Robotics, Automation & Control

A Robot with the ‘Brains’ to Morph Mid-Air

The new robot, dubbed ATMO (aerially transforming morphobot), uses four thrusters to fly, but the shrouds that protect them become the system's wheels in an alternative driving configuration. The whole transformation relies on a single motor to move a central joint that lifts ATMO's thrusters up into drone mode or down into drive mode.

Soft Robotics that Can ID, Self-Repair Damage

A University of Nebraska–Lincoln engineering team is another step closer to developing soft robotics and wearable systems that mimic the ability of human and plant skin to detect and self-heal injuries.

Brain-Like Computer Steers Rolling Robot With 0.25 Percent of the Power Needed by Conventional Controllers

Analog computing is making a comeback with hardware that processes and stores information in the same location, similar to biological...

Mid-Air Transformation Helps Flying, Rolling Robot to Transition Smoothly

Specialized robots that can both fly and drive typically touch down on land before attempting to transform and drive away. But when the landing terrain is rough,...

Flying Robots Unlock New Horizons in Construction

An international team led by researchers from Empa and EPFL has explored how aerial robots could precisely process construction materials in the air — an approach with great potential for...

Nimble Dimples: Agile Underwater Vehicles Inspired by Golf Balls

A spherical prototype that can change its surface from smooth to dimpled, cuts through drag and generates lift. Underwater or aerial vehicles with dimples like golf balls...

How Much Do You Know About Wireless Industrial Systems?

Automated factories are networks of separate but interconnected systems. The interconnections have been mostly hard-wired in the past but now we’re seeing more wireless systems. How much do you know about wireless industrial systems? Take this quiz and see.

An Octopus-Inspired Smart Robot

The work shows how a soft robot can use suction flow not just to stick to things, but also to sense its environment and control its own actions — just like an octopus.

New on the Market

See what's new on the market, including the ZE2531 Isolation Transformer from Coilcraft; Nikon Metrology's three new ECLIPSE microscope models, the LV100NDA LED, LV100ND LED, and LV100N POL LED; Würth Elektronik's expanded STAR-TEC and STAR-TEC LFS snap ferrite families; Walter's new milling grade, PVD-coated Tiger·tec® Gold WSM36G; and more.

Soft Sensing, Self-Healing Materials for Robotic Hands and Arms

These materials can detect when they are damaged, take the necessary steps to temporarily heal themselves, and then resume work.

Tiny Magnetic Robot Can Take 3D Scans from Inside Your Body

Researchers have developed a tiny magnetic robot that can take 3D scans from deep within the body and could revolutionize early cancer detection. The team, led by engineers from the University of Leeds, said this is the first time high-resolution 3D ultrasound images taken from a probe deep inside the gastrointestinal tract, or gut, have been generated. Read on to learn more.

Robotic System for Infrastructure Reconnaissance

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a robotic system whose primary structural platform, or “orb,” can be injected into a pipe network and perform reconnaissance of piping infrastructure and other interior volumes. When deployed, this technology uses throttled fluid flow from a companion device for passive propulsion. Read on to learn more.

Single-Step 3D-Printing Process to Build Robots

The piezoelectric “meta-bot” is capable of propulsion, movement, sensing, and decision-making.

Making the Jump to Electric

From greater energy efficiency to more flexible motion profiles, there are many reasons to make the switch to electric actuation technology. Read on to learn more about them.

Tape-Based Robot Reaches Far When Extended

It’s a game a lot of us played as children — and maybe even later in life: unspooling measuring tape to see how far it would extend before bending. But to engineers at the University of California San Diego, this game was an inspiration, suggesting that measuring tape could become a great material for a robotic gripper. Read on to learn more about their robot, GRIP-tape.

A Lightweight Floating Robot Replicates Nature

Researchers have developed a compact and versatile robot that can maneuver through tight spaces and transport payloads much heavier than itself. Smaller than a credit card and weighing 6 grams, the nimble swimming robot is ideal for environments with limited space like rice fields, or for performing inspections in waterborne machines. Read on to learn more.

A Hopping Robot That Can Leap and Land Like a Squirrel

University of California Berkeley biologists and engineers have designed a hopping robot that can stick a landing on a narrow perch. The feat is a big step in the design of more agile robots, ones that can leap among the trusses and girders of buildings under construction or robots that can monitor the environment in tangled forests or tree canopies. Read on to learn more.

Cobots Repair and Refurbish Electronic Appliances for a Sustainable Future

Repartly, a startup based in Guetersloh, Germany, is using ABB’s collaborative robots to repair and refurbish electronic circuit boards in household appliances. Three GoFa cobots handle the sorting, visual inspection and precise soldering tasks enabling the company to enhance efficiency and maintain high quality standards. Read on to learn more.

How SmartCap Uses AI-Powered Robots to Manufacture Steel Truck Cap Systems

For the team at SmartCap, building top-notch gear for outdoor adventurers isn’t just a business — it’s a passion driven by their own love for the wild. But as demand for their rugged, modular truck caps soared after their move to North America in 2022, they hit a snag: How do you ramp up production without sacrificing the meticulous quality you are known for, all while navigating a tough labor market? Their answer? Read on to find out.

How the CARL-Bot Catches Some Tasty Waves

Researchers were brainstorming ways that underwater vehicles could use turbulent water currents for propulsion and wondered if, instead of them being a problem, they could be an advantage.

A 5-Inch Soft Robot that Can Jump 10 Feet in the Air

Inspired by the movements of a tiny parasitic worm, Georgia Tech engineers have created a five-inch soft robot that can jump as high as a basketball hoop.

Ping Pong Bot Returns Shots with High-Speed Precision

The new table tennis bot comprises a multijointed robotic arm that is fixed to one end of a ping pong table and wields a standard ping pong paddle. Aided by several high-speed cameras...

Soft Robot Can Carry Cargo Up and Down Steep Aerial Wires

Researchers have created a light-powered soft robot that can carry loads through the air along established tracks, similar to cable cars or aerial trams. The soft robot operates...

Eldercare Robot Helps People Sit and Stand, and Catches Them If They Fall

The United States population is older than it has ever been. Today, the country’s median age is 38.9, which is nearly a decade older than it was in 1980. And the...

Remotely Moving Objects Underwater Using Sound

Sound can do more than just provide a nice beat. Sound waves have been used for everything from mapping the seafloor to breaking apart kidney stones. Thanks to a unique material structure,...

Product Focus: Class 1 Laser Line Scanner Delivers Vision with Sub-Millimeter Depth Precision

SiLC Technologies (Monrovia, CA) unveiled Eyeonic Trace for the first time at Automate 2025. A Class 1 Laser Line Scanner, Eyeonic Trace is an...