Soft caterpillar robot moves its body by origami-power

If a soft-bodied robot uses rigid actuators to move its body, then it isn’t really soft now, is it? An experimental new caterpillar-inspired bot gets around that conundrum by using soft, collapsible origami segments to squirm and steer its way into our… Continue reading Soft caterpillar robot moves its body by origami-power

Modular Mori3 tech could let astronauts build the robots they need

In cramped spacecraft or space stations, there typically isn’t room to store multiple robots that are each designed for a specific task. The Mori3 system was designed with that fact in mind, as it can be used to create different types of robots as need… Continue reading Modular Mori3 tech could let astronauts build the robots they need

Hyundai is actually building those wild unstoppable 4x4s on robot legs

We see a lot of wacky concept vehicles, but few as nutty as Hyundai’s Ultimate Utility Vehicles with their robotic stilt legs. And the company is dead serious about building them, too, with a new development and test facility to be built in Montana.Con… Continue reading Hyundai is actually building those wild unstoppable 4x4s on robot legs

Hyundai’s Plug & Drive system would make inanimate objects mobile

One thing that a growing number of “smart” machines can do is move autonomously through buildings or even city streets. Designing that functionality from scratch can be challenging, though, which is where Hyundai’s Plug & Drive (PnD) modular platform i… Continue reading Hyundai’s Plug & Drive system would make inanimate objects mobile

Hyundai’s wild robot-car-on-legs gets an unmanned, air-liftable cousin

Hyundai dropped a lot of jaws when it first announced its bizarre walking robo-car, the Elevate, whose four wheels on articulating legs give it the ability to roll, climb, mammal-walk and spider-walk over a broader range of terrain than anything we’ve … Continue reading Hyundai’s wild robot-car-on-legs gets an unmanned, air-liftable cousin

Tiny Robots That Grow Taller (And Wider)

Sometimes one just needs an extra hand or six  around the workbench. Since you’re a hacker that should take the form of a tiny robot swarm that can physically display your sensor data, protect you against a dangerously hot caffeine fix and clean up once you’re done. [Ryo Suzuki] and …read more

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Lego-like assembly system uses just five parts to assemble complex robots

All living things are built with 20 amino acids in myriad combinations, so why not machines and robots? This is the inspiration for a novel fabrication method from MIT which employs a handful of multi-use parts to create all manner of tiny ma… Continue reading Lego-like assembly system uses just five parts to assemble complex robots

Dashing Diademata Delivers Second Generation ROS

A simple robot that performs line-following or obstacle avoidance can fit all of its logic inside a single Arduino sketch. But as a robot’s autonomy increases, its corresponding software gets complicated very quickly. It won’t be long before diagnostic monitoring and logging comes in handy, or the desire to encapsulate …read more

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SMORES Robot Finds Its Own Way To The Campfire

Robots that can dynamically reconfigure themselves to adapt to their environments offer a promising advantage over their less dynamic cousins. Researchers have been working through all the challenges of realizing that potential: hardware, software, and all the interactions in between. On the software end of the spectrum, a team at University of Pennsylvania’s ModLab has been working on a robot that can autonomously choose a configuration to best fit its task at hand.

We’ve recently done an overview of modular robots, and we noted that coordination and control are persistent challenges in this area. The robot in this particular demonstration …read more

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