Robotics

Rise of Robots in the Food Industry

From food packaging to preparation and delivery to serving in restaurants, robots are helping the food industry meet labor shortages and reduce costs. When did robots debut in the food industry and what’s their future? Take this quiz to find out.

The Human Touch: Ethical Considerations in Healthcare Robotics

The ethical implications of integrating robots into healthcare, discussing topics such as patient trust, privacy concerns, and the balance between human and robotic interaction in caregiving.

Automating Healthcare: The Role of Robots

How robots are being utilized for tasks in clinics and hospitals, from delivering medications to managing inventory and performing tasks such as taking blood pressure.

Product Showcase

See the product showcase, which includes Bodine type 42R hypoid gearmotors; the Pyramid Connectable (“PC”) Twisted Belt; the IMI Norgren VR Valve Manifold; CENTRUM CSF40, a stainless steel encoder scale disc; KHK USA's gear for motion design; ABB Robotics' OmniCore, an intelligent automation platform that is faster, more precise, and more sustainable; and much more.

The Crucial Role of Bearings in the Humanoid Robotics Revolution

In the ever-evolving robotics landscape, achieving precise and seamless motion is paramount. While articulating joints enable a robot’s range of motion, bearings serve as the backbone, ensuring smooth and accurate movement. Particularly in humanoid robots where precision is non-negotiable, the selection of bearings becomes a critical engineering decision. Design engineers must consider the diverse range of robotic bearings, how backlash affects precision, and when to use seals to protect bearings from harsh environments.

Computer Vision Lends Precision to Robotic Grappling

Innovators at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) have developed computer vision software that derives target posture determinations quickly and then instructs an operator how to properly align a robotic end-effector with a target that they are trying to grapple.

Videos of the Month

See the videos of the month, including one on an experimental tractor-trailer that recaptures its own electricity from vibrations, heat, and airflow; one on Mugatu, the first steerable bipedal robot with only one motor; one on Tiago, a research robot being developed at Chalmers University of Technology to push the boundaries of development; and one on a new lithium battery that can charge in under five minutes.

Reducing Plasma Cutting Cycle Time with a Cobot Cutter

The integration of the plasma-cutting cobot at Tank Technologies stands as a compelling example of how automation can drive efficiency, accuracy, and employee satisfaction in manufacturing. By embracing this technology, Tank Technologies has significantly improved the productivity and safety of their plasma cutting applications.

Tactile Sensing Strategy Enables Accurate Object Detection

Researchers from Tsinghua University worked to break through the difficulties of robotic recognition of various common, yet complex, items. Read on to learn more.

Miniature 3D-Printed Actuators to Control Soft Robots

Researchers from NC State University have demonstrated mini soft hydraulic actuators that can be used to control the deformation and motion of soft robots that are less than a millimeter thick. The researchers also demonstrated that this technique works with shape memory materials.

A Robot to Aid People with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Engineers at the University of California San Diego in collaboration with clinicians, people with MCI, and their care partners have developed CARMEN, short for Cognitively Assistive Robot for Motivation and Neurorehabilitation — a small, tabletop robot designed to help people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) learn skills to improve memory, attention, and executive functioning at home.

Engineered Skin Tissue Grants Robots Special Properties and Abilities

Researchers have found a way to bind engineered skin tissue to the complex forms of humanoid robots. This brings with it potential benefits to robotic platforms such as increased mobility, self-healing abilities, embedded sensing capabilities and an increasingly lifelike appearance.

Unique Datapath Architecture Yields Real-Time Computing

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed and successfully flight tested a high-performance computing platform, known as the Descent and Landing Computer (DLC), to suit the demands of safe, autonomous, extraterrestrial spacecraft landings for robotic and human exploration missions.

Ant Insights Lead to Robot Navigation Breakthrough

Have you ever wondered how insects are able to go so far beyond their home and still find their way home? The answer to this question is not only relevant to biology but also to making the...

Stable AI-Controlled Systems for Safe Autonomous Motion

Neural networks have made a seismic impact on how engineers design controllers for robots, catalyzing more adaptive and efficient machines. Still, these brain-like machine-learning...

Soft Robots + Artificial Muscles = Worm-Like Crawling and Biceps-Like Lifting

To demonstrate their new device, an actuator, the researchers used it to create a cylindrical, worm-like soft robot and an artificial bicep. In experiments, it navigated tight curves and was able to lift a 500-gram weight 5,000 times in a row.

Advances and Innovations in Assistive Robotics

Exploring advances and innovations in assistive robotics.

Surgical Precision: Robotics in the Operating Room

Exploring how robotics are enhancing precision and minimizing invasiveness of surgical procedures.

Increasing Agricultural Yields, Efficiency, and Sustainability with AI

Professor Chris Reberg-Horton and his colleagues at North Carolina State University’s Plant Sciences Initiative are taking hundreds of thousands of plant photos and, with the university’s newly acquired Grace Hopper 200 supercomputer, are using them to create the world's largest agricultural image repository.

People, Not Design Features, Make a Robot Social

Researchers who develop social robots — ones that people interact with — focus too much on design features and not enough on sociological factors, like human-to-human interactions, the...

New Dual-Armed Telerobotic System for Hazardous Waste Clean-Up

Because they can go where humans can’t, robots are especially suited for safely working with hazardous nuclear waste. But first, those robots need to become like the humans...

Method Rapidly Verifies That a Robot Will Avoid Collisions

Before a robot can grab dishes off a shelf to set the table, it must ensure its gripper and arm won’t crash into anything and potentially shatter the fine china. As part of its...

AI + Computer Simulations = Enhanced Robotic Exoskeletons

Researchers have demonstrated a new method that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and computer simulations to train robotic exoskeletons to autonomously help users save energy while walking, running, and climbing stairs.

5Ws of the Neuromorphic AI Drone

A team of researchers at Delft University of Technology has developed a drone that flies autonomously using neuromorphic image processing and control based on the workings of animal brains.

In-Space Manufacturing of Self-Replicating Machines

How do we get to a future of self-replicating, Von Neumann space probes? What are some of the steps required to convert the Asteroid Belt into a partial Dyson Sphere? The answer lies in ISAM or in-space servicing assembly and manufacturing, 3D printing on-orbit, and fully automated, ‘lights-out’ production on-Earth.

Beyond Earth: The Future of In-Space Servicing

It no longer requires the imagination of Arthur C. Clarke to see where the space industry is headed. We need only to look at every other system of vehicles, appreciate the falling technical roadblocks, and observe the regulations and resources environment. It is with confidence that we ask not, “if?” but, “when?” We invite you to consider, “what’s next?” because almost anything becomes possible with the right foundations in place.

3D-Printed Mini-Actuators Can Move Small Soft Robots, Lock Them Into New Shapes

Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated miniature soft hydraulic actuators that can be used to control the deformation and motion of...

Scientists Create Soft Robots Mimicking Human Skin to Provide Medical Treatment

Scientists have created innovative soft robots equipped with electronic skins and artificial muscles, allowing them to sense their surroundings and adapt their...