robotics

While we’re still waiting for the flying space cars popularized by The Jetsons in the 1960s, shortly after the 1956 Dartmouth College debut of artificial intelligence (AI) research, autonomous and self-driving cars are finally a reality.…

If you think the question above is the beginning of a bad joke, think again. In fact, the answer could revolutionize the way robots and autonomous vehicles operate. Boston University neuroscientists Jake Hinman, William Chapman, and…

Advances in robotics come from the earth around us

After decades of research and modifications, Harvard University’s Microrobotics Lab has finally succeeded in getting its Robobee to take its first solo flight. The tiny robot, equipped with solar cells, electronics, and four wings,…

An arm uses bacteria to taste? Yes, it's sort of what it sounds like. Researchers from the University of California, Davis and Carnegie Mellon University developed an engineered bacteria that allows a robotic gripping arm to "taste"…

Last year, after MIT researchers working with auto manufacturer BMW identified an issue with robots freezing in place in anticipation of humans crossing their paths (which could lead to significant inefficiencies), the team identified a…

Advances in 3D printing make it possible to 3D-print your own prosthetic from models found in open-source databases. But those models lack personalized electronic user interfaces like those found in costlier, state-of-the-art…

Today’s robots are usually self-contained entities made of interdependent subcomponents, each with a specific function. If one part fails, the robot stops working. Even in robotic swarms, each robot is an independently functioning machine.…

Brane Interface (BI), an Austin-based company led by 16-year-old high school sophomore Alex Pinkerton is a finalist for this year’s SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards in the Student Innovation category. Using a single atomic layer of…