Robotics

The first delivery and installation of SkyX’s xStation charging station for its SkyOne drones has taken place. The xStation is designed to allow SkyOne drones to remotely recharge while monitoring long range infrastructure, then continue its mission. By installing multiple xStations along a route, SkyOne can monitor assets like oil and gas pipelines or railroad tracks that stretch hundreds – and even thousands – of kilometres.

  Surely it’s a dream to have a car that will move you and your family from Point A to Point B without ever sitting in traffic? Let’s think about how convenient it would be to book a taxi that rises above the city streets and flies you to your destination through the clouds? 

An entry-level solution to industrial robotics has been developed by Loop Technology, borne from the realisation of a recent project for the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC). The MTC, based in Coventry, asked Loop Technology, a member of the MTC and a long-term supplier, to design a self-contained robot cell capable of providing a flexible development and demonstration platform with capability for future expansion.

At just three-years-old, Pepper has worked in restaurants, on cruise ships, and he was even responsible for a 20 per cent increase in foot traffic in a Californian apparel store. Pepper has more emotional intelligence than your average toddler. That’s because Pepper is a humanoid service robot, developed by SoftBank Robotics in Japan.

Eight years ago, Ted Adelson’s research group at MIT’s CSAIL unveiled a new sensor technology, called GelSight, that uses physical contact with an object to provide a remarkably detailed 3D map of its surface. Now, by mounting GelSight sensors on the grippers of robotic arms, two MIT teams have given robots greater sensitivity and dexterity. The researchers presented their work in two papers at the International Conference o...

We should start thinking about how we define life, according to Lund University researchers. An army of intelligent robots is growing in front of us, but also opportunities to alter people’s DNA, create super babies and, perhaps, to encounter life in space. The researchers argue that this definition is central to the exploration of new forms of life. It has to do with the ethical/moral, legal and practical issues that we as individuals...

There is a growing problem in the UK with drones smuggling drugs into prisons, and the only ones that are being caught are the ones that have crashed. However, a solution maybe on the horizon with a cutting-edge defence system being trialled at Guernsey Prison, called the Skyfence, which essentially creates a virtual fence which is able to detect drones.

Bigger bats, pink balls, covered wickets, hawkeye, Twenty20 and DRS. Cricket is a changing game - and is no stranger to technology. On May 30th 2017 at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy, Intel executives took the stage to share innovations that Intel is bringing to the tournament. These include advanced pitch analysis by an Intel drone, a bat swing profile using a bat sensor powered by an Intel Curie module and a cricket VR...

Engineers at UC San Diego are using soft robotics technology to make light, flexible gloves that allow users to feel tactile feedback when they interact with VR environments. The researchers used the gloves to realistically simulate the tactile feeling of playing a virtual piano keyboard. Engineers recently presented their research, which is still at the prototype stage, at the Electronic Imaging, Engineering Reality for VR conference in Bur...

A chess-playing robot stole the show in Asia's largest tech fair in Taiwan, with artificial intelligence centre stage. The annual Computex trade show in Taipei comes as Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen seeks to boost the island's economy with her "Asian Silicon Valley" project, nurturing startups and attracting investments from major international companies. The full-size robot impressed visitors by taking a pawn piece in a mocked-up che...