Robots

"We were joking that we could do some kind of a comedy about organ printing," says Zach Weinersmith. "What if there was this world where every part of your body is disposable? Everyone could act way more dangerously."

Ten Technologies That Will Change Our Lives, Soonish

A scientist and admired cartoonist explore how today’s research is becoming tomorrow’s innovations in a new book

Could this brace alleviate "crouch gait?"

This Robotic Exoskeleton Helps Kids With Cerebral Palsy Walk Upright

Children with cerebral palsy often walk in a crouched position, which is difficult to maintain over long distances. A robot suit can help.

SoftBank's humanoid robot "Pepper" can lead funerals.

Nine Tasks Robots Can Do That May Surprise You

Machines can cook your dinner, fill your prescriptions, make your shoes and much, much more

People were just starting to gain an obsession with apocalypse fiction when Mary Shelley wrote "The Last Man."

The Author of ‘Frankenstein’ Also Wrote a Post-Apocalyptic Plague Novel

‘The Last Man’ was derided in its time for being too grim, but today it would fit in with a growing genre of dystopian fiction

Robots can also lend a hand of sorts.

How Robots Could Help the Elderly Age in Their Homes

But these helpful machines won't be the humanoid butlers of science fiction

Four in five adults will experience back pain in their lifetimes,  often from overusing their lower back muscles. A new smart garment aims to help.

News Brief: Underwear of the Future Could Help Prevent Back Pain

The wearable device reduces strain on the back during lifting or leaning, which can help stop the pain before it starts

The ionocraft shown next to a standard U.S. quarter

The Sci-Fi Technology that Could Power Microbots

Using no moving parts, ion thrusters could propel tiny robots for long periods

Robots in the "kid-size" (really around 16 inches tall) Robocup soccer league face off. These "Rhoban" bots, built by students at the University of Bordeaux, took first place in their division in the 2017 competition.

Why Funny, Falling, Soccer-Playing Robots Matter

The 2017 RoboCup brings small changes and big competition to a broad technical challenge

This iRobot 780 was one of the early Roomba models that randomly moved about the room. But the company's latest models (900 series) uses cameras and software to collect data and map out your home.

Roomba Wants to Sell Maps of Your Home

Data from these robovacs could assist in the development of other 'smart home' devices

Underwater Robot Spots Possible Melted Nuclear Fuel in Fukushima Reactor

Identifying the location of the fuel is a vital step in the decontamination process

Yes, the Amazon service is named after this robotic guy.

Debunking the Mechanical Turk Helped Set Edgar Allan Poe on the Path to Mystery Writing

Like many others, Poe was certain the machine couldn't be playing chess under its own power

Robots Will Lead Passengers to Their Gate at Seoul's Airport

How Fire Ants Build Incredible Writhing Towers

Using X-rays, researchers find simple rules help the ants raise each other up, which could be useful in robotics

An artist's impression of the Restore-L craft, a space-based refueling station that will give new life to old satellites.

NASA Is Sending a Robotic Fueling Station to Space

How do you save a billion-dollar satellite? Send another robot up there after it

Meet Pedro the “Voder,” the First Electronic Machine to Talk

Pedro was an experiment in reproducing speech electronically, but took on a kind of life of its own

Exoskeletons, automaton pets and tiny toy humanoids (pictured) populate the Korea Institute of Robot and Convergence.

A Visit to Seoul Brings Our Writer Face-to-Face With the Future of Robots

In the world’s most futuristic city, a tech-obsessed novelist confronts the invasion of mesmerizing machines

Field. Oil on panel by PIX18 / Creative Machines Lab at
Columbia University

Check Out This Year's Entries to the RobotArt Competition

Thirty-eight teams have submitted almost 200 artworks painted by robots, many guided by artsy artificial intelligence

A NASA Valkyrie robot picks up an item with its hand.

Making Robots That Can Work With Their Hands

For robots to be most useful when working alongside humans, they'll have to literally lend us a hand when our own two are not enough

A noninvasive brain-computer interface based on EEG recordings from the scalp.

Melding Mind and Machine: How Close Are We?

Researchers separate what's science from what's currently still fiction when it comes to brain-computer interfacing

Israeli company Intuition Robotics developed a talking device named ElliQ, now being tested by older adults.

How Will Artificial Intelligence Help the Aging?

The key, researchers say, is finding the right roles for machines

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