Bots & Brains

Researchers at the University of Missouri are working to speed up the online delivery process by developing a software model designed to make “transport” robots smarter.  In this system humans and robots work together to process online orders — real-life workers strategically positioned among their automated coworkers who are moving intelligently back and forth in a warehouse space, picking items for shipping to the customer.

Aerobotix and FerRobotics, two robotics companies based in the U.S. and Austria respectively, today announced they have partnered on a new solution in response to aerospace industry demand for an automated tool for precision masking tape application.

Over the next five years, SDSS V plans to observe four million stars and 300,000 black holes, analyze spectra and material composition, reconstruct cosmic development histories and verify physical models of the birth of the galaxy. Two optical large-scale telescopes in the northern and southern hemisphere will be used for this major international project, partly built by 500 robots.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science and the University of California, Berkeley, have designed a robotic system that enables a low-cost and relatively small legged robot to climb and descend stairs nearly its height; traverse rocky, slippery, uneven, steep and varied terrain; walk across gaps; scale rocks and curbs; and even operate in the dark. 

Beneath our streets lies a maze of pipes, conduits for water, sewage, and gas. Regular inspection of these pipes for leaks, or repair, normally requires these to be dug up. The latter is not only onerous and expensive – with an estimated annual cost of £5.5bn in the UK alone – but causes disruption to traffic as well as nuisance to people living nearby, not to mention damage to the environment.

Researchers at North Carolina State University have created a ring-shaped soft robot capable of crawling across surfaces when exposed to elevated temperatures or infrared light. The researchers have demonstrated that these “ringbots” are capable of pulling a small payload across the surface – in ambient air or under water, as well as passing through a gap that is narrower than its ring size.

As industries begin to see humans working closely with robots, there’s a need to ensure that the relationship is effective, smooth and beneficial to humans. Robot trustworthiness and humans’ willingness to trust robot behavior are vital to this working relationship. However, capturing human trust levels can be difficult due to subjectivity, a challenge researchers at Texas A&M University aim to solve.

As they traverse the air, land, or sea, encountering one another or other obstacles, autonomous vehicles will need to talk to each other. Even cars with actual drivers could benefit from the ability to work together to avoid calamity and assure efficiency. Temporary, ad hoc networks will form around sets of vehicles and the onboard sensors and communications technology that allow them to navigate; they will interact, enabling them all to “see” one another and react accordingly.

For decades researchers have worked to design robotic hands that mimic the dexterity of human hands in the ways they grasp and manipulate objects. However, these earlier robotic hands have not been able to withstand the physical impacts that can occur in unstructured environments. A research team has now developed a compact robotic finger for dexterous hands, while also being capable of withstanding physical impacts in its working environment.

A gripper robot has been developed that can grasp all types of objects, from very fine or thin objects such as acupuncture needles and sewing needles to large objects such as boxes.