Robotics news

Vision-language models gain spatial reasoning skills through artificial worlds and 3D scene descriptions

Vision-language models (VLMs) are advanced computational techniques designed to process both images and written texts, making predictions accordingly. Among other things, these models could be used to improve the capabilities of robots, helping them to accurately interpret their surroundings and interact with human users more effectively.

13/06/2025 13:30

Q&A: Why improving robot design is essential to achieving true intelligence

Thanks to artificial intelligence, robots can already perform many tasks that would otherwise require humans. In this interview, Edoardo Milana, a junior professor of soft machines in the Department of Microsystems Engineering at the University of Freiburg, explains how improved design and innovative mechanics are broadening the range of applications for these machines.

12/06/2025 23:48

Training robots without robots: Smart glasses capture first-person task demos

Over the past few decades, robots have gradually started making their way into various real-world settings, including some malls, airports and hospitals, as well as a few offices and households.

12/06/2025 14:00

Single-material electronic skin gives robots the human touch

Scientists have developed a low-cost, durable, highly sensitive robotic "skin" that can be added to robotic hands like a glove, enabling robots to detect information about their surroundings in a way that's similar to humans. The results are reported in the journal Science Robotics.

11/06/2025 21:00

Bio-mimetic robotic hand seamlessly integrates tactile feedback to outperform predecessors

Over the past decades, roboticists have developed increasingly advanced systems that can emulate some human capabilities and effectively tackle various real-world tasks. To reliably grasp, manipulate and utilize objects in their surroundings, robots should be able to detect and process tactile information, replicating the processes underpinning the human sense of touch.

11/06/2025 13:30

AI-enabled control system helps autonomous drones stay on target in uncertain environments

An autonomous drone carrying water to help extinguish a wildfire in the Sierra Nevada might encounter swirling Santa Ana winds that threaten to push it off course. Rapidly adapting to these unknown disturbances inflight presents an enormous challenge for the drone's flight control system.

10/06/2025 17:00

Debut of LLM-enabled humanoid robot at event met with mixed reviews by human attendees

A team of roboticists at the University of Canberra's Collaborative Robotics Lab, working with a sociologist colleague from The Australian National University, has found humans interacting with an LLM-enabled humanoid robot had mixed reactions. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, the group describes what they saw as they watched interactions between an LLM-enabled humanoid robot posted at an innovation festival and reviewed feedback given by people participating in the interactions.

10/06/2025 14:50

Smart adaptation: The fusion of AI and robotics for dynamic environments

The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in a new era of automated robotics that are adaptive to their environments.

09/06/2025 23:27

Single-sensor 3D microphone enables robots to locate humans in noisy environments

A research team has developed a novel auditory technology that allows the recognition of human positions using only a single microphone. This technology facilitates sound-based interaction between humans and robots, even in noisy factory environments.

09/06/2025 22:11

Light and AI drive precise motion in soft robotic arm

Researchers at Rice University have developed a soft robotic arm capable of performing complex tasks such as navigating around an obstacle or hitting a ball, guided and powered remotely by laser beams without any onboard electronics or wiring. The research could inform new ways to control implantable surgical devices or industrial machines that need to handle delicate objects.

09/06/2025 21:34

Robotic hand with unprecedented tactile sensitivity achieves human-like dexterity in real-world tasks

Researchers have unveiled a robotic hand, the F-TAC Hand, which integrates high-resolution tactile sensing across an unprecedented 70% of its surface area, allowing for human-like adaptive grasping. This pioneering development, published in Nature Machine Intelligence today, represents a significant leap forward in robotic intelligence and its ability to interact with dynamic real-world environments.

09/06/2025 19:49

Algorithm lets a robot 'think ahead' and consider thousands of potential motion plans simultaneously

Ready for that long-awaited summer vacation? First, you'll need to pack all items required for your trip into a suitcase, making sure everything fits securely without crushing anything fragile.

05/06/2025 17:31

Team achieves 3D recognition of transparent objects in less than two seconds

What used to take 15 seconds now takes less than 2: Thanks to new single-shot technology, the goROBOT3D system, developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, will be able to measure three-dimensional objects even more efficiently in future—even if they are transparent or black. The institute will be presenting the technology for the first time at the automatica trade show in Munich from June 24 to 27.

04/06/2025 23:06

New system allows machines to better recognize human facial expressions

Researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) are helping machines become more emotionally aware using a new method that allows them to better recognize human facial expressions.

