Tag: Robots
Hyundai acquires controlling stake in robotics firm Boston Dynamics
South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai has bought a controlling stake in robotic firm Boston Dynamics from SoftBank. The deal values the mobile robot firm at $1.1 billion. Additional financial details were not disclosed. Post-closing, Hyundai holds an 80 percent stake in Boston Dynamics while SoftBank, through one of its affiliates, retains the remaining 20 percent…
Kitronik Launches :Move Motor for BBC Micro:bit
Kitronik, the Nottingham based electronics and educational technology company that supplies schools across the world, has launched its latest product for use with the BBC micro:bit – the :Move Motor. The :Move Motor is a robotic buggy that can be coded using the BBC micro:bit or the Adafruit Clue. A more advanced buggy than…
Scientists develop robot personal trainer
Scientists have developed a robot personal trainer to coach runners through an exercise programme on the treadmill. Humanoid robot Pepper can tell jokes, show sympathy, lean in towards the runner and change eye colour to express different emotions. The support is personalised based on the gym-goer’s heart rate, speed, personality type, mood and fitness level.…
Scientists create Trimbot, a gardening robot
Scientists have created Trimbot, a gardening robot that can prune roses and trim bushes, making light work of gardening chores. The green-fingered robot uses mapping technology to find its way around the garden and performs horticultural tasks with its advanced cutting tools. Developers fitted five pairs of cameras and a flexible robotic arm to an automated…
Scientists develop robot inspectors for offshore wind farms
Scientists have developed fully autonomous robots which are able to inspect wind farms for damage. Unlike many drones, these do not require a human operator and can assess the integrity of offshore wind turbines. Those behind the devices believe they could help prevent technicians having to undergo the “dangerous and expensive” process of abseiling down…
Russian capsule carrying robot fails Space Station docking
A Russian space capsule carrying a humanoid robot has failed to dock as planned with the International Space Station. A statement from the Russian space agency Roscosmos said the failure to dock on Saturday was because of problems in the docking system. It said the space station itself and the six-person crew are safe. Given…
Life-like robots closer to reality
Life-like robots that can make decisions, adapt to their environment and learn, are one step closer to becoming reality. Researchers at the University of Bristol have demonstrated a new way of embedding computation into soft robotic materials. This advance could create new robotic possibilities to environmental monitoring, pollution clean-up, drug delivery, prosthetic devices, wearable biosensing…
First robot artist, Ai-Da, opens ‘her’ own art exhibition
A humanoid AI robot is set to open its own exhibition of artwork in Oxford, drawn independently using a robotic arm and an inbuilt camera. The robot, called Ai-Da after the mathematician Ada Lovelace, is said to be the first ultra-realistic robot capable of drawing people from life using her eye and a pencil in…
Ford creates Digit, a robot that delivers to the door
Ford is testing a two-legged robot that is able to independently carry parcels from a self-driving delivery vehicle to the front door. Called Digit, the slightly scaring looking humanoid can walk up and down stairs, as well as on uneven ground, holding items weighing up to 18kg, with the aim of one day easing pressure…
MIT researchers create Mini Cheetah – first four-legged robot to perform backflip
A four-legged robot named the Mini Cheetah is now able to do backflips, thanks to researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The new robot is the first device with four legs to be able to do the trick, after Boston Dynamics’s two-legged Atlas robot pulled off the stunt in November 2017. As well as…