Robotics
Robots get a feel for the world
June 19, 2012 4:01 am | News | CommentsWhat does a robot feel when it touches something? Little or nothing until now. But with the right sensors, actuators, and software, robots can be give the sense of feel—or at least to identify materials by touch. Researchers have shown that a specially designed robot can outperform humans in identifying a wide range of natural materials, paving the way for advancements in prostheses.
Robotic assistants may adapt to humans in the factory
June 12, 2012 3:47 am | News | CommentsIn today's manufacturing plants, the division of labor between humans and robots is quite clear. But according to an assistant professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the factory floor of the future may host humans and robots working side by side, each helping the other in common tasks.
Robotic jellyfish could patrol oceans, clean oil spills, and detect pollutants
May 29, 2012 4:14 am | News | CommentsVirginia Tech College of Engineering researchers are working on a multi-university, nationwide project for the U.S. Navy that one day will put life-like autonomous robot jellyfish in waters around the world. The main focus of the program is to understand the fundamentals of propulsion mechanisms utilized by nature.
Origami-inspired design method merges engineering, art
May 21, 2012 12:43 pm | News | CommentsResearchers have shown how to create morphing robotic mechanisms and shape-shifting sculptures from a single sheet of paper in a method reminiscent of origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. The new method, called Kaleidogami, uses computational algorithms and tools to create precisely folded structures.
High heels could help improve prosthetic limbs and robots
May 10, 2012 5:54 am | News | CommentsA recent finding suggests that prosthetic lower limbs and robots' legs could be made more efficient by making them less like human-like and more like the prosthetics used by 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius. Researchers found, strangely enough, that women walking in high heels offer an optimal model for economical and efficient movement.
Finding ET may require giant robotic leap
April 18, 2012 12:36 pm | News | CommentsAutonomous, self-replicating robots—exobots—are the way to explore the universe, find and identify extraterrestrial life and perhaps clean up space debris in the process, according to a Penn State engineer, who notes that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence—SETI—is in its 50th year.
Electric fish weak on charge, strong on adaptation
April 10, 2012 6:33 am | by Miles O'Brien, Science Nation Correspondent, and Ann Kellan, Science Nation Producer | News | CommentsAn electric eel can generate enough current to stun its prey, just like a Taser. Weakly electric fish can also generate electricity, but not enough to do any harm. However, researchers have found that the animal’s ability to use an electric field to communicate, navigate, and hunt offers inspiration for a variety of engineering projects.
Pirates, beware: Navy's smart robocopters will spy you
April 5, 2012 10:37 am | News | CommentsNavy unmanned aircraft will be able to distinguish small pirate boats from other vessels when an Office of Naval Research-funded sensor starts airborne tests this summer. Called the Multi-Mode Sensor Seeker, the sensor is a mix of high-definition cameras, mid-wave infrared sensors, and laser-radar technology.
Easy robotic design and production
April 3, 2012 9:11 am | News | CommentsAn ambitious new project to reinvent how robots are designed and produced is being funded by a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation. A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and the University of Pennsylvania aims to develop a desktop technology that would make it possible for the average person to design, customize, and print a specialized robot in a matter of hours.
Robotic hand is powerful yet delicate
April 2, 2012 4:58 am | News | CommentsPouring juice into a plastic cup can be a great challenge to a robot, which must hold a glass bottle firmly, yet gently grasp the cup. Researchers at Saarland University in Germany together with associates in Bologna and Naples have developed a robotic hand that can accomplish both tasks with ease using a device scarcely larger than a human arm.
Self-sculpting sand
April 2, 2012 4:01 am | by Larry Hardesty, MIT News Office | News | CommentsNew algorithms developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers could enable heaps of 'smart sand' that can assume any shape, allowing spontaneous formation of new tools or duplication of broken mechanical parts.
Living microrobot could detect diseases in humans
March 29, 2012 4:11 am | News | CommentsA tiny prototype robot that functions like a living creature is being developed which one day could be safely used to pinpoint diseases within the human body. Called Cyberplasm, it will combine advanced microelectronics with the latest research in biomimicry.
Researchers unveil robot jellyfish built on nanotechnology
March 23, 2012 9:06 am | News | CommentsResearchers at The University of Texas at Dallas and Virginia Tech have created an undersea vehicle inspired by the common jellyfish that runs on renewable energy and could be used in ocean rescue and surveillance missions. The robotic jellyfish, dubbed Robojelly, feeds off hydrogen and oxygen gases found in water.