04/06/2025 18:54

In Canada lake, robot learns to mine without disrupting marine life

Three robotic arms extended under the water in a Canadian lake, delicately selecting pebbles from the bed, before storing them back inside the machine.

03/06/2025 11:05

Cognitive robotics and new safety technologies for human-robot collaboration

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF have developed cognitive robot capabilities that can handle complex tasks in manufacturing that were previously impossible to automate. In addition, they are also unveiling PARU and computer-aided safety (CAS), the first safety technologies and planning tools for close human-machine collaboration that can also ensure safety in AI-generated robot movements.

02/06/2025 23:24

Robots run out of energy long before they run out of work to do. Feeding them could change that

Earlier this year, a robot completed a half-marathon in Beijing in just under 2 hours and 40 minutes. That's slower than the human winner, who clocked in at just over an hour—but it's still a remarkable feat. Many recreational runners would be proud of that time. The robot kept its pace for more than 13 miles (21 kilometers).

02/06/2025 22:23

Robotic table tennis system predicts ball trajectory and adapts swing in real time

Over the past decades, roboticists have introduced various systems that can replicate specific human motions and behaviors with remarkable accuracy. Some of these robots can even compete with other robots or humans in specific sports, such as the robots showcased at the RoboCup, an international robotics event at which robots play soccer with each other.

31/05/2025 18:10

Engineers develop self-healing muscle for robots

A University of Nebraska–Lincoln engineering team is another step closer to developing soft robotics and wearable systems that mimic the ability of human and plant skin to detect and self-heal injuries.

30/05/2025 18:47

Smart software replaces expensive sensors for glass wall detection with 96% accuracy

A research team has developed autonomous driving software that allows inexpensive sensors to detect transparent obstacles such as glass walls, providing an alternative to high-performance sensors. This technology can be used in existing robots, negating the need for additional equipment while ensuring detection performance that is equal to that offered by expensive conventional equipment.

30/05/2025 18:44

Robot navigates high-speed parkour with autonomous movement planning

A team of roboticists and AI specialists at the Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Lab in Korea has designed, built and successfully tested a four-legged robot that is capable of conducting high-speed parkour maneuvers. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the group describes how they gave their robot a controller capable of both planning and tracking its own movements to allow it to freely traverse a range of environments.

30/05/2025 15:00

The challenge of coordinating multiple robots on the moon

Frameworks are a critical, if underappreciated, component of any space exploration mission. They can range from the overall mission architecture, capturing scientific and technical goals, to the structure of messages sent between two internal components of the system.

30/05/2025 14:05

Four-legged robot plays badminton with humans

A small team of roboticists at Robotic Systems Lab, ETH Zurich, in Switzerland, has designed, built and tested a four-legged robot capable of playing badminton with human players.

29/05/2025 21:55

Ultra-light robotic prosthetic hand enables efficient and stable grasping through simple control

An ultra-light robotic prosthetic hand has been developed that enables both precision fingertip control and shape-adaptive gripping through simple motion commands. The hand features an innovative mechanism that allows two degrees of freedom in the thumb (adduction/abduction and flexion/extension) to be independently controlled by a single actuator, achieving exceptional user convenience and weight reduction.

29/05/2025 18:35

Interactive robots should not just be passive companions—but active partners—like therapy horses, say researchers

Interactive robots should not just be passive companions, but active partners—like therapy horses who respond to human emotion—say University of Bristol researchers.

29/05/2025 11:53

Robot morphs midair to switch from flying to rolling on terrain

Specialized robots that can both fly and drive typically touch down on land before attempting to transform and drive away. But when the landing terrain is rough, these robots sometimes get stuck and are unable to continue operating.

28/05/2025 23:02

VR could help train employees working with robots

Working with robots is becoming more common in the recycling industry, helping automate tasks and making complicated work easier. But training human employees to work with robots can be difficult and time-consuming.

28/05/2025 19:33

Algorithm improves acoustic sensor accuracy for cheaper underwater robotics

In the ocean sciences, robots provide views of the unexplored and can navigate environments not safely accessible to humans. Such dangerous settings make up the majority of Earth's oceans.

28/05/2025 18:52

Soft robots can walk themselves out of a 3D printer

Scientists have created the first soft robots that can walk straight out of the machines that make them.

28/05/2025 18:50

Universities face getting stuck with thousands of obsolete robots. Here's how to avoid a research calamity

For more than a decade, the French robotics company Aldebaran has built some of the most popular robots used in academic research. Go to most university robotics departments and you'll find either Pepper, the iconic three-wheeled humanoid robot, or its smaller two-legged sibling, Nao.

21/05/2025 20:30