for individuals with disabilities and can produce equivalent of 3 watts of power, outperforming other energy harvesting strategies.
Researchers at WVU are using robots to analyze potential hazards and provide walkability maps in retail environments, aiming to reduce occupational injuries. The team plans to test the robots after hours in an actual retail space, combining camera data with wheel speed measurements to estimate slip risks.
A new study by the University of Central Florida reveals that workers in countries with greater income inequality are more likely to perceive robots and artificial intelligence as job threats. This association was found despite the potential benefits of these technologies to improve work and increase flexibility.
Researchers create accurate hydrodynamic model of the RobDact underwater robot to improve its control in turbulent waters. The team combined computational fluid dynamics and a force measurement experiment to study the RobDact, enabling better understanding of its motion state and control.
MIT researchers developed a method to create 3D-printed materials with tunable mechanical properties and embedded sensors, enabling real-time feedback on movement and interaction. The sensing structures use air-filled channels that deform when moved or squeezed, providing accurate feedback for robotics and wearable devices.
Researchers at UNH will develop and test social assistive robots to aid in the care of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia in their own homes. The robots will be equipped with smart home devices, artificial intelligence, and wearables to track patients' activity levels and health management.
QUT researchers have created a method to tell an autonomous vehicle which cameras to use when navigating, allowing for better understanding of the world around them. The system learns which cameras are most useful at different locations based on previous experience.
A University of Washington team created a new tool that can design a 3D-printable passive gripper and calculate the best path to pick up an object. The designed grippers and paths were successful for 20 out of 22 objects tested, with two challenging shapes being the wedge and pyramid shape.
A study published in Science Robotics journal reveals that humans are unable to distinguish between a humanoid robot's response time variability and that of a human when interacting with the robot. This finding suggests robots can exhibit human-like behavior, raising questions about the blurring line between humans and machines.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed a novel learning method for robots called WHIRL, which allows them to learn household tasks in the wild. The method enables robots to gather video data from human interaction and generalize it to new tasks, making them suitable for learning household chores.
Researchers at Harvard University have developed inflatable actuators that can bend, twist, and move in complex ways using origami-inspired designs. The actuator's bistable origami blocks allow it to perform up to eight different motions with a single pressure source.
A team of researchers from Cornell University has developed a deformable pump for soft robots, mimicking the human heart's functionality. The pump uses hydrodynamic and magnetic forces to provide soft robots with a circulatory system, allowing them to store energy and power their movements more efficiently.
A Columbia University team created a robot that can learn and understand its own body, planning motion and avoiding obstacles without human assistance. The robot's self-model was accurate to about 1% of its workspace, paving the way for more self-reliant autonomous systems.
Researchers at AMOLF developed a soft robot that uses a 'hysteretic valve' to respond to changes in its environment, mimicking the movement of living organisms. The robot's natural gait and tactile responses were achieved through the use of air pressure, eliminating the need for computer control.
Researchers created a new material and manufacturing process for creating artificial muscles with improved flexibility and durability. The resulting material, PHDE, is thin, lightweight, and can generate high forces while maintaining its shape under high-strain conditions.
Researchers found that mere exposure to a human-like robot is not enough to make people believe it is capable of thoughts and emotions. Human-like behavior is crucial for being perceived as an intentional agent. The study aims to inform the design of social robots in the future.
A study published in Labour Economics found that US workers who work alongside industrial robots are more likely to suffer from adverse mental health effects, including substance abuse and increased suicide rates. In contrast, German workers saw no significant mental-health change when exposed to robotics.
A novel Kalman filter, GMCKF, was proposed to improve robot tracking accuracy in space with complex non-Gaussian noise. The algorithm achieves better performance under various non-Gaussian noises by utilizing a generalized Gaussian density function and automatic parameter selection.
A novel algorithm, BLIND, enables robots to navigate through environments with obstacles by incorporating human feedback. Humans provide labels to refine the robot's trajectory, avoiding obstacles efficiently.
Researchers at the University of Manchester are developing AI-powered robots that can operate autonomously in hazardous environments. The 'hot-robotics' project aims to improve robot autonomy for tasks like decommissioning legacy power stations and inspecting nuclear reactors.
A multidisciplinary approach reveals a continuum of locomotion dynamics in lizards, with short-limbed species exhibiting snakelike waves and long-bodied species bending like lizards. The findings deepen understanding of evolution's implications for locomotion and have applications for advanced robotics designs.
A new AI system uses artificial neural networks to recognize objects more accurately and stably, despite changing visual inputs. The system mimics human eye movements to improve machine vision capabilities, reducing errors in self-driving cars and other applications.
The study highlights opportunities for robotics to support human activities, foster innovation, and enhance monitoring. However, it also identifies potential threats such as exacerbating inequalities and diverting resources from tried-and-tested solutions. Researchers emphasize the need for early identification of negative impacts and ...
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that robots loaded with widely-used AI models exhibit significant gender and racial biases. The AI models were trained on biased internet data, which led to the robot making assumptions about people's jobs based on their appearance.
