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Professor Ross King from Cambridge's Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, who originated the idea of a 'Robot Scientist', discusses why he believes that AI-powered scientists could surpass the best human scientists by the middle of the century, but only if AI for science is developed responsibly and ethically.

Research team at the University of Freiburg develops 3D-printed pneumatic logic modules that control the movements of soft robots using only air pressure In the future, soft robots will be able to perform tasks that cannot be done by conventional robots. These soft robots could be used in terrain that is difficult to access and in environments where they are exposed to chemicals or radiation that would harm electronically controlled robots made of metal.

It abseils from a height and swings around obstacles: robot Avocado will one day manoeuvre through the canopy of the rainforest and collect data for researchers about this hard-to-reach habitat. It's called Avocado and does actually look a bit like one: currently being developed by researcher on, the innovative robot has a robust housing similar in shape to the green fruit.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have recently developed artificial muscles for robot motion. Their solution offers several advantages over previous technologies: it can be used wherever robots need to be soft rather than rigid or where they need more sensitivity when interacting with their environment. Many roboticists dream of building robots that are not just a combination of metal or other hard materials and motors but also softer and more adaptable.

Researchers have developed a robotic sensor that incorporates artificial intelligence techniques to read braille at speeds roughly double that of most human readers. The research team, from the University of Cambridge, used machine learning algorithms to teach a robotic sensor to quickly slide over lines of braille text.

Surgical robotics are amongst the most complex devices entering healthcare, but how should we evaluate them? Published in Nature Medicine , the Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment and Long-term monitoring (IDEAL) Robotics Colloquium outlines the latest guidance to aid researchers evaluating surgical robots.

Science, Health & Technology Lou Corpuz-Bosshart New washable wireless smart textile technology developed at UBC in collaboration with Vancouver startup also has potential uses in virtual reality and American Sign Language translation This month, a group of stroke survivors in B.C. will test a new technology designed to aid their recovery, and ultimately restore use of their limbs and hands.

It is extremely time-consuming to measure how sound behaves in a room. The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the hearing aid manufacturer Sonova have therefore developed robots that can take over this task. This serves to improve hearing aids in rooms with a lot of background noise.

Could an electric nudge to the head help your doctor operate a surgical robot? Johns Hopkins study finds stimulating people's brains with gentle electric currents can boost learning People who received gentle electric currents on the back of their heads learned to maneuver a robotic surgery tool in virtual reality and then in a real setting much more easily than people who didn't receive those nudges, a new study shows.

Scientists show that breathing may be used to control a wearable extra robotic arm in healthy individuals, without hindering control of other parts of the body. Neuroengineer Silvestro Micera develops advanced technological solutions to help people regain sensory and motor functions that have been lost due to traumatic events or neurological disorders.

For the first time ever, wireless millirobots navigated a narrow blood vessel both along and against arterial flow. Researchers from the University of Twente and Radboudumc inserted the screw-shaped robots in a detached aorta with kidneys where they controlled them using a robotically controlled rotating magnet.

Current hand prostheses already work with the help of an app or sensors attached to the forearm. New research at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) shows this: A better understanding of muscle activity patterns enables more intuitive and natural control of the prostheses. This requires a network of 128 sensors and the use of artificial intelligence .

People interacting with social robots disclosed more about themselves over time and reported feeling less lonely, according to a new study. People interacting with social robots disclosed more about themselves over time and reported feeling less lonely, according to a new study. The research - led by the University of Glasgow and published in the International Journal of Social Robotics - also found that interacting with a social robot improved people's moods over time, suggesting social robots could be used as an effective intervention to support peoples' emotional health in the future.

In a step toward more autonomous soft robots and wearable technologies, researchers have created a device that uses color to simultaneously sense multiple mechanical and temperature stimuli. Robotics researchers have already made great strides in developing sensors that can perceive changes in position, pressure, and temperature - all of which are important for technologies like wearable devices and human-robot interfaces.

Facial expressions are extremely important in understanding what the other person is saying, according to PhD research by Naomi Nota. Frowning in particular turns out to play a major role. Nota will defend her PhD thesis at Radboud University on 6 December. In the past, linguists mainly looked at speech and how it affects language processing.

Human Guided Exploration (HuGE) enables AI agents to learn quickly with some help from humans, even if the humans make mistakes. To teach an AI agent a new task, like how to open a kitchen cabinet, researchers often use reinforcement learning - a trial-and-error process where the agent is rewarded for taking actions that get it closer to the goal.

For the first time, researchers have succeeded in printing a robotic hand with bones, ligaments and tendons made of different polymers using a new laser scanning technique. 3D printing is advancing rapidly, and the range of materials that can be used has expanded considerably. While the technology was previously limited to fast-curing plastics, it has now been made suitable for slow-curing plastics as well.

Computer vision enables contact-free 3D printing, letting engineers print with high-performance materials they couldn't use before. With 3D inkjet printing systems, engineers can fabricate hybrid structures that have soft and rigid components, like robotic grippers that are strong enough to grasp heavy objects but soft enough to interact safely with humans.

The team's new algorithm finds failures and fixes in all sorts of autonomous systems, from drone teams to power grids. From vehicle collision avoidance to airline scheduling systems to power supply grids, many of the services we rely on are managed by computers. As these autonomous systems grow in complexity and ubiquity, so too could the ways in which they fail.

A new ETH study compares 27 humanoid robots with humans and comes to the conclusion that while robots have better components, they are still not capable of achieving as much.