Robotics, Automation & Control

Product of the Month

The new IRB 1010 robot from ABB (Cary, NC) offers electronics manufacturers the opportunity to increase their production of small wearable devices.

Shape-Shifting Materials Offer Infinite Possibilities

Researchers have developed a shape-shifting material that can take and hold any possible shape.

3D-Printed Insect-Inspired Robots

Instead of adding soft materials to a rigid robot body, researchers have taken a soft body and added rigid features to key components.

Robot Overcomes Uncertainty to Retrieve Buried Objects

A new robotic system fuses visual information and radio-frequency signals to efficiently find hidden items buried under a pile of objects.

AI that Mimics the Human Eye

Researchers at University of Central Florida have developed an artificial intelligence device that mimics the retina of the eye.

New Capabilities for Grasp-Assisting Gloves

NASA is developing the next generation of spacesuits for future missions.

Chipset-Specific IPDs Simplify Development of Next-Gen Wireless Medical IoT Applications

The design goal is to provide exceptional RF signal range and stability, while also reducing power consumption, in a miniaturized package.

Spacecraft to Remove Orbital Debris

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have designed an Active Debris Removal Vehicle that can remove large orbital debris from low-Earth orbit.

AI Pilot Can Navigate Crowded Airspace

A team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University believe they have developed the first AI pilot that enables autonomous aircraft to navigate a crowded airspace.

Teaching Robots the Craft of Manipulating Materials

The new system learns directly from visual inputs to let a robot with a two-fingered gripper see, simulate, and shape doughy objects.

Solar-Powered Smart Robots Walk Autonomously

A team has installed electronic “brains” on solar-powered robots that are 100 to 250 micrometers in size so that they can walk autonomously.

Tentacle Robot Can Grasp Fragile Objects

Researchers designed a new type of soft robotic gripper that uses a collection of thin tentacles to entangle and ensnare objects.

Controlling a Robot Without Programming

Programming a robot for small series production activities with great diversity involves many trajectories, which is time-consuming.

Compiler Selection for Functional Safety in Robots

A developer needs confidence that the compiler will not introduce errors into the design.

High-Power Electrostatic Actuators to Realize Artificial Muscles

Electrostatic actuators are simple and lightweight devices that emulate human muscles. However, their usage has primarily been restricted to moving small devices since they...

The Skillful Skydiving of Wingless Springtails

Early in the pandemic, Víctor Ortega-Jiménez was exploring creeks near his home and observing springtails. The organisms are the most abundant non-insect hexapods on earth, and...

Sleep Mode Makes Internet of Energy More Energy Efficient

A group of scientists in Nagoya University, Japan, have developed a possible solution to one of the biggest problems of the Internet of Energy, energy efficiency. They did so by...

Test Your Knowledge About Automated Automobiles

See how much you know about automated automobiles with this quiz.

Gripper Robot Can Grasp Objects from Very Fine to Large

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) announced that it has developed a gripper capable of all gripping movements, inspired by elephant trunks. It mimics how elephants...

Tentacle Robot Can Gently Grasp Fragile Objects

If you’ve ever played the claw game at an arcade, you know how hard it is to grab and hold onto objects using robotic grippers. Imagine how much more nerve-wracking that game would be if,...

The Burrowing Mole Crab Robot

The unassuming Pacific mole crab, Emerita analoga, is about to make some waves. UC Berkeley researchers have debuted a unique robot inspired by this burrowing crustacean that may someday help evaluate the soil...

Reliable Power for Long-Term Lunar Surface Operations

To open the Moon to continuous multi-year human and robotic operation, Astrobotic is developing LunaGrid™ — a commercial power system for the surface of the Moon.

Easing Industrial-Grade Ethernet Implementation

Equipment and test system designers need Ethernet devices that outperform consumer-grade components, while remaining easy to use.

3D Printing Materials with Tunable Mechanical Properties

The researchers created these sensing structures using just one material and a single run on a 3D printer.

2022 Create the Future Design Contest: Medical Category Winner — The Novel Squid Glaucoma microShunt

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness, affecting 80 million patients globally including 3 million patients in the U.S.

2022 Create the Future Design Contest Grand Prize Winner

The platform was developed to democratize programmable matter; to make prototyping, innovation, and research with soft robotics incredibly quick and easy; and to enable researchers, designers, and makers of all backgrounds to unleash their creativity and bring their ideas to life.