Bots & Brains

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have created a four-legged soft robot that doesn’t need any electronics to work. The robot only needs a constant source of pressurized air for all its functions, including its controls and locomotion systems.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Assistant Professor Peter Koo and collaborator Matt Ploenzke reported a way to train machines to predict the function of DNA sequences. They used “neural nets”, a type of artificial intelligence (AI) typically used to classify images.

Soft robots may not be in touch with human feelings, but they are getting better at feeling human touch. Cornell University researchers have created a low-cost method for soft, deformable robots to detect a range of physical interactions, from pats to punches to hugs, without relying on touch at all. Instead, a USB camera located inside the robot captures the shadow movements of hand gestures on the robot’s skin and classifies them with machine-learning software.

Army-funded researchers discovered how to make materials capable of self-propulsion, allowing materials to move without motors or hands.

USC researchers have developed a new method to counter emergent mutations of the coronavirus and hasten vaccine development to stop the pathogen responsible for killing thousands of people and ruining the economy.

Using patient data, artificial intelligence can make a 90 percent accurate assessment of whether a person will die from COVID-19 or not, according to new research at the University of Copenhagen. Body mass index (BMI), gender and high blood pressure are among the most heavily weighted factors. The research can be used to predict the number of patients in hospitals, who will need a respirator and determine who ought to be first in line for a vaccination.

Researchers of the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) have developed low-cost artificial robotic skin with high-performance, vision-guided sensing, opening the doors to large-scale tactile sensing technology. They claim this artificial skin brings robots closer to ‘touching’ human lives’

A team of New Jersey researchers has demonstrated that high-dose therapy gait training using robotic exoskeletons may aid early rehabilitation for acute stroke.

Researchers of the SHIBAURA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY demonstrate automated drone landing using 2D camera-based symbol detection, with potential applications in rescue missions.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have developed a ground-breaking technique that can help us unravel some of the mysteries of the human intestinal bacteria, with the help of artificial intelligence mapping 500-1000 different species among 100 billion active bacteria.