Robots

Less than 400 are left.Whale SongNorth Atlantic right whales — all 300 or so of them left alive — have a new weapon on their side.For years, marine ecologist Mark Baumgartner has been deploying real-time listening devices that record whale song. Now, the lab he works for is partnering with a marine shipping company to deploy two robotic buoys that will relay location info on right whales back to shore. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution developed the tech so mariners and the public have an idea of where the endangered…

"We believe that a lot of the rules have to change."Killing CommentaryThe Pentagon is selling a t-shirt that says not to worry about their "killer robots" — which raises a lot of questions arguably answered by their t-shirt, it seems.During a recent event organized by the Atlantic Council, an international relations think tank in Washington, DC, Marine lieutenant general and artificial intelligence head honcho Michael Groen said that although the military's killer robots are by far the most exciting thing the Pentagon's…

In a recent Ask the Developer interview, Nintendo Switch Sports developer’s divulged a lot of information regarding the game’s development, including an odd early concept. When discussing early concept design ideas for the Wii Sports sequel, producer Takayuki Shimamura recalled, “I remember we had the most outlandish characters that looked like robots”. Art director Junji Morii noted that this was around the time the team decided to reboot the project internally, but the robot concept is further discussed. It turns out…

It might not be too long until robots are whizzing around your home picking up mess and doing the daily dishes. Dyson has just announced that it's investing heavily in this futuristic technology with plans to create a new robotics centre at Hullavington Airfieldbeing in Wiltshire and a huge recruitment drive which will see almost 1,000 new staff being employed over the next five years.This new breed of bots could help consumers with those tedious everyday chores such as cleaning, tidying and unpacking the dishwasher. The…

Is your tiny robot really all that small if it's bigger than the width of a coin? A team of scientists has built what is now the smallest-ever remote-controlled walking robot, coming in at a mere half a millimeter (less than a fiftieth of an inch) wide.  Exceedingly tiny robots have a whole host of potential uses, from helping out with surgical procedures to repairing machinery in spaces where a wrench can't fit. The smaller they get, the more scenarios they could be used in.This bot, while not ready to start going out…

The state of New York will distribute robot companions to the homes of more than 800 older adults. The robots are not able to help with physical tasks, but function as more proactive versions of digital assistants like Siri or Alexa — engaging users in small talk, helping contact love ones, and keeping track of health goals like exercise and medication. The scheme is being organized by the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA), and is intended to help address the growing problem of social isolation among the…

Dyson has shown off a series of prototype robots it’s developing, and announced plans to hire hundreds of engineers over the next five years in order to build robots capable of household chores. The images are designed to show off the fine motor skills of the machines, with arms capable of lifting plates out of a drying rack, vacuuming a sofa, or lifting up a children’s toy. The company, best known for its range of vacuum cleaners, says that it aims to develop “an autonomous device capable of household chores and other…

Because GPS doesn't work indoors, it can be difficult for robots to determine where they are within a structure. A new system could help, by using a building's existing Wi-Fi access points to guide wheeled or walking robots.First of all, it is possible for robots to find their way through buildings, although they typically do so using optical cameras or LiDAR sensors to spot known landmarks or special markers. LiDAR modules can be expensive and power-hungry, however, plus cameras may be thwarted by dark or otherwise…

Researchers have developed soft robots that are capable of navigating complex environments, such as mazes, without input from humans or computer software. The soft robots are made of liquid crystal elastomers in the shape of a twisted ribbon, resembling translucent versions of rotini pasta. Credit: Yao Zhao, NC State UniversityResearchers from <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>North Carolina State University</div><div…

This article is part of our coverage of the latest in AI research. For humans, working with deformable objects is not significantly more difficult than handling rigid objects. We learn naturally to shape them, fold them, and manipulate them in different ways and still recognize them. But for robots and artificial intelligence systems, manipulating deformable objects present a huge challenge. Consider the series of steps that a robot must take to shape a ball of dough into pizza crusts. It must…