Robotics

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have developed functional elastomers, which can be activated by magnetic fields to imitate the swimming gaits of natural flagella, cilia and jellyfish. Using a specially developed computer algorithm, the researchers can now automatically generate the optimal magnetic conditions for each gait for the first time.

The exoskeleton VariLeg is the work of an interdisciplinary team of 11 ETH students and doctoral candidates. The first prototype was developed by nine Bachelor’s students from the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering in the course of a focus project from autumn 2014 to spring 2015. The exoskeleton, which will now be put into action at the Cybathlon, is a further development of this prototype and grew out of a subsequent focus pr...

Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), in cooperation with the Munich University of Applied Sciences and Wasserwacht (German Water Rescue Service) at Riem, have developed a technique for locating drowning people faster with support from Autel. Images captured by drones are expected to help in this respect. Researchers, however, still face many challenges.

Real-Time Innovations (RTI) is organising a seminar about Distributed Robotic Control in Stavanger, Norway on 12th October. All architects, project managers, engineers, and developers are invited to register for the seminar.

Drones have the potential to become a multi-billion dollar business, whether they are used commercially for industrial inspections, aerial photography, border patrol, emergency deliveries and crop surveys or recreationally by millions. However, a number of safety concerns are rising as more and more drones enter the skies.

One in six people will suffer a stroke in their lifetime. In Switzerland alone, stroke affects 16,000 people every year. Two thirds of those affected suffer from paralysis of the arm. Intensive training can – depending on the extent of damage to the brain – help patients regain a certain degree of control over their arms and hands. This may take the form of classic physio- and occupational therapy, or it may also involve robots.

The University of Nottingham is developing an artificially-intelligent sensor system to clean food manufacturing equipment more precisely, which could save £100m a year for the UK industry alone. This revolutionary AI-driven monitoring system could lead to greater production capacity and therefore cheaper food prices for consumers. Food and drink production is the largest manufacturing sector in Britain and the highest industrial ...

Two Cornell experts in AI have joined a nationwide team setting out to ensure that when computers are running the world, they will make decisions compatible with human values. "We are in a period in history when we start using these machines to make judgments," said Bart Selman, professor of computer science. "If decisions are properly structured, the horrors we've seen in the movies won't happen."

When roboticists create behaviors for teams of robots, they first build algorithms that focus on the intended task. Then they wrap safety behaviors around those primary algorithms to keep the machines from running into each other. Each robot is essentially given an invisible bubble that other robots must stay away from. As long as nothing touches the bubble, the robots move around without any issues. But that's where the problems begin.

The interactive robotic installation known as ‘Threebots’ by Mitsubishi Electric, has received several coveted awards since its installation at the new German branch, in Ratingen. They include the ‘Cutting Edge Award’ presented by Adobe, and ‘FWA’ the latter of which was awarded by a jury of more than 200 experts in recognition of projects that use cutting-edge technology to communicate knowledge.