Robotics, Automation & Control

Chemically Driven Wheels “Morph” Into Gears

A catalytic reaction causes a two-dimensional, chemically coated sheet to spontaneously morph into a three-dimensional gear.

Optimizing Torque Measurement in Robotics Applications

With the advent of lower-cost robots that are easier and cheaper to deploy, collaborative robots or cobots are finding new industrial and consumer applications.

Videos of the Month

Watch the videos of the month, including one on the DARPA RACER program, one on a NASA supercomputer's theory on the Moon's formation, and more.

New Products

See the new products, including a crossed-roller linear bearing, a lifting column, a motion-sizing tool, and more.

Chip-Free, Autonomous OrigaMechs with Conductive Materials

Roboticists have been using a technique similar to origami to develop autonomous machines out of thin, flexible sheets. These lightweight robots are simpler and cheaper to make and more compact for easier storage and transport.

A Four-Legged Robotic System Can Move on Tough Landscapes

Researchers from MIT’s Improbable Artificial Intelligence Lab have developed a legged robotic system that can dribble a soccer ball under the same conditions as humans.

Robotic Hand Can Identify Objects with Just One Grasp

Inspired by the human finger, MIT researchers have developed a robotic hand that uses high-resolution touch sensing to accurately identify an object after grasping it just one time.

A Harvesting Robot Automates Apple Picking

“AurOrA” is a small autonomous vehicle, which in the future will move independently around fruit orchards and detect full fruit boxes, pick them up, and take them to a defined unloading point.

Robot Fish Makes Splash with Motion Breakthrough

A robot fish fitted with a twisted and coiled polymer (TCP) to drive it forward, a lightweight low-cost device that relies on temperature change to generate movement, could make underwater...

Self-Folding Origami Machines Powered by Chemical Reaction

A Cornell-led collaboration harnessed chemical reactions to make microscale origami machines self-fold — freeing them from the liquids in which they usually function, so they can...

New Transfer Process Moves 2D Materials from Growth Substrate to Device Substrate

Purdue University engineers have developed a patent-pending tool to make the manufacture of ultrathin semiconductors more consistent, controllable, and...

Teaching Robots to Predict Humans' Actions

A group of researchers wants to teach robots how to predict human preferences in assembly tasks, so they can one day help out on everything from building a satellite to setting a table.

3D Printing a Mini Vacuum Pump

The technology would be pivotal in a portable mass spectrometer that could help monitor pollutants, perform medical diagnoses in remote areas, or even test Martian soil.

Real-Time Remote Heart Monitoring

Biotricity’s continuous heart rhythm monitor uses advanced technology to deliver unlimited heart data insights.

Wheeled Robot Measures Leaf Angles to Help Breed Better Corn Plants

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Iowa State University have demonstrated an automated technology capable of accurately measuring the angle of leaves on...

Toy Microbots Demonstrate How Biological Machines Move

By connecting small self-propelling toys in a chain, researchers at the University of Amsterdam Institute of Physics have found the key to studying the movement of microscopic organisms...

Many-Legged Robots Can Traverse Difficult Landscapes

Inspired by centipedes, Georgia Tech researchers have developed many-legged robots that can move across uneven surfaces without any additional sensing or control technology.

Ensuring the Global Safety of Unattended Telescopes

The Las Cumbres Observatory relied on Pilz to develop safety systems for its automated telescopes. In addition to protecting people, a safety system is needed to help protect equipment in case of a malfunction.

Robotic Exploration of Mars Caves

Professor Wolfgang Fink of University of Arizona engineers discusses a new system that allows autonomous vehicles to scout out underground habitats for astronauts.

Helping Machine Vision Go Beyond Human Programming

Facial recognition AI inspections will go beyond simple geometry. They will learn how makeup, tattoos, or clothing may conceal features that were previously used to identify someone.

Multi-Pixel Magnetic Sensing Gives Robots the Gentle Touch

A reliable and cost-effective sense of touch now lets robots handle fragile objects to fulfill an even wider variety of tasks and interact more safely with humans.

Fluid-Driven Actuators Enable Complex Motions in Soft Robots

A team of researchers has designed a new system of fluid-driven actuators that enable soft robots to achieve more complex motions. The researchers accomplished this by taking advantage of the very thing — viscosity — that had previously stymied the movement of such robots.

Gecko-Inspired Climbing Soft Robot

The new robot, developed by engineers at the University of Waterloo, uses ultraviolet (UV) light and magnetic force to move on any surface, even up walls and across ceilings.

Rapidly Configuring Robots for Lunar Exploration

A team of MIT engineers is designing a kit of universal robotic parts that an astronaut could easily mix and match to rapidly configure different robot “species” to fit various lunar missions.

Robotic Wing Could Improve Drone Performance

Ornithological animals have always benefited from folding their wings during upstroke. So, a Swedish-Swiss research team has constructed a robotic wing that can flap like a bird.

Videos of the Month

Watch the Videos of the Month, including one about a swimming robot, one about 3D printing a controllable replica of a patient’s heart, and two more.

Products of Tomorrow

See the Products of Tomorrow, including silicon photonic MEMS, a micro-robotic arm, and more.