The experimental robot, demonstrating the location of the six legs and the corresponding joints. Source: American Institute of Physics Researchers in Japan and Italy are embracing chaos and nonlinear physics to create insectlike gaits for tiny robots — complete with a locomotion controller to provide a brain-machine interface. Biology and physics are permeated by universal […]
For the first time, yearly orders of robots from non-automotive sectors surpassed automotive robot orders, as sales of robotic units in North America increased 3.5% in 2020 from 2019. This growth was driven by a strong Q4 that was the second-best quarter ever for North American robotic sales with a 63.6% increase over Q4 2019. […]
Spot Arm features integrated time of flight, IMU, and 4K RGB sensors. | Credit: Boston Dynamics Boston Dynamics released several updates to its Spot product line. The goal is to enhance the quadruped’s ability to autonomously monitor job sites. To do so, the RBR50 company introduced a new version of the robot, Spot Enterprise, the […]
Kitchen robots are a popular vision of the future, but if a robot of today tries to grasp a kitchen staple such as a clear measuring cup or a shiny knife, it likely won’t be able to. Transparent and reflective objects are the things of robot nightmares. Roboticists at Carnegie Mellon University, however, report success […]
Precision drives are essential for numerous robotics applications. Source: FAULHABER Today, a world without robots is inconceivable. The areas of application that require process safety, reliability, and economic efficiency from these robots are equally manifold. FAULHABER MICROMO LLC said its drive systems can play a major role in fulfilling these requirements because they combine durability […]
NASA is crowdsourcing lunar exploration. Source: HeroX Before humans return to Earth’s moon, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to send multiple small robots to identify local terrain and resources, build habitats, and conduct other lunar missions. It has partnered with crowdsourcing expert HeroX, which today launched “Honey, I Built the NASA Payload, The […]
Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot is expanding to its resume every day, and the quadruped can add nuclear power plant exploration and radiation monitoring to the list. Engineers from the University of Bristol recently tested Spot around the Exclusion Zone territory of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The Exclusion Zone covers approximately a 1,000-square-mile area in […]
iRobot Genius Home Intelligence gives users more control over their cleaning robots. | Credit: iRobot Using the new iRobot Home App, the Genius platform offers personalized control over how, when and where the robots clean. And iRobot claims the system gets smarter over time, similar to the Nest thermostat. iRobot Genius is currently available on […]
eKAMI is using Forge/OS as part of its curriculum. Source: READY Robotics Automation is key to the U.S. competing on a global manufacturing stage, but the nation must train its workforce to be fluent in advanced skills such as robot programming. To enable broader deployment of the automation that will power the future of manufacturing, […]
Luminar founder and CEO Austin Russell after the company went public via SPAC on Dec. 3, 2020. CBS MarketWatch declared 2020 the year of the SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation). A record 219 companies went public through this fundraising vehicle that uses a reverse merger with an existing private business to create a publicly-listed entity. […]
