An octopus-like soft robot can unfurl itself inside the skull on top of the brain, a new study finds. The novel gadget may lead to minimally invasive ways to investigate the brain and implant brain-computer interfaces, researchers say. In order to analyze the brain after traumatic injuries, help treat disorders such as seizures, and embed […]
The parent company of robot vacuum maker Neato Robotics, Germany’s Vorwerk Group, announced late last week that a broad restructuring of its robotics division will result in the closure of Neato and the end of the Neato product line. Vorwerk is promising five years of parts and service availability, along with enough software support to […]
The only constant is change. It’s an age-old adage, yet it holds true in the ever-evolving world of software development. How can you stay ahead of the curve, ensuring your skills remain in demand? The answer lies in continuous learning. But how do you make it work for you? Grab a coffee, take a seat, […]
In the realm of artificial intelligence, bigger is supposed to be better. Neural networks with billions of parameters power everyday AI-based tools like ChatGPT and Dall-E, and each new large language model (LLM) edges out its predecessors in size and complexity. Meanwhile, at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), a group of researchers […]
Birds are able to do a lot thanks to their highly flexible necks, whether it be turning their heads around to groom their backs, looking in many different directions during flight, or accessing hard-to-reach nooks and crannies along the ground or in trees. Among all avian species, the ostrich stands out as one bird with […]
This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. Although fleas are annoying pests, credit must be given where it’s due. These tiny creatures that are just 3 millimeters long can leap as far as 330 millimeters in a single hop—a distance that is close to 100 times […]
Using holograms, a nanoscale 3D printer can now rapidly fabricate complex items with details smaller than a wavelength of visible light, a new study finds. This research can rapidly manufacture nanotechnological arrays of wires, lenses, rotating magnetic gears, and other structures—suggesting applications in electronics, photonics, microrobotics and more. Currently, the most precise 3D-printing technique for […]
Brain-machine interface (BMI) technology, for all its decades of development, still awaits widespread use. Reasons include hardware and software that’s not yet up to the task in noninvasive approaches that use electroencephalogram (EEG) sensors placed on the scalp, and that surgery is required in approaches relying on brain implants. Now, researchers at the University of […]
Interactive robotics is a relatively new field of study, but in a short time it has moved on from just performing preprogrammed repetitive tasks to more complex activities, including interactions with living creatures. Biocompatible and biomimetic robots, for example, are being increasingly used to study animals and plants. Animal-in-the-loop robotic systems are especially effective for […]
This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. A new air-ground vehicle, appropriately named Skywalker, is able to seamlessly transition between ground and air modes, outperforming competing air-ground vehicles in several key performance measures. Skywalker was put to the test in a series of experiments, which were […]