science wire

A new algorithm for automatic assembly of products is accurate, efficient, and generalizable to a wide range of complex real-world assemblies.

Imagine an industrial robot strong enough to lift an engine block and perceptive enough to safely reposition and rotate that hunk of metal while a human attaches it to the vehicle or bolts on additional parts. Manufacturers such as Ford Motor Company have eyed this potential use of robotics as a way to add flexibility to assembly lines and reduce the need for expensive reconfigurations.

Recent mechanical engineering alumna Emily Satterfield '22 pursues passions that might seem unrelated but "actually go hand-in-hand.

The University of Manchester is launching a new specialist multi-disciplinary centre to explore developments in smart robotics through the lens of artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous machinery.

Researchers make progress toward groups of robots that could build almost anything, including buildings, vehicles, and even bigger robots. Researchers at MIT have made significant steps toward creating robots that could practically and economically assemble nearly anything, including things much larger than themselves, from vehicles to buildings to larger robots.

New research from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute (RI) can help robots feel layers of cloth rather than relying on computer vision tools to only see it. The work could allow robots to assist people with household tasks like folding laundry. Humans use their senses of sight and touch to grab a glass or pick up a piece of cloth.

Imagine being able to morph your legs into flippers before you jump in the water. Yale researchers have created a robot that accomplishes this feat through a process they dubbed -adaptive morphogenesis. The project is described in the Oct. 12 edition of Nature and is featured on the issue's cover. The robot, ART (Amphibious Robotic Turtle), takes inspiration from water and land turtles, a group whose fossil record spans over 110 million years.

Inspired by jellyfish and octopuses, PhD candidate Juncal Arbelaiz investigates the theoretical underpinnings that will enable systems to more efficiently adapt to their environments.

Without hands guiding its steering wheel or feet depressing its pedals, an autonomous all-terrain vehicle (ATV) ripped through the high grass across a field, bouncing over rocks and ruts, skirting trees and ditches, and avoiding lakes and steep hillsides.

Researchers created a system that lets robots effectively use grasped tools with the correct amount of force. Tool use has long been a hallmark of human intelligence, as well as a practical problem to solve for a vast array of robotic applications. But machines are still wonky at exerting just the right amount of force to control tools that aren't rigidly attached to their hands.

Energy leaders from around the world attending the inaugural Global Clean Energy Action Forum will see firsthand our region's transformation into a hub of innovation and sustainability.

Barbara Ribeiro, Robert Meckin, Andrew Balmer and Philip Shapira have published a new paper in Research Policy on the digitalisation paradox of everyday scientific labour.

Listen to  Berkeley Talks episode #148: Learning from nature to design better robots. [Music:  "Silver Lanyard" by Blue Dot Sessions ] Intro:  This is  Berkeley Talks , a   podcast from the Office of Communications and Public Affairs that features lectures and conversations at UC Berkeley.

Novel method developed by CMU researchers allows robots to learn in the wild The robot watched as Shikhar Bahl opened the refrigerator door. It recorded his movements, the swing of the door, the location of the refrigerator and more, analyzing this data and readying itself to mimic what Bahl had done.

From next-gen intelligent systems and smart networks to robot-human interactions: at the second Hightech Summit under the auspices of the munich_i trade fair, scientists and industry experts offered a glimpse at how a future based on robotics and AI could look. Along with researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and such renowned institutions as Imperial College London and Delft University, participants included robotics trailblazers from Boston Dynamics and Berkshire Grey as well as representatives of SAP, Google and Roche.

The German Research Foundation approves the Collaborative Research Center "ECOSENSE" The German Research Foundation (DFG) will fund the Collaborative Research Center CRC 1537 "ECOSENSE" from July 1, 2022.

Robots have been working in factories for many years. But given the related safety concerns to the tasks they perform, most operate inside cages or behind safety glass to limit or prevent interaction with humans. In warehouse operations, where goods are continuously sorted and moved, robots can be neither caged nor stationary.

A new generation of smart robots is being developed at The University of Manchester that can be trusted to think and act for themselves in some of the most hazardous places on Earth - and beyond.

The robotic explorer GLIMPSE, created at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, has made it into the final round of a competition for prospecting resources in space.

Swiss roboticists and economists from EPFL and University of Lausanne developed a method for estimating the probability of jobs being automated by future intelligent robots and suggesting career transitions with lower risks and minimal retraining effort. When it comes to the future of intelligent robots, the first question people ask is often: how many jobs will they make disappear?

A team of Western researchers are leveraging the capabilities of autonomous aerial vehicles, most commonly drones, to deliver innovative, safe and secure methods of data collection for an extensive list of commercial and non-commercial operations. As drone technology rapidly develops and advances, the global level of interest and viability has soared exponentially.

In order to support people in therapy or in everyday life in the future, machines will have to be capable of feeling and gently touching their human counterparts.

Robotic wheelchairs may soon be able to move through crowds smoothly and safely. As part of CrowdBot, an project, researchers are exploring the technical, ethical and safety issues related to this kind of technology. The aim of the project is to eventually help the disabled get around more easily. Shoppers at Lausanne's weekly outdoor market may have come across one of EPFL's inventions in the past few weeks - a newfangled device that's part wheelchair, part robot.

For the past three months, a team of engineering students at UC San Diego has been adding cameras, LiDAR systems, a hydrophone, and even a drone to a 16-foot seagoing vessel.

Removing litter from oceans and seas is a costly and time-consuming process. As part of a European cooperative project, a team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is developing a robotic system that uses machine learning methods to locate and collect waste under water.

Experts at Carnegie Mellon's National Robotics Engineering Center have been pushing the field of robotics for more than 25 years. NREC partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop "ARMOR 1 ," the largest yet of NREC's robots. The robot automates the assembly and placement of large mats along the Mississippi River to prevent erosion and stabilize the vital commercial waterway.

Carnegie Mellon University Picking up a blueberry or grape without squishing it isn't hard, but try teaching it to a robot.