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The newly developed robotic leg is inspired by living creatures and jumps over different terrains much more manoeuvrable and energy-efficiently than previous robots Researchers have developed the first robotic leg that is powered by artificial electro-hydraulic muscles and automatically adapts to uneven terrain.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems have developed a robotic leg with artificial muscles. Inspired by living creatures, it jumps across different terrains in an agile and energy-efficient manner. Inventors and researchers have been developing robots for almost 70 years.

These zinc-air batteries, smaller than a grain of sand, could help miniscule robots sense and respond to their environment. A tiny battery designed by MIT engineers could enable the deployment of cell-sized, autonomous robots for drug delivery within in the human body, as well as other applications such as locating leaks in gas pipelines.

SimPLE learns to pick, regrasp, and place objects using the objects' computer-aided design model. Pick-and-place machines are a type of automated equipment used to place objects into structured, organized locations. These machines are used for a variety of applications - from electronics assembly to packaging, bin picking, and even inspection - but many current pick-and-place solutions are limited.

In a new study, scientists found that rhinoceros beetles use passive mechanisms to deploy and retract wings instead of muscles. The findings inspired them to design a new microrobot, demonstrating a simple, yet effective, approach to the design of insect-like flying micromachines. Birds, bats, and bees all'use distinct muscles to deploy and retract their wings.

Have you ever wondered how insects are able to go so far beyond their home and still find their way? The answer to this question is not only relevant to biology but also to making the AI for tiny, autonomous robots. TU Delft drone-researchers felt inspired by biological findings on how ants visually recognize their environment and combine it with counting their steps in order to get safely back home.

Eindhoven researchers have developed a soft robotic 'hand' made from liquid crystals and graphene that could be used to design future surgical robots. The new work has just been published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. In our future hospitals, soft robots might be used as surgical robots.

Manchester engineers unlock design for record-breaking robot that could jump twice the height of Big Ben Engineers at The University of Manchester have unlocked the secrets to designing a robot capable of jumping 200 metres - higher than any other jumping robot designed to date. Using a combination of mathematics, computer simulations, and laboratory experiments, the researchers have discovered how to design a robot with the optimum size, shape and the arrangement of its parts, allowing it to jump high enough to clear obstacles many times its own size.

A fully edible robot could soon end up on our plate if we overcome some technical hurdles, say scientists involved in RoboFood - an project which aims to marry robots and food. Robots and food have long been distant worlds: Robots are inorganic, bulky, and non-disposable; food is organic, soft, and biodegradable.

Diagnostic support with artificial intelligence and robotics Prof. Nassir Navab from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) uses robotic ultrasound systems that perform routine examinations autonomously and support doctors in the operating theater. His research shows that these systems can make everyday life easier for doctors.

Researchers have developed a method to make adaptive and eco-friendly sensors that can be directly and imperceptibly printed onto a wide range of biological surfaces, whether that's a finger or a flower petal. The method, developed by researchers from the University of Cambridge, takes its inspiration from spider silk, which can conform and stick to a range of surfaces.

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. Animal brains use less data and energy compared to current deep neural networks running on GPUs (graphic chips).

Swarm intelligence will revolutionise autonomous systems like robots or satellites. Inspired by nature, swarms of autonomous agents can display collectively intelligent behaviours, even though every single agent follows simple rules based on its individual perception. Thinking ahead, such systems can enable completely new possibilities for a multitude of use cases.

A new MIT system could help astronauts conserve energy and extend missions on the lunar surface. Need a moment of levity' Try watching videos of astronauts falling on the moon. NASA's outtakes of Apollo astronauts tripping and stumbling as they bounce in slow motion are delightfully relatable. For MIT engineers, the lunar bloopers also highlight an opportunity to innovate.

In 2016, the BBC commissioned two reptilian robots from the BioRob laboratory for a documentary on the African wilderness. The scientists never imagined how testing the devices in the wild would change their approach to robotic design. Auke Ijspeert and his team at the Laboratory of Biorobotics ( BioRob ) in EPFL's Faculty of Engineering had already tested their bio-informed robots in the wild.

Safely entering potentially unsafe areas with a robot from a distance using VR goggles. Eduardo Veas is making this possible at the Institute of Interactive Systems and Data Science at TU Graz.

A four-legged robot trained with machine learning by researchers has learned to avoid falls by spontaneously switching between walking, trotting, and pronking - a milestone for roboticists as well as biologists interested in animal locomotion. With the help of a form of machine learning called deep reinforcement learning (DRL), the EPFL robot notably learned to transition from trotting to pronking - a leaping, arch-backed gait used by animals like springbok and gazelles - to navigate a challenging terrain with gaps ranging from 14-30cm.

No crystal ball is needed to envision a future that engineers have in mind, one in which air taxis and other flying vehicles ferry passengers between urban locations, avoiding the growing gridlock on the ground below. Companies are already prototyping and testing such hybrid electric "flying cars" that take off and land vertically but soar through the air like winged aircraft to enable efficient flight over longer distances.

Researchers are targeting the next generation of soft actuators and robots with an elastomer-based ink for 3D printing objects with locally changing mechanical properties, eliminating the need for cumbersome mechanical joints. For engineers working on soft robotics or wearable devices, keeping things light is a constant challenge: heavier materials require more energy to move around, and - in the case of wearables or prostheses - cause discomfort.

New Waterloo Engineering-led research quickens the response time for robots to react to human conversation Talking to a robot often feels stilted or delayed, thanks to computer software trying to keep up with the conversation. However, new research from the University of Waterloo has improved the ability for humans to communicate naturally with humanoid robots.