Researchers at the University of Lincoln, UK, and the Tsinghua University in China have developed an inexpensive robot called Colias, that they say is ideal for studying applications involving teams of robots working together. Named after a genus of butterfly, the robots are said to be able to …
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Harvard Unveils a Toolkit for Soft Robots
If you’re interested in moving from hard to soft robots, Harvard University is now providing free instructions, guidelines, and starter code online. The Soft Robotics Toolkit Website includes detailed information on how to build your own fluidic control board to operate soft actuators, which can easily perform …
Read More »Can Female Robots Help Humans Overcome Gender Stereotypes?
Taezoon Park, an associate professor in Soongsil University in South Korea, raises some interesting questions about human-robot interaction in Harvard Business Review this week. Park notes past research on the subject suggests humans view robots as social actors. Park suggests that as a consequence, robots could …
Read More »Learn C with a Robot that’s Ready to Climb
If your love of robots predates the Web, you probably remember a little guy called the Rug Warrior Pro. Without any formal training in electronics and only one other robot under my belt, the Rug Warrior Pro was a real challenge for me to make. It probably spent …
Read More »Fleet of Robots Gathering Data in the Altantic Ocean
Seven unmanned robots were released into the open ocean off Southwest England, on a three-week mission to collect data on the ocean and marine life. Some of the vehicles are battery-powered submarine gliders, while others float on the surface of the water and are powered by …
Read More »Combining a Human Brain with Rat Eyes for Better Navigation
Roboticists often look to the living world for guidance on locomotion. There are countless robots designed to move like animals: some run like cheetahs, others slither like snakes, and a few even fly like insects. Michael Milford thinks roboticists should consider a two-pronged, biomimetic approach to …
Read More »Control Your Computer with Bananas!
Bored with your keyboard? Is your mouse a bit mundane? Perhaps you’d like to use fruits and vegetables to control your computer. Now you can, with a cool little circuit board called MaKey MaKey. Just collect items around your home that conduct electricity and connect each …
Read More »Robot Spy Moves Stealthily Through Water
Researchers at MIT have developed a sneaky underwater robot intended to find ships with illegally imported goods. The robot, which resembles a two-tone football, was built using a 3D printer. It consists of two halves: one is waterproof and contains the electronics, accelerometers, gyroscopes and the battery. …
Read More »New Open-Source Robot with Magnetic-Mount Sensors
An interesting educational robot is searching for funding on Kickstarter. Based on the open-source Arduino platform, Scratch Duino features sensors that snap into one of five slots using magnets. Kits will include two light sensors, two contact sensors, two reflective object sensors, and an infared eye. …
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