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Soft robot hand learns how to avoid butter fingers

11 April 2023

Designed to look like a human hand, a soft robotic device uses pressure sensors and artificial intelligence to learn how to prevent an object from slipping out of its grasp

Wooden robot hand can lift objects and withstand high temperatures

4 March 2023

Robot grippers made from soft plastics will melt in the heat, but a wooden alternative can do the job just fine

Robotic hand pokes food and water to tell if they have mercury in them

6 February 2023

A robotic hand with a tiny sensor on one of its fingers can detect potentially harmful mercury ions in samples of food and water by prodding them

A pneumatic everting robot grows towards a heat source

Vine-like robot that 'grows' towards heat could put out fires

31 January 2023

A vine-like segmented robot that is attracted to heat could be used to autonomously extinguish fires without the need for costly and complex electronics

Artificial skin can detect nearby objects without even touching them

25 January 2023

A skin crafted from two layers of electrodes around an ion-infused sponge is better at sensing than human skin because it can detect nearby objects and what they are made of

A small device shaped like Pac-Man can move on the surface of water and around obstacles without a motor. It could lead to the development of small robots for environmental monitoring of lakes and rivers.

Motorless 'Pac Man' bot surfs across water, avoiding objects

1 December 2022

A small device shaped like Pac-Man can move on the surface of water and around obstacles without a motor

A man using the Utah Bionic Leg to take a step up

Prosthetic leg can 'change gears' to make going up stairs easier

23 November 2022

A robotic leg with a big toe and motors that can "change gear" like a bicycle can enable a wearer to walk up stairs and slopes

Flying robotic falcon scares away flocks of birds

27 October 2022

A flying robot that resembles a peregrine falcon can be used to scare away flocks of birds in fields, performing better at this task than a standard drone.