Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, have already proved to be valuable tools for tackling a wide range of real-world problems, ranging from the monitoring of natural environments and agricultural plots to search and rescue missions and the filming...
Robotics
A model that could broaden the manipulation skills of four-legged robots
Robotic systems have become increasingly sophisticated over the past decades, evolving from rudimental stiff robots to a wide range of soft, humanoid, animal-inspired robots. Legged robots, particularly quadrupeds, have been found to be particularly promising for...
Self-organizing robotic aggregate design inspired by flowing and rigid behaviors of sandpiles
Researchers at the University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology recently developed Granulobot, a new modular robotic system that can change its physical shape to best navigate different environments.
A new framework to collect training data and teach robots new manipulation policies
In recent years, roboticists and computer scientists have been trying to develop increasingly efficient methods to teach robots new skills. Many of the methods developed so far, however, require a large amount of training data, such as annotated human demonstrations...
A skating, tri-pedal robot capable of highly stable locomotion
Researchers at University of Michigan recently developed SKOOTR, a tri-pedal skating robot that can efficiently move around in its surroundings without repeatedly flipping over. This robot, introduced in a paper posted to the preprint server arXiv, was...
A system that allows home robots to cook in collaboration with humans
Home robots could assist humans with the completion of various chores and manual tasks, ranging from washing dishes or doing the laundry to cooking, cleaning and tidying up. While many roboticists and computer scientists have tried to improve the skills of home robots...
An e-skin that can detect tactile information and produce tactile feedback
In recent years, materials scientists and engineers have introduced increasingly sophisticated materials for robotic and prosthetic applications. This includes a wide range of electronic skins, or e-skins, designed to sense the surrounding environment and artificially...
Human-like real-time sketching by a humanoid robot
The rapid advancement of deep learning algorithms and generative models has enabled the automated production of increasingly striking AI-generated artistic content. Most of this AI-generated art, however, is created by algorithms and computational models, rather than...
An inchworm-inspired robot with enhanced transport capabilities
Soft robots inspired by animals can help to tackle real-world problems in efficient and innovative ways. Roboticists have been working to continuously broaden and improve these robots' capabilities, as this could open new avenues for the automation of tasks in various...
A multi-camera differential binocular vision sensor for robots and autonomous systems
Recent technological advances have enabled the development of increasingly sophisticated sensors, which can help to advance the sensing capabilities of robots, drones, autonomous vehicles, and other smart systems. Many of these sensors, however, rely on individual...