This year’s International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS2013) was held in Tokyo, Japan— a globally recognized hotspot for some of the most fascinating robots on earth. Under the name of New Horizon, this conference aimed to get participants looking forward towards a new era of intelligent systems capable of meeting the needs of the fast-changing times we live in.
Continue reading
While creepy, crawly, or just plain gross, insects are in fact the object of many scientists’ affections.Those involved in the field of biomimicry are attempting to figure out exactly how some of these fascinating critters have honed in on some pretty amazing skills.
Continue reading
What’s the relationship between living and artificial systems? How can we combine the two to form sophisticated solutions to challenges in science and engineering? The annual conference Living Machines puts these questions under the microscope.
Continue reading
Boston Dynamic’s been keeping dog lovers happy throughout their steady development of BigDog, a robot with uncannily canine gait and maneuvers. Now, feline aficionados can finally rejoice as WildCat makes its way into the robot world.
Continue reading
Jellies are on a world-wide rise: we’ve made the mess, now it’s time to clean it up!
They may be found in swarms of marvelous colours, or floating solitary like transparent pieces of blown glass. From waters East to West, and North to South the jellyfish knows Continue reading
In the near future, doctors may try out treatments on virtual versions of ourselves
Advances in medical technology have played a major role in increasing people’s average life expectancy.
Continue reading
Researchers explore the state of the art of Biomimetics
Does it make sense to study the living to make machines? Or explore the intricate architecture of a shell to design a building? Within this field, scientists look to nature for their best ideas—we’re talking about Biomimicry. It’s a scientific field that blends a flow of ideas from the biological sciences into engineering. Biomimetic research is bringing together scientists from disciplines such as Neuroscience, Cell Biology, Computation, Psychology, and many others to produce new technologies that make sense in today’s ever-changing world.
Continue reading
The 6th edition of the Barcelona Cognition, Brain and Technology 2 week summer school
BCBT is back for its 6th summer in sunny Barcelona! Check out the CSN international summer school hosted by SPECS at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona.
Harvard University says hello to the tiniest flying robot ever
Pictured next to an American coin, this little machine weighs in at a mere tenth of a gram. The Robobee, developed at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, is officially the smallest flying robot ever created and it’s just completed some very successful first flights.
Continue reading
Check out this robot inspired by fleas!
Scientists at Seoul National University (SNU) have recently created a robot inspired by tiny blood-sucking bugs: fleas! Pesky as these little insects may be, they’ve got an incredible physical ability that not even an Olympic high-jumper could compete with — these guys can jump over 200 hundred times their own body length! See for yourself in NewScientist’s video above.
Continue reading