Robotics

As far back as 1925, Scottish inventor John Logie Baird successfully transmitted the first recognisable image using a device he called the Televisor. However, the technology was held back until after 1947 when John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley of Bell Laboratories co-invented the transistor.

The Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) will give a glimpse into the home of the future from 21-24 June 2016 at Automatica, the international trade fair for automation and mechantronics held in Munich. Under the banner "A Home with a Brain," CITEC will exhibit its research developments at Stand 315 in Hall B4. Here, the service robot Floka will be debuted to the public for the first time.

Scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University are developing a robotic arm prototype and its control algorithm using myoelectric signals. The mechanical limb will independently recognise the motions of its owner and be able to perform all the same motions like a healthy arm. The scientists estimate the final cost of the device of 600 - 1,000 USD.

  As machines become more intelligent, they become embedded in countless facets of life. In some ways, they can act almost as full-fledged members in human-machine teams. In such cases, as with any team, trust is a necessary ingredient for good performance. But the dynamics of trust between people and machines are not yet well-understood.

  The Danish pioneer of human-robot collaboration, Universal Robots, revolutionises the automation industry with the launch of Universal Robots+ at AUTOMATICA in Munich. Today, the company presents:

This summer’s Olympic Games in Rio will feature an unprecedented amount of technology, employed by athletes and spectators alike, to help enhance performance and improve our viewing enjoyment. However, interaction between human competitor and cutting edge technology could about to be taken to the next level after a research team at the University of Electronic Science and Technology in China developed a badminton playing robot.

With football fever gripping the nation, rivals from across the world are getting ready to lock nuts and bolts at the forthcoming RoboCup 2016 robotic world championship which kicks off in Leipzig, Germany on 30 June. The University of Hertfordshire’s robot football team Bold Hearts – the oldest and most successful in the UK – will be competing against over 500 other teams from 40 countries.

More than a quarter of UK adults polled in the UK Robotics Week survey believe that the biggest benefit of driverless cars will be fewer road accidents. The research, commissioned by the EPSRC UK-RAS Network, is being released ahead of the first ever UK Robotics Week, scheduled from 25th June to 1st July 2016).

Robots will outnumber human beings, there will be more driverless cars than traditional vehicles and drones will be used to deliver pizzas to our door. These are just some of the technologies that could transform our lives within the next 20 years according to research released to mark the start of London Technology Week 2016 (the SMG Insight /YouGov survey of 2,077 British adults took place in June 2016).

The proliferation of low cost drones for hobbyists has led to a number of well publicised incidents. The use of drones is now often forbidden by law around airports, sporting events and government establishments due to the risk of physical injury or use in committing crimes. Policing has traditionally resorted to arresting the drone operator and/or seizing the drone and its cargo when it lands, as forcing the drone out of the sky while it is flyi...