Robotics

Robot navigates like a human

European researchers have developed a robot capable of moving autonomously using humanlike visual processing. The robot is helping the researchers explore how the brain responds to its environment while the body is in motion. What they discover could lead to machines that are better able to navigate through cluttered environments.

Video: Carnivorous robots fuel themselves by digesting insects

The next generation of environment friendly robots are on the way. This "predator" robot needs flies to digest in order to create energy for movement. Although the distance covered after "eating" one fly is about couple of centimeters, the technology opens new perspective to fueling our vehicles.

Video: Patients test an advanced prosthetic arm

A new surgical technique, developed by scientists at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, allows patients who have lost arms to use residual nerve signals to control a prosthetic limb.

Mars rover yielding new clues while lodged in Martian soil

NASA's Mars rover Spirit, lodged in Martian soil that is causing traction trouble, is taking advantage of the situation by learning more about the Red Planet's environmental history.

Back to the Moon: the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

After a four and a half day journey from the Earth, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully entered orbit around the moon. Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., confirmed the spacecraft's lunar orbit insertion at 6:27 a.m. EDT Tuesday.

Better looks at Mars minerals for ASU instrument on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter

A slow drift in the orbit of NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft that mission controllers started nine months ago is now giving an ASU instrument a better and more sensitive view of minerals on the surface of Mars.

Robotic ferret will detect hidden drugs and weapons

A new type of robot being developed will make it easier to detect drugs, weapons, explosives and illegal immigrants concealed in cargo containers.

Opening doors on the way to a personal robot

Consider it one small step — or a roll, actually — for a robot, one not giant, but significant step for robotics.

iRobot: where the Terminator is coming to life

This Massachusetts-based firm is working on new armed and autonomous robot technology for use in remote-controlled battlefields.

Robots with fins, tails demonstrate evolution

Robots wag their tail fins and bob along like bathtub toys in a pool at a Vassar College lab. Their actions are dictated by microprocessors housed in round plastic containers, the sort you'd store soup in.

Video: Japan's earthquake rescue robot

The BBC's Richard Black takes a look at the development of a Japanese robot that could help rescue survivors after an earthquake.

Robot fish ready to swim

A robotic fish called WANDA with a camera that can seek out and ‘swim’ towards a particular object of interest is being revealed for the first time.

New rotors could help develop nanoscale generators

In collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, scientists have investigated the rotation of molecules on a fixed surface to understand how they may help in the development of future rotor-based machinery at nanoscale level.

Video: Rotundus GroundBot

GroundBot™ is a robotic mobile platform that hosts cameras and sensors. This robust, lightweight, sealed sphere boasts impressive off-road performance. It also moves virtually silently.

Robotic therapy holds promise for cerebral palsy

Over the past few years, MIT engineers have successfully tested robotic devices to help stroke patients learn to control their arms and legs. Now, they're building on that work to help children with cerebral palsy.