Robotics

Scientists at Hokkaido University have developed light-powered molecular motors that repetitively bend and unbend, bringing us closer to molecular robots. Researchers are working on mimicking cellular systems to develop molecular motors that can move or even deliver drugs to target tissues. Engineering such motors may ultimately lead to molecular robots that can execute more complex tasks.

At the Cybathlon, 74 athletes from 25 countries will be showing how robotic technology helps them in their daily lives. In 100 days, the starting gun will be fired on the world’s first trial of bionic strength. The Swiss public broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) will incorporate the Cybathlon into a day of themed programming and broadcast the unique competition live.

We believe that AI technologies are likely to be overwhelmingly useful and beneficial for humanity. But part of being a responsible steward of any new technology is thinking through potential challenges and how best to address any associated risks. So today we’re publishing a technical paper, 'Concrete Problems in AI Safety', a collaboration among scientists at Google, OpenAI, Stanford and Berkeley. Author: Chris Olah, Google Research

  A small, squishy vehicle equipped with soft wheels rolls over rough terrain and runs under water. Future versions of the versatile vehicle might be suitable for search and rescue missions after disasters, deep space and planet exploration, and manipulating objects during MRI, according to its creators at Rutgers University.

Astronomers at Nottingham Trent University have developed a light, low cost system, deployable on a drone, that could help everyone monitor and control light pollution. The team, led by undergraduate student Ashley Fuller, present their work at the National Astronomy Meeting at the University of Nottingham. Excessive light is a pollutant in its own right, as is the energy, and carbon footprint, needed to generate it.

Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden have completed work on an EU project aimed at enabling robots to cooperate with one another on complex jobs, by using body language. Dimos Dimarogonas, an associate professor at KTH and project coordinator for RECONFIG, says the research project has developed protocols that enable robots to ask for help from each other and to recognise when other robots need assistance - and change t...

The Arduino development kit portfolio at RS Components has been expanded with the availability of the new TinkerKit Braccio, which delivers highly affordable robotics capability for the worldwide community of Arduino makers and developers, including students, hobbyists, artists, programmers and professionals.

A new global design contest is due to kick off this summer, as announced by PowerVision. The PowerEgg Design Challenge aims to inspire both professional and amateur designers to submit outstanding external designs for the pioneering and elegant PowerEgg flying robot, PowerVision’s first consumer drone.

There are few sports where technology has been a bigger catalyst for change over the last 15-20 years than football – driving a seismic shift in attitudes towards coaching, nutrition, player physiology and health – particularly in England.

The Google Research Blog posted a message from Chris Olah of Google Research. He confirmed the publication of "a technical paper, Concrete Problems in AI Safety, a collaboration among scientists at Google, OpenAI, Stanford and Berkeley." This is great news for those who are alarmed over what limits may be over-stepped by AI systems in carrying out their actions, and whether we had better anticipate any event where an AI system does not behave acc...