Robotics
The ultimate Christmas drone
Festive feeling tech fans looking to spread a little Christmas cheer this year can now take home the Christmas gadget to end all gadgets, in the form of the limited edition Ultimate Christmas Drone.
British robotics fund launched in UK
It has been announced that the British Robotics Seed Fund has been launched by High Growth Robotics, as the first investment fund specialising as a UK-based robotics start-up. The focus of the Fund is to deliver returns to Investors by making targeted investments in promising UK-based seed-stage robotics companies wrapped within a fund format that is highly tax efficient (under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, 'SEIS').
Taking a leap in bioinspired robotics
In the not so distant future, first responders to a disaster zone may include four-legged, dog-like robots that can bound through a fire or pick their way through a minefield, rising up on their hind legs to turn a hot door handle or punch through a wall. Such robo-rescuers may be ready to deploy in the next five to 10 years, says Sangbae Kim, associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT.
Registration for 2017 Robotics challenge now open
Now open for entries, is a new Infrastructure Robot Challenge, which is part of the second annual UK Robotics Week 2017, a national week of celebration being held 24th–30th June 2017. Robotics researchers from around the world are invited to sign up now for the international ‘Robots for Resilient Infrastructure’ Challenge event, which will be held at University of Leeds from 27th–28th June 2017. Registrations of inte...
Skillful rescue robot with remote-control function
A group of Japanese researchers developed a prototype construction robot for disaster relief situations. This prototype has drastically improved operability and mobility compared to conventional construction machines.
Tactile sensors enable soft robots to feel its surroundings
A Cornell group has devised a way for a soft robot to feel its surroundings internally, in much the same way humans do. A group led by Robert Shepherd, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and principal investigator of Organic Robotics Lab, has published a paper describing how stretchable optical waveguides act as curvature, elongation and force sensors in a soft robotic hand.
Twin robots can be synchronised with each other
A robot cell developed using two Mitsubishi Electric MELFA RV Series robots has used the latest robot control technology to ensure their movements are suitably synchronised. The production cell in question prints and assembles over three million components per year, changing over seamlessly on-demand to assemble a range of different parts.
Wall-jumping robot is most vertically agile ever built
Roboticists at UC Berkeley have designed a small robot that can leap into the air and then spring off a wall, or perform multiple vertical jumps in a row, resulting in the highest robotic vertical jumping agility ever recorded. The agility of the robot opens new pathways of locomotion that were not previously attainable. The researchers hope that one day this robot and other vertically agile robots can be used to jump around rubble in search and ...
Eye'll be back ;)
A partnership between the Polytechnic School and the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of São Paulo (USP) achieved a new patent. Researchers developed a prototype of a type of eye prosthesis with eyelids that blink in sync with the healthy eye. The project had two FD professors, Neide Coto and Reinaldo Dias, and a student of engineering at the Polytechnic, Paulo Oguro. The system was patented by the USP Innovation Agency in 2015.
Design your own custom drone
This fall’s Federal Aviation Administration regulations have made drone flight easier than ever for both companies and consumers. But what if the drones out on the market aren’t exactly what you want? A new system from MIT’s CSAIL is the first to allow users to design, simulate, and build their own custom drone. Users can change the size, shape, and structure of their drone based on the specific needs they have for payload,...