Motion Control

How Much Do You Know About Physical AI?

Across factory floors and supply chains, physical AI is starting to bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds. How much do you know about physical AI? Test your knowledge with this quiz.

New Products

See the new products, including Amada Weld Tech's next-generation UB Series Linear DC Resistance Weld Controls; Igus' ReBelMove Pro modular, customizable autonomous mobile robot; Logic's Octopus, an overhead industrial picking robot; and more.

AI Boosts Snakebot’s Movement Efficiency

A research group has developed a snake-like robot artificial intelligence that optimizes its rolling movement using deep reinforcement learning. This movement is aided by a unique “observation buffer” that uses data from the robot’s sensors to analyze angular velocity, acceleration, and body state information. Read on to learn more.

Bee-Inspired AI Helps Tiny Drones Navigate Long Distances with Minimal Memory

The “Bee-Nav” navigation strategy, inspired by honeybees, enables tiny robots to travel long distances and return home with only 42 kilobytes of neural memory. Read on to learn more.

JABAS.AI Enables Fully Autonomous Robot Fleets for Agriculture

The University of Lincoln is addressing a significant barrier in agricultural robotics by designing fleets of robots capable of operating safely within complex farm environments. Ceres Agri-Tech has developed JABAS.AI, an AI-enabled autonomy platform that facilitates real-time robot navigation and coordination, even in areas with unreliable GPS and connectivity.

Tokyo Lab Deploys AI-Powered Robots to Automate Scientific Discovery

The Robotics Innovation Center, located at the Institute of Science Tokyo University, has established a laboratory at its Yushima campus where robots conduct medical experiments previously performed by human researchers, aiming to automate nearly the entire research process. Read on to learn more.

NASA Tests High-Power Lithium Thruster for Future Human Missions to Mars

A cutting-edge technology with the potential to enable crewed Mars missions and robotic exploration across the solar system was recently tested at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Read on to learn more about it.

How Many Robots Does It Take to Perform a Navigational Task?

Mathematical analysis of crowd density is notoriously complex because there are so many possible paths and interactions to consider. Read on to learn what a Harvard team did to get around this difficulty.

HII Teams with GrayMatter Robotics to Integrate Physical AI Into U.S. Navy Shipbuilding

AI is rapidly becoming integral across society, with physical AI expanding unmanned and autonomous production capabilities. To advance its shipbuilding expertise, HII, a major U.S. military shipbuilder for over 135 years, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with GrayMatter Robotics to bring advanced AI initiatives into HII’s automation systems and workforce. Read on to learn more.

WPI Researchers Develop Bat-Inspired AI Drones for Advanced Search and Rescue

For advanced search-and-rescue, a team from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) drew inspiration from bats to create palm-sized aerial robots. Read on to learn more.

MIT Researchers Develop AI System That Keeps Warehouse Robot Traffic Running Smoothly

MIT researchers developed an AI system that prevents robot traffic jams in automated warehouses by dynamically prioritizing and rerouting robots. Simulations show the approach can increase throughput and facilitate robot-to-robot communication. Read on to learn more.

AI-Powered Smart Wheels Anticipate User Intent to Improve Control and Mobility

Researchers at Saarland University created AI-powered smart wheels that sense user intent to provide smoother acceleration, braking, and steering. The technology could make carts, beds, wheelchairs, and other wheeled systems easier and safer to use. Read on to learn more.

UAVs and the Future of Urban Logistics: Rethinking Congestion in the Supply Chain

To keep pace with rising delivery demand and sustainability goals, municipalities are beginning to reimagine the supply chain. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, aka drones, are emerging as one potential solution. Read on to learn more.

New Products

See the new products, including Flexxbotics' enhanced MQTT connector driver within the Flexxbotics open-source project on GitHub; IKO International's LCRB series — an ultra-lightweight crossed roller bearing series with a unique inner and outer ring construction; Bosch Sensortec's BMI5 platform, a new generation of inertial sensors designed to provide consistent, high-precision performance across multiple device classes; and more.

New Neural Blueprint Lets Soft Robots Learn Once and Adapt Instantly

A new artificial intelligence control system enables soft robotic arms to learn a wide repertoire of motions and tasks once, then adjust to new scenarios on the fly, without needing retraining or sacrificing functionality. This breakthrough brings soft robotics closer to human-like adaptability for real-world applications. Read on to learn more.

These Robots Are Born to Run — And Never Die

Northwestern University engineers have developed the first modular robots with athletic intelligence. They can be combined and recombined in the wild, recover from injury and keep moving no...

Snakes’ Ability to Stand Upright Could Inform Soft Robotics

A Harvard-led, theoretical and experimental study that blends biology, physics, and mathematics has uncovered how tree snakes’ muscles, gravity, and proprioceptive feedback, or...

What Can Dogs Tell Us About How Robots Can Locate Objects?

Whether in the kitchen or on a workshop floor, robot assistants that can fetch items for people could be extremely useful. Now, a team of Brown University researchers has developed...

Programmable Lego-Like Material Emulates Life’s Flexibility

Mechanical engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a proof-of-concept method for programming mechanical properties into solid Lego-like building blocks. By controlling the...

Humanoid Robots Make Confident Strides Toward Walking Stability

Bipedal — two-legged — autonomous robots can be quite agile. This makes them useful for performing tasks on uneven terrain, such as carrying equipment through outdoor...

Bubble Bots: Simple Biocompatible Microrobots Autonomously Target Tumors

The potential of microrobots is enormous. These miniature objects can be designed to carry out actions within the body, such as sensing biomarkers, manipulating...

Reversible, Detachable Robotic Hand Redefines Dexterity

With its opposable thumb, multiple joints, and gripping skin, human hands are often considered to be the pinnacle of dexterity, and many robotic hands are designed in their image. But...