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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.

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.