NRL tests robotic fueling of unmanned surface vessels
March 20, 2012 6:14 am | News | CommentsNaval Research Laboratory engineers successfully demonstrated the robotic fluids transfer from a stationary platform to an unmanned surface vehicle in wave heights greater than 3 ft. The Rapid Autonomous Fuel Transfer project exhibits the ability to track the motion of a Sea Fox naval vessel, safely emplace a magnetic refueling fitting to an on-board refueling receptacle, and successfully complete fluids transfer.
GM, NASA jointly developing robotic gloves for human use
March 14, 2012 6:27 am | News | CommentsGeneral Motors (GM) and NASA are jointly developing a robotic glove that automotive workers and astronauts can wear to help do their respective jobs better while potentially reducing the risk of repetitive stress injuries.
Sometimes the quickest path is not a straight line
March 8, 2012 8:15 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsSometimes the fastest pathway from point A to point B is not a straight line: For example, if you're underwater and contending with strong and shifting currents. But figuring out the best route in such settings is a monumentally complex problem, especially if you're trying to do it not just for one underwater vehicle, but for a swarm of them moving all at once toward separate destinations. However, new methods and software developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology can predict optimal paths for automated underwater vehicles.
Robotic cheetah sets speed record
March 6, 2012 8:39 am | News | CommentsIt won’t keep up with the real thing, but a robotic cat build for DARPA has just set a speed record for legged robots by cruising at 18 miles per hour. Boston Dynamics, known for its Big Dog and Petman projects, built the robot and intends to demonstrate a free-running prototype later this year.
New system allows robots to continuously map their environment
February 16, 2012 4:24 am | by Helen Knight, MIT News correspondent | News | CommentsRobots could one day navigate through constantly changing surroundings with virtually no input from humans, thanks to a system developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that allows them to build and continuously update a 3D map of their environment using a low-cost camera such as Microsoft's Kinect.
Mass-production technique enables robotic insects to spring to life
February 15, 2012 10:28 am | News | CommentsA new technique inspired by elegant pop-up books and origami will soon allow clones of robotic insects to be mass-produced by the sheet. Devised by engineers at Harvard University, the layering and folding process enables the rapid fabrication of not just microrobots, but a broad range of electromechanical devices.
DARPA to develop mobile millimeter-wave backhaul networks
February 13, 2012 3:41 am | News | CommentsProviding high-bandwidth communications for troops in remote forward operating locations is not only critical but also challenging because a reliable infrastructure optimized for remote geographic areas does not exist. DARPA recently announced the Fixed Wireless at a Distance program seeks to tackle the problem of stationary infrastructure designed specifically to overcome the challenge inherent with cell communication in remote areas.
Industrial robot finds its muse
February 10, 2012 6:30 am | News | CommentsNot all artists are extroverts. A portraitist at the CeBIT show in Hanover, Germany, this week is cool, precise, and metallic. Other artists, in fact, helped it get started as a project to test image-evaluation technologies that equips the robot with a sense of “sight”.
Robotic pack mule to lighten troops' load
February 8, 2012 4:14 am | News | CommentsToday's dismounted warfighter can be saddled with more than 100 lbs of gear, resulting in physical strain, fatigue, and degraded performance. To help alleviate physical weight on troops, DARPA is developing a highly mobile, semi-autonomous legged robot, the Legged Squad Support System (LS3), to integrate with a squad of marines or soldiers.
Studying butterfly flight to help build bug-size flying robots
February 2, 2012 6:44 am | News | CommentsTo improve the next generation of insect-size flying machines, Johns Hopkins engineers have been aiming high-speed video cameras at some of the prettiest bugs on the planet. By figuring out how butterflies flutter among flowers with amazing grace and agility, the researchers hope to help small airborne robots mimic these maneuvers.
Researchers find speed limit for birds—and drones
January 19, 2012 10:17 am | News | CommentsTeams at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology who are engineering bird-like unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have found as part of their development work a theoretical speed limit that a bird, or a drone, must observe, no matter how much information it has about its environment.
Snakes improve search-and-rescue robots
January 19, 2012 6:35 am | News | CommentsDesigning an all-terrain robot for search-and-rescue missions is an arduous task for scientists. The machine must be flexible enough to move over uneven surfaces, yet not so big that it's restricted from tight spaces. Some existing robots have these features, but the majority require large amounts of energy and are prone to overheating. Georgia Tech researchers have designed a new machine by studying the locomotion of snakes.
