Futurity.org » robotics

Practice, practice, practice makes muscles efficient

Jim Scott CU-Boulder — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:20:47 +0000

U. COLORADO-BOULDER (US) — Practice makes perfect, but continued practice could make you more efficient.

A new study looked at how test subjects learned particular arm-reaching movements using a robotic arm.

Spry robot built to zip like the butterfly

Phil Sneiderman-JHU — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:59:46 +0000

JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — High-speed video of butterflies’ agility in flight may help researchers build tiny robots that mimic the insects’ maneuvers.

The Air Force, which funded the research, is supporting the development of bug-size flyers to carry out reconnaissance, search-and-rescue, and environmental monitoring missions without risking human lives. The devices are commonly called micro aerial vehicles (MAVs).

Monkey-brained robot ‘sees’ with whiskers

Paul Mannion-Sheffield — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:26:02 +0000

U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — Researchers have fitted a robotic rat with a monkey brain model in order to increase the machine’s perception.

By fitting the monkey brain model into an existing robotic rat, which the University of Sheffield researchers had already developed, it was able to feel different textured surfaces, such as rough and smooth carpets, as it scuttled across them with its rat-like whiskers.

As reported in the journal Interface, the machine also made better decisions with its whiskers than any previous method tested.

Toy car gets stability from ‘lizard tail’

Robert Sanders-UC Berkeley — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:21:36 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — Inspired by the way lizards keep their balance, researchers have developed a robotic car named “Tailbot” that has a stabilizing tail.

Biologists and engineers at University of California, Berkeley, studied how lizards manage to leap successfully even when they slip and stumble. They found that lizards swing their tails upward to prevent them from pitching head-over-heels into a rock.

Robotic surgery for run-down satellites

Phil Sneiderman-JHU — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:13:33 +0000

JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — A technology developed for delicate abdominal surgeries someday may be used to repair satellites in space, say researchers.

Engineers, already expert in medical robotics, have turned their attention skyward to help NASA develop ways to fix valuable satellites that are breaking down or running out of fuel.

Fast reactions for more ‘eureka!’ moments

Morgan Kelly-Princeton — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:39:40 +0000

PRINCETON (US) — An effort to achieve “accelerated serendipity” uses robotics to perform more than 1,000 chemical reactions a day with molecules never before combined.

In a single day of trials, Princeton University researchers discovered a shortcut for producing pharmaceutical-like compounds that shaves weeks off the traditional process, the team reports in the journal Science.

Cyborg bugs as first responders

Matt Nixon-Michigan — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:50:02 +0000

U. MICHIGAN (US) — A device that harvests energy from a bug’s movements could allow cyborg insects—rather than humans—to monitor hazardous situations.

The principal idea is to harvest the insect’s biological energy from either its body heat or movements. The device developed by engineers at the University of Michigan converts the kinetic energy from wing movements into electricity—prolonging battery life.

Run vs. fly: Robotic roach gets its wings

Sarah Yang-Berkeley — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:30:08 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — Engineers outfitted a six-legged robot, inspired by a cockroach, with wings to shed new light on the origins of flight.

Even though the wings significantly improved the running performance of the 10-centimeter-long robot—called DASH, short for Dynamic Autonomous Sprawled Hexapod—researchers found that the extra boost would not have generated enough speed to launch the critter from the ground.

Build your own swarm of robots

Jade Boyd-Rice — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:17:55 +0000

RICE (US) — Researchers have designed inexpensive “swarming” robots that work collectively—and can be assembled in minutes.

James McLurkin, a robotics professor at Rice University, plans to make the sophisticated “R-one” robots available in kit form next year, for use in the lab, classroom, or at home. Each R-one can be programmed to work individually or collectively in swarms.

Brainy robot gets an ‘A’ in biology

David Salisbury-VU — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:16:37 +0000

VANDERBILT / CORNELL (US) — Engineers have demonstrated for the first time that a computer can take raw experimental data and solve a complex biological modeling problem from scratch.

The research is published online in the journal Physical Biology and is a collaboration between John P. Wikswo, professor of living state physics at Vanderbilt University, Michael Schmidt and Hod Lipson at Cornell University, and Jerry Jenkins and Ravishankar Vallabhajosyula at CFD Research Corp. in Huntsville, Ala.