Researchers at MIT created insect-scale robots that can emit light during flight, allowing for precise motion tracking and potential communication between robots. The ability to emit light also enables the robots to call for help in search-and-rescue missions.
A team of UCLA engineers developed a new design strategy and 3D printing technique to build robots in one step. The breakthrough enables the manufacturing of mechanical and electronic systems needed to operate a robot all at once, resulting in lighter weights, bulkier volumes, and reduced force output.
Researchers at Stanford University have created millirobots that can precisely target specific areas of the body with medicines. These tiny robots, powered by magnetic fields, can navigate through narrow spaces and dispense medicine in real-time.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed an AI-powered method for robots to recognize and pour transparent liquids like water. The technique uses contrastive learning for unpaired image-to-image translation, enabling robots to see through different backgrounds and pour accurately.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute have developed an algorithmic planner that helps delegate tasks to humans and robots. The planner considers a list of tasks and decides how best to assign them, considering the time it takes for humans to complete tasks and teach robots new skills.
Researchers at UC San Diego developed a new technology using WiFi sensors to help robots navigate indoors, even in poor lighting. The system accuracy rivals commercial camera and LiDAR sensors.
A physicist at TU Graz has developed a three-in-one hybrid material that reacts to force, moisture and temperature with high spatial resolution. The smart skin has potential applications in robotics, smart prosthetics and healthcare, and its production can be easily scaled and implemented.
Researchers at Singapore University of Technology and Design developed a new machine learning approach to model underwater robot dynamics, allowing for efficient swimming in complex environments. The approach, published in IEEE-RAL, uses deep neural networks to predict required flapping motions for a set of given propulsive force targets.
Researchers at EPFL's School of Life Sciences create a digital twin of Drosophila called NeuroMechFly, which uses biomechanical modeling and machine learning to simulate the fly's movements. The model is validated through experiments that demonstrate its accuracy in replicating real animal behaviors.
Studies in fruit flies reveal coordinated movements of heads and bodies to stabilize vision and improve flight performance. Similar synchronization is observed in other animals, including primates, suggesting evolutionary benefits for energy efficiency and performance.
Daniel Preston, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Rice University, has won the National Science Foundation CAREER Award for his proposal on textile-based wearable robots. The grant aims to develop a platform for non-electronic computation that can be integrated directly into wearable robots, addressing problems with s...
Researchers developed a machine-learning method that allows robots to pick up and place never-before-seen objects in random poses, requiring only 10 human demonstrations. The system uses a neural network specifically designed to reconstruct 3D shapes, enabling the robot to generalize to new object orientations.
Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have developed micro-rocker bots that can move precisely on a solid surface using a single electromagnetic coil. The robots, about the size of a particle of dust, are controlled by a magnetic field generated by the coil and can perform well-controlled movement with selectable direction.
Developed by Prof. Qing Shi's team, SQuRo can mimic the motion of actual rats and perform various motions like crouching-to-standing, walking, crawling, and turning. It successfully passed through an irregular narrow passage and demonstrated its potential application to inspection tasks inside narrow spaces.
A study found that people are more comfortable with AI companions that are voice-based and less likely to recommend them if they appear too human-like. The researchers suggest that the 'uncanny valley' effect may contribute to this preference.
Researchers propose a modular Mars exploration rover system consisting of four two-wheeled robots that can operate independently or combine in various constellations. The approach enables longer missions and gathers more information about the planet's history and potential habitability.
Researchers at UCF create brain-like devices that enable AI to function independently, allowing technology like robots and voice assistants to operate in remote areas or space. The devices use parallelism and in-memory computing, similar to the brain, for AI and unsupervised learning.
Researchers at the University of Bristol created a 3D-printed artificial fingertip that produces nerve signals similar to those from human tactile nerves. The innovation could improve robot dexterity and prosthetic hand performance by giving them an in-built sense of touch.
Researchers at MIT developed a framework for robotic manipulation systems that can perform complex tasks using a two-stage learning process. This allows robots to learn abstract ideas about manipulating deformable objects, such as pizza dough, and execute skills to complete tasks.
The article reviews key technologies for space intelligent robots in on-orbit operation requirements. Researchers discuss challenges such as microgravity, complex illumination, and strong radiation in space.
Developers are integrating optical coherence tomography (OCT) machines into sensor packages to create fast and accurate LiDAR systems. These advancements enable robots and cars to see the world in a more natural and safe manner, improving interaction with humans.
A team of engineers and scientists has developed a proof-of-concept for a magnetic tentacle robot that can navigate the narrow tubes of the lung, enabling doctors to take tissue samples or deliver cancer therapy. The device measures just 2 millimeters in diameter and uses an autonomous magnetic guidance system to guide it into place.
A new study from St John's College, University of Cambridge suggests that robots can help produce solar fuels, accelerating the world's transition to green renewables. The 'cyber-leaf' concept uses AI and robots to create sustainable syngas, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
Researchers created BirdBot, a robotic leg inspired by the ostrich's anatomy, which achieves energy efficiency through a mechanical coupling of muscles and tendons. The robot leg requires fewer motors than other machines, making it suitable for large size applications.