Showing 20 articles starting at article 861
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Engineering: Robotics Research, Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published Biodegradable artificial muscles: Going green in the field of soft robotics
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have developed fully biodegradable, high-performance artificial muscles. Their research project marks another step towards green technology becoming a lasting trend in the field of soft robotics.
Published Imaging captures social dynamics of 'pee-shy' mice
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Urine scent marks are the original social media, allowing animals to advertise their location, status and identity. Now research is shining a new light -- via thermal imaging of mice -- on how this behavior changes depending on shifting social conditions.
Published Simulated terrible drivers cut the time and cost of AV testing by a factor of one thousand
(via sciencedaily.com) The push toward truly autonomous vehicles has been hindered by the cost and time associated with safety testing, but a new system shows that artificial intelligence can reduce the testing miles required by 99.99%.
Published Researchers get to the 'bottom' of how beetles use their butts to stay hydrated
(via sciencedaily.com) Beetles are champions at surviving in extremely dry environments. In part, this property is due to their ability to suck water from the air with their rear ends. A new study explains just how. Beyond helping to explain how beetles thrive in environments where few other animals can survive, the knowledge could eventually be used for more targeted and delicate control of global pests such as the grain weevil and red flour beetle.
Published Honey, the 3D print--I mean, dessert--is ready!
(via sciencedaily.com) Cooking devices that incorporate three-dimensional (3D) printers, lasers, or other software-driven processes may soon replace conventional cooking appliances such as ovens, stovetops, and microwaves. But will people want to use a 3D printer -- even one as beautifully designed as a high-end coffee maker -- on their kitchen counters to calibrate the exact micro- and macro-nutrients they need to stay healthy? Will 3D food printing improve the ways we nourish ourselves? What sorts of hurdles will need to be overcome to commercialize such a technology? Researchers explore the benefits and drawbacks of 3D-printed food technology, cooking 3D-printed food with lasers as part of the system, how 3D-printed food compares to the 'normal' food we eat, and the future landscape of our kitchens.
Published Head-worn device can control mobile manipulators
(via sciencedaily.com) New research aims to increase autonomy for individuals with such motor impairments by introducing a head-worn device that will help them control a mobile manipulator. Teleoperated mobile manipulators can aid individuals in completing daily activities, but many existing technologies like hand-operated joysticks or web interfaces require a user to have substantial fine motor skills to effectively control them. Research led by robotics Ph.D. student Akhil Padmanabha offers a new device equipped with a hands-free microphone and head-worn sensor that allows users to control a mobile robot via head motion and speech recognition.
Published Mind-control robots a reality?
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed biosensor technology that will allow you to operate devices, such as robots and machines, solely through thought control.
Published A sowing, pruning, and harvesting robot for SynecocultureTM farming
(via sciencedaily.com) Synecoculture, a new farming method, involves growing mixed plant species together in high density. However, it requires complex operation since varying species with different growing seasons and growing speeds are planted on the same land. To address this need, researchers have developed a robot that can sow, prune, and harvest plants in dense vegetation growth. Its small, flexible body will help large-scale Synecoculture. This is an important step towards achieving sustainable farming and carbon neutrality.
Published 3D-printed revolving devices can sense how they are moving
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers created a system that enables makers to incorporate sensors directly into rotational mechanisms with only one pass in a 3D printer. This gives rotational mechanisms like gearboxes the ability to sense their angular position, rotation speed, and direction of rotation.
Published Electronic skin as flexible as crocodile skin
(via sciencedaily.com) A research team has developed a crocodile-skin-inspired omnidirectionally stretchable pressure sensor.
Published Characterizing abnormal neural networks in dogs with anxiety
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers report abnormalities in functional neural networks of dogs diagnosed with anxiety. The study shows that compared with healthy dogs, those with anxiety exhibit stronger connections between the amygdala and other regions of the anxiety network. The findings might also help reveal how functional connections between anxiety-related regions of the brain are altered in cases of human anxiety disorders.
Published Resilient bug-sized robots keep flying even after wing damage
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed resilient artificial muscles that can enable insect-scale aerial robots to effectively recover flight performance after suffering severe damage.
Published Researchers control the degree of twist in nanostructured particles
(via sciencedaily.com) Micron-sized 'bow ties,' self-assembled from nanoparticles, form a variety of different curling shapes that can be precisely controlled, a research team has shown.
Published Neolithic ceramics reveal dairy processing from milk of multiple species
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study has found evidence of cheesemaking, using milk from multiple animals in Late Neolithic Poland.
Published Mix-and-match kit could enable astronauts to build a menagerie of lunar exploration bots
(via sciencedaily.com) The Walking Oligomeric Robotic Mobility System, or WORMS, is a reconfigurable, modular, multiagent robotics architecture for extreme lunar terrain mobility. The system could be used to assemble autonomous worm-like parts into larger biomimetic robots that could explore lava tubes, steep slopes, and the moon's permanently shadowed regions.
Published Robots can help improve mental wellbeing at work -- as long as they look right
(via sciencedaily.com) Robots can be useful as mental wellbeing coaches in the workplace -- but perception of their effectiveness depends in large part on what the robot looks like.
Published Humans are leaving behind a 'frozen signature' of microbes on Mount Everest
(via sciencedaily.com) Thanks to technological advances in microbial DNA analysis, researchers have discovered that mountaineers' boots aren't the only things leaving footprints on the world's tallest mountain. When someone sneezes on Everest, their germs can last for centuries.
Published Researchers develop soft robot that shifts from land to sea with ease
(via sciencedaily.com) Most animals can quickly transition from walking to jumping to crawling to swimming if needed without reconfiguring or making major adjustments. Most robots cannot. But researchers have now created soft robots that can seamlessly shift from walking to swimming, for example, or crawling to rolling using a bistable actuator made of 3D-printed soft rubber containing shape-memory alloy springs that react to electrical currents by contracting, which causes the actuator to bend. The team used this bistable motion to change the actuator or robot's shape. Once the robot changes shape, it is stable until another electrical charge morphs it back to its previous configuration.
Published Dizzy apes provide clues on human need for mind altering experiences
(via sciencedaily.com) Great apes deliberately spin themselves in order make themselves dizzy -- findings which could provide clues about the role of altered mental states for origins of the human mind.
Published Remarkable squirting mussels captured on film
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have observed a highly unusual behavior in the endangered freshwater mussel, Unio crassus. The jets disturb the river surface and attract fish. Mussel larvae in the jets can then attach to the gills of the fish and complete their metamorphosis into adults.