Various

The researchers in United Kingdom have managed to control a robot by neurons of a rat brain. The experiment aims for gaining new insights into Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, which are both neurological diseases.It will enable scientist to help understand how the brain learns and remembers memories. The robot, which is solely controlled by the biological brain, learns to avoid obstacles on its path. Every […] Read More

A new rubber material has been developed by Japanese scientists that is able to flex but conduct electricity as well. The material can stretch as much as 38 percent before starting to loose its conductivity and conduct electricity 570 times more than a regular rubber. It can also be used to make flexible integrated circuits. This is a important development in making more humanlike robots, […] Read More

The Autosub6000 a UK made Autonomous Submarine, will soon start to explore the deep undersea volcanoes in the Caribbean. It has a range of 1,000 kilometers without any battery recharge and can dive up to the depth of 6000 meters. The unit has an advanced GPS system on board and will be used to map the ocean floor as well as discovering new animal specimens. […] Read More

A new concept of manufacturing mini robots has been presented at the University of Southampton in United Kingdom. The research team demonstrated the use of cell phone technology to manufacture robots. The motors that are used to vibrate cell phones are used to power these robots. The motors are then attached to circuit boards, eliminating the need for individual manufacturing and thus allowing mass production. […] Read More

A new type of robot that can climb on vertical surfaces by utilizing electrostatic forces have been developed. It can walk on all kinds of different surfaces by generating electrical charges and maintains adhesion when the surface generates the opposite charge. The power source is located on the robot and it applies its electrical charges through its walking tracks. It can crawl at a speed […] Read More

A new robot has been developed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which can learn to use new tools by itself. It achieves this by touching and moving the tool first and observe how it’s parts move in relation to each other. One of the biggest challenges in robotics has always been to make them capable of dealing with unfamiliar environments and objects. This robot […] Read More

Industrial pipe systems are inaccessible and narrow. The pipes can be vertical and have junctions. Just as challenging, leakage points in the water system must be located, the condition of oil and gas pipelines must be checked and ventilation systems need to be cleaned.In the main, today’s robots are not that clever. They cannot climb or navigate in vertical pipes – and very few have […] Read More

PITTSBURGH, General Motors Corp. and Carnegie Mellon University today announced a new Collaborative Research Lab (CRL) and a renewed commitment to work jointly on technologies that will accelerate the emerging field of autonomous driving – a family of electronics and software technologies that could influence the way drivers and their vehicles interact in the future. The GM-Carnegie Mellon Autonomous Driving Collaborative Research Lab is being […] Read More

Could “hop and roll” be the best way to explore new worlds? NREC researchers are designing spherical robots that combine hopping and rolling to move around in rugged environments. The Robotic All-Terrain Surveyors (RATS) could be used in interplanetary science missions (like exploring low-gravity planets such as Mars) or terrestrial missions in rough terrain (like scouting and acting as communications relays). RATS roll and hop […] Read More

Duke computer science professor and colleagues’ creations dance on something smaller than a pin’s head. Microscopic robots crafted to maneuver separately without any obvious guidance are now assembling into self-organized structures after years of continuing research led by a Duke University computer scientist.”It’s marvelous to be able to do assembly and control at this fine a resolution with such very, very tiny things,” said Bruce […] Read More