Technology, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 11, 2017

A Robot Magic Kingdom? Disney Wants Huggable Humanoids to Play Characters

The signature characters who wander around Disney theme parks taking photos with kids and signing autographs may be played by huggable humanoid robots in the future. Disney Enterprises filed a U.S. patent application for a soft body robot for physical interaction with humans that would act like an animated character,...

Apr 25, 2017

Why Can't You Shake Hands with a Robot?

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. It's quite common for humans – especially those who work in manufacturing – to tie a knot, strip the casing off a cable, insert a pin in a hole...

Apr 26, 2017

Mail Dog: Robotic Dog 'Spot' Could Deliver Your Next Package

While some companies are researching how to use drones or autonomous vehicles to deliver goods to customers, one company has trained a robotic dog to do the job. Spot is a four-legged, canine-like machine created by the Google-owned technology firm Boston Dynamics. The robot was first introduced in a 2015...

May 4, 2017

R2-D2 Gets Real: 'Star Wars' Droids Already Exist

'Star Wars' Droids R2-D2 is a so-called astromech droid in the 'Star Wars' films. (Image credit: Lucasfilm/20th Century Fox/The Walt Disney Company)It's safe to say that the robots from the Star Wars movies have left a huge cultural impact. Even people who aren't diehard fans will likely remember C-3PO, R2-D2...

May 8, 2017

Magnetic Robot Can Perform Colonoscopies

CHICAGO — In the future, robots may perform your colonoscopy: Scientists have developed a robot that can perform complex colonoscopy maneuvers in experiments on pigs. Dr. Keith Obstein, the lead author of a new report on the robot and an associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in...

May 15, 2017

Robotic Exosuits Help Workers Lift Heavy Loads

Employees at a Lowe's hardware store in Christiansburg, Virginia, recently channeled Ellen Ripley in the 1986 movie Aliens, as they donned mechanical exoskeletons to help them lift and move heavy objects. The wearable robotic suits — which are significantly lighter and less cumbersome than the forklift with legs that Ripley...

May 23, 2017

Robo-Venus Flytrap Could Help Bots Grasp Objects

An artificial Venus flytrap can open and then close on cue, just like its namesake in nature, according to a new study. Scientists said this flexible gripping device could give soft robots a way to grasp and release objects autonomously, without the need for programming or computer-controlled parts. If you...

May 24, 2017

Soft 3D-Printed Robot Is Agile Even on Sand and Rocks

As a headless robot crawls over a pile of pebbles, its jointless, rubbery legs carefully but confidently sample the terrain in steady, yet unrushed movements that resemble a turtle's. The robot's ability to reliably walk across different types of surfaces is unique, and so is the fact that its elaborately...

May 26, 2017

Robotic Exoskeletons Reveal the Complexity Behind Every Step You Take

A new research study of high-tech medical robots arrived at a curious conclusion this week: Toddlers are geniuses. Well, they didn't quite phrase it that way, but that's the essential takeaway from a series of studies on how machines can help injured people learn to walk again. It turns out...

Jun 15, 2017

Please and Thank You: How DARPA Is Teaching Robots Manners

Humans know to silence a ringing phone when they're in a quiet library, and to say thank you after someone lends a helping hand. Now, robots will learn this etiquette as well, thanks to a research project that aims to teach robots manners. By teaching robots such social norms, researchers...

Jun 26, 2017

Space Robots to the Rescue! How NASA Will Service Aging Satellites

Uncrewed satellites orbiting Earth and other planets in the solar system travel at thousands of miles per hour, their missions spanning years or even decades. They were built to last on their own, but how might space agencies service them if parts break down, or if they run low on...

Jul 4, 2017

Hybrid Driving-Flying Robots Could Go Beyond the Flying Car

Whether they're swooping in to deliver packages or spotting victims in disaster zones, swarms of flying robots could have a range of important applications in the future, a new study found. The robots can transition from driving to flying without colliding with each other and could offer benefits beyond the...

Jul 14, 2017

Should We Fear the Rise of Intelligent Robots?

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. As an artificial intelligence researcher, I often come across the idea that many people are afraid of what AI might bring. It's perhaps unsurprising, given both history and the...

Jul 18, 2017

BB-8 Flies? Adorable Japanese Drone Ball Tours Space Station

Space watchers have seen footballs, mini-soccer balls and water balls float through the International Space Station — but never a drone ball. Now, new footage of a spherical Japanese robot shows it hovering and skittering around the Destiny laboratory. The hope is that the robot will not only save the...

Jul 20, 2017

Advanced Vision Algorithm Helps Robots Learn to See in 3D

Robots are reliable in industrial settings, where recognizable objects appear at predictable times in familiar circumstances. But life at home is messy. Put a robot in a house, where it must navigate unfamiliar territory cluttered with foreign objects, and it's useless. Now researchers have developed a new computer vision algorithm...