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African scaly-tailed squirrels use their scaled tails to safely move across the smooth bark of trees in their native rainforest habitats. Researchers from Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems have for the first time investigated the physics of these thorn-covered scales located on the underside of the squirrel tails through mathematical and physical models.

Engineers have harnessed quantum physics to detect the presence of biomolecules without the need for an external light source, overcoming a significant obstacle to the use of optical biosensors in healthcare and environmental monitoring settings. Optical biosensors use light waves as a probe to detect molecules, and are essential for precise medical diagnostics, personalized medicine, and environmental monitoring.

Small autonomous underwater vehicles, like the drones of the sea, could be very useful for studying the depths of the ocean and monitoring its changing conditions. But such nautical mini bots can be easily overpowered by turbulent ocean currents.

An international team led by researchers from Empa and EPFL has explored how in future aerial robots could process construction materials precisely in the air - an approach with great potential for difficult-to-access locations or work at great heights.

Research team develops model to analyse consensus building in groups and provides valuable insights for the development of AI and robotic systems. When groups make decisions - be it people agreeing on an idea, robots coordinating their tasks or fish determining their swimming direction - not every individual has the same influence.

Researchers are working on artificial muscles that can keep up with the real thing. They have now developed a method of producing the soft and elastic, yet powerful structures using 3D printing. One day, these could be used in medicine or robotics - and anywhere else where things need to move at the touch of a button.

A bioinspired robot developed at EPFL can change shape to alter its own physical properties in response to its environment, resulting in a robust and efficient autonomous vehicle as well as a fresh approach to robotic locomotion. From mountain goats that run up near-vertical rock faces to armadillos that roll into a protective ball, animals have evolved to adapt effortlessly to changes in their environment.

EPFL engineers have developed a versatile swimming robot that nimbly navigates cluttered water surfaces. Inspired by marine flatworms, the innovative device offers new possibilities for environmental monitoring and ecological research. Swimming robots play a crucial role in mapping pollution, studying aquatic ecosystems, and monitoring water quality in sensitive areas such as coral reefs or lake shores.

Researchers have decoded the signals between hand movements and the brain, paving the way for more natural-feeling prosthetics. In the study, published in Science Robotics , researchers unpicked the connections between hand movement patterns and the control patterns from motoneurons in the spinal cord.

Research could help improve motor rehabilitation programs and assistive robot control. Researchers have developed a model that explains how humans adapt continuously during complex tasks, like walking, while remaining stable.

Researchers have built a drone that can walk, hop, and jump into flight with the aid of birdlike legs, greatly expanding the range of potential environments accessible to unmanned aerial vehicles. "As the crow flies" is a common idiom referring to the shortest distance between two points, but the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems , led by Dario Floreano, in EPFL's School of Engineering has taken the phrase literally with RAVEN (Robotic Avian-inspired Vehicle for multiple ENvironments).

In 2018, Google DeepMind's AlphaZero program taught itself the games of chess, shogi, and Go using machine learning and a special algorithm to determine the best moves to win a game within a defined grid. Now, a team of Caltech researchers has developed an analogous algorithm for autonomous robots-a planning and decision-making control system that helps freely moving robots determine the best movements to make as they navigate the real world.

Robots that can sense touch and perceive temperature differences' An unexpected material might just make this a reality. At Empa's Laboratory for High-Performance Ceramics, researchers are developing soft and intelligent sensor materials based on ceramic particles. Most people think of coffee cups, bathroom tiles or flower pots when they hear the word "ceramic".

Scientists at EPFL have advanced their NeuroMechFly model, simulating fruit fly movement in the real world. With integrated vision and smell, it helps us understand brain-body coordination, setting a path for neuroengineering's role in robotics and AI. All animals, large or small, have to move at an incredible precision to interact with the world.

The transition from water to land is one of the most significant events in the history of life on Earth. Now, a team of roboticists, palaeontologists and biologists is using robots to study how the ancestors of modern land animals transitioned from swimming to walking, about 390 million years ago. Writing in the journal Science Robotics , the research team, led by the University of Cambridge, outline how 'palaeo-inspired robotics' could provide a valuable experimental approach to studying how the pectoral and pelvic fins of ancient fish evolved to support weight on land.

Researchers from our top-rated Computer Science department have made significant advances in understanding honeybee behaviour through the use of innovative robotic technology. The study, published in the cover page of prestigious journal - Science Robotics, offers unprecedented insights into the daily activities of honeybee colonies, particularly focusing on the queen bee and her interactions with worker bees.

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.

The charging process for electric cars is currently still an obstacle to their widespread use. An autonomous charging robot aims to make it easier, faster and more convenient. TU Graz has been carrying out research on autonomous robots that can independently "refuel" electrically powered vehicles for several years now.

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.