Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, are already used in countless settings to tackle real-world problems. These flying robotic systems can, among other things, help to monitor natural environments, detect fires or other environmental hazards, monitor cities and find survivors of natural disasters. To tackle all of these missions effectively, UAVs should be … Read more
Robots based on soft materials are often better at replicating the appearance, movements and abilities of both humans and animals. While there are now countless soft robots, many of these are difficult to produce on a large-scale, due to the high cost of their components or their complex fabrication process. Researchers at University of Coimbra … Read more
Scientific exploration of the deep ocean has largely remained inaccessible to most people because of barriers to access due to infrastructure, training, and physical ability requirements for at-sea oceanographic research. Now, a new and innovative framework for oceanographic research provides a way for shore-based scientists, citizen scientists, and the general public to seamlessly observe and … Read more
Flying robotic systems have already proved to be highly promising for tackling numerous real-world problems, including explorations of remote environments, the delivery of packages in inaccessible sites, and searches for survivors of natural disasters. In recent years, roboticists and computer scientists have introduced a multitude of aerial vehicle designs, each with distinct advantages and features. … Read more
Adding legs to robots that have minimal awareness of the environment around them can help the robots operate more effectively in difficult terrain, my colleagues and I found. We were inspired by mathematician and engineer Claude Shannon’s communication theory about how to transmit signals over distance. Instead of spending a huge amount of money to … Read more
A study published in Engineering introduces a novel image-based visual servoing (IBVS) method for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to track dynamic targets in GPS-denied environments. Titled “Dynamic Target Tracking of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Under Unpredictable Disturbances,” the research article presents a comprehensive approach that addresses the challenges of estimating target velocities, image depth estimation, and … Read more
Humans often take their fine motor abilities for granted. Recreating the mechanical precision of the human body is no easy task—one that graduate students in CMU’s Mechanical Engineering Department hope to simplify through artificial intelligence. Ph.D. candidates Alison Bartch and Abraham George, under the guidance of Amir Barati Farimani, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, first … Read more
Dartmouth researchers are crafting soft robotic blocks that can work in unison to create structures able to bear weight, roll, walk, grip objects and transport loads. Depending on the task at hand, the blocks can assume the shape most suited to carry it out. For example, such robots could potentially be useful in rapid response … Read more
A collaborative project by researchers from Kings College London (KCL), University College London (UCL) and Moorfields Eye Hospital has defined the design and application of robots for reachability and dexterity for eye surgery. “While we already have good algorithms for the reachability of robots that explain how long, stiff or bendy a robot should be … Read more
With the advancement of ocean detection technology, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have become an indispensable tool for exploring unknown underwater environments. However, existing sensors cannot enable AUVs to identify the environment in narrow spaces where optical or sonic reflection problems may occur. In a recent publication in Research, a study presented the design of an … Read more