Flying insects are able to navigate their environments efficiently, processing visual stimuli to avoid obstacles and land safely on a variety of surfaces. Over the past decade or so, research teams worldwide have been trying to replicate these capabilities in...
While research in the field of robotics has led to significant advances over the past few years, there are still substantial differences in how humans and robots handle objects. In fact, even the most sophisticated robots developed so far struggle to match the object...
In recent years, lithium-based batteries have become widely used to power a wide range of electronic devices, including tablets, smart phones and portable computers. These batteries have different compartments, called cells, each of which contains a positive electrode...
In light of the ongoing shift toward renewable energy technologies and the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, researchers worldwide have been trying to develop batteries that can operate more efficiently and for longer periods of time. Lithium-ion...
Recent technological advances have enabled the development of increasingly sophisticated electronics. Some of these new tools, particularly wearable devices and soft robots, require or can greatly benefit from flexible electronic components, including sensors,...
A growing number of companies and research groups worldwide are now developing compliant sensors based on composite materials, which can have a wide range of possible applications. Composite materials, those made of two or more substances, often have unique and...
Over the past decade or so, researchers worldwide have developed increasingly advanced techniques to enable robot navigation in a variety of environments, including on land, in the air, underwater or on particularly rough terrains. To be effective, these techniques...
Deep learning techniques are proving to be extremely useful for analyzing all kinds of data, ranging from images to text, online posts and audio recordings. These techniques are designed to identify patterns in large datasets, separate items in different categories...
In years to come, robots could assist human users in a variety of ways, both when they are inside their homes and in other settings. To be more intuitive, robots should be able to follow natural language commands and instructions, as this allows users to communicate...
Humans are generally able to adapt their walking style based on the environment they are moving in, for instance, speeding up if the consistency of the ground below their feet allows it, slowing down when the floor is slippery, changing direction to avoid puddles or...