Robotics, Automation & Control

Training Robots How to Learn, Make Decisions on the Fly

Mars rovers have teams of human experts on Earth telling them what to do. But robots on lander missions to moons orbiting Saturn or Jupiter are too far away to receive timely commands...

Robots Learn from Videos

Carnegie Mellon University researchers have enabled robots to learn household chores by watching videos of people performing everyday tasks in their homes.

How Much Do You Know About Soft Robots?

Unlike rigid-body robots, which have a finite number of joints and thus limited freedom, soft robots are made of flexible materials and operate by continuous deformation. So, how much do you know about soft robots? Find out with this quiz.

Highly Dexterous Robot Hand Can Operate in the Dark

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have demonstrated a highly dexterous robot hand, one that combines an advanced sense of touch with motor learning algorithms in order to achieve a high level of dexterity.

Caterpillar-Inspired Soft Robotics Locomotion

Researchers have demonstrated a caterpillar-like soft robot that can move forward, backward, and even dip under narrow spaces. Its movement is driven by a novel pattern of silver nanowires.

Mind-Controlling Machines

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have developed biosensor technology that will allow you to operate devices, such as robots and machines, solely through thought-control.

Tapping the Brain to Boost Stroke Rehabilitation

A brain-machine interface coupled with robot offers increased benefits for stroke survivors.

Drones Navigate Unseen Environments via Liquid Neural Networks

Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have introduced a method for robust flight navigation agents to master vision-based fly-to-target tasks in intricate, unfamiliar environments.

Six Considerations When Choosing Machine Vision in Collaborative Applications

Machine vision dates back to the beginning of the modern industrial robot age in the 1980s. Augmenting cobots with vision allows them to perform with higher precision, flexibility, and intelligence. However, integration is not a one-size-fits-all process.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a spoofing device, a deployable electrode, and a snake robot.

Direct Drive Motors: Delivering Reliability, Precision, and Performance

Direct drive motors have a long-standing history as a technology that has continually evolved and improved. This article introduces the technology behind direct drive motors, explores their advantages, and discusses example applications.

How to Select the Right Cobot for Your Application

Capitalizing on the benefits cobots, of course, requires choosing the right cobot for the job. This article discusses five key considerations for selecting a cobot for your manufacturing application.

New Products

See the new products, including digital servo drives, the PM2 pinion series from Neugart, valve controller modules, electric cylinders, and more.

Biomimetic “Myriapod” Robot Relies on Dynamic Instability to Navigate

Researchers have invented a new kind of walking robot that takes advantage of dynamic instability to navigate. By changing the flexibility of the couplings, the robot can be made to turn without the need for complex computational control systems.

A Gripper That Grasps by Reflex

Looking to give robots a more nimble, human-like touch, MIT engineers have now developed a gripper that grasps by reflex. Rather than start from scratch after a failed attempt, the robot adapts in the moment.

Four-Legged Robotic System Walks a Balance Beam

Researchers in Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute have designed a system that makes an off-the-shelf quadruped robot nimble enough to walk a narrow balance beam — a feat that is likely the first of its kind.

An Underwater Robot for Ocean Cleanup

One of the strategies to combat the mounds of waste found in oceans — especially around coral reefs — is to employ robots to master the cleanup. However, existing underwater robots are mostly bulky with rigid bodies, unable to explore and sample in complex and unstructured environments, and are noisy due to electrical motors or hydraulic pumps.

Improved Grasping with an Energy-Efficient Robotic Hand

Grasping objects is a problem that is easy for a human, but challenging for a robot. Researchers designed a soft, 3D-printed robotic hand that cannot independently move its fingers but can still carry out a range of complex movements.

A Cobot Spot Welder Promises Ergonomic Safety and Productivity Gains

Pro Spot International was founded in 1984 by Ron Olsson, shortly after coming to America from Sweden. Almost 40 years later, Pro Spot is one of the leading companies in automotive repair tools.

The Rise of Autonomous Mobile Robots

Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) for warehouse and industrial operations are surging, and this growth is expected to increase for the foreseeable future. Test your knowledge about AMRs in this quiz.

New Bioinspired Robot Flies, Walks, and More

A newly created real-life Transformer can reconfigure its body to achieve eight distinct types of motion and can autonomously assess the environment it faces to choose the most effective...

Unleashing the Power of Intelligent Drone Swarms

It’s a long-held notion, proven in fact, that robots are the perfect instrument to free humans from jobs that are dull, dirty, and dangerous — the “3 Ds” in industry speak — with...

A Step Toward Safe and Reliable Autopilots

In the film “Top Gun: Maverick,” Maverick, played by Tom Cruise, is charged with training young pilots to complete a seemingly impossible mission — to fly their jets deep into a rocky canyon,...

AI in MedTech

AI can enhance healthcare delivery, improve patient outcomes, and enable personalized treatments.

Taking Industrial Robot Automation to New Heights

Combining an industrial robot, computerized vision system, AI, and machine learning, Skyline Robotics has succeeded in automating window washing for the world’s skyscrapers.

Automating Warehouse Inventory Monitoring with Drones

Gather AI is using drones to automate inventory monitoring processes for warehouse operators to decrease the cost of inventory, improve productivity and boost revenue.

Tensegrity Robots to the Rescue

Squishy Robotics’ tensegrity sensor robots gather data at the scenes of fires, crashes, explosions, and other disasters to help first responders determine their approach to a disaster scene.