All posts tagged: robots

What AI taxis and robots can learn from bees

What AI taxis and robots can learn from bees

Published by skeptic

Even advanced technology can struggle when the real world becomes unpredictable. In April 2026, a Waymo robotaxi in San Antonio, Texas, drove into a flooded lane during severe weather, prompting the company to recall about 3,800 vehicles for a software fix. No one was injured, but the incident exposed a deeper challenge: intelligence is not just about processing data. It is about knowing where to look, what to notice, when to act and how to use previous experience when conditions change. AI researchers are now looking at bees and other insects to help them design machines and robots that can make better decisions. My research explores how bees learn, from identifying simple visual patterns to mastering high-level concepts, and how they adapt their behaviour when conditions change. By combining behavioural experiments, neural recording (for example, measuring signals from the brain) and neuromorphic computing (an approach to computing inspired by the animal brain), my goal is to uncover the biological code that allows tiny brains to navigate a complex world and make efficient decisions. I have …

The future of robot armies is here – and it’s not what you think

The future of robot armies is here – and it’s not what you think

Published by skeptic

Illustration of nanobots in the human bloodstream RUSLANAS BARANAUSKAS/SPL/Getty Images The robot army that saves the world won’t be anything like what you imagine. Nope, they aren’t little humanoids who can do synchronised martial arts like the ones who dazzled audiences during New Year’s festivities in China. And they won’t help you find a can of Coke with embarrassing slowness like the man-shaped beast known as Optimus from Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. Instead, they will be microscopic, and mostly made of algae, bacteria and other single-celled organisms. Engineers call them biohybrid microrobots. If you’ve read about people swallowing pills full of tiny robots to deliver medicine – or you watched the classic 80s flick Innerspace – you’ve already experienced the dream of a future. For many years, medical researchers have imagined using little machines to get medicine into the hard-to-reach parts of our bodies such as the minuscule capillaries in our lungs. Even better, these machines could actually drive around in our organs, perhaps to seek and destroy cancer cells one by one. The problem …

Living robots could transform medicine, helping rescue missions

Living robots could transform medicine, helping rescue missions

Published by Jenni Sidey

Tiny robots face a brutal problem. The smaller they get, the harder it becomes to power them, guide them and keep them useful in messy places. A rigid machine may work well on a lab bench, but the human body is not a lab bench. Neither is a flooded tunnel, polluted river or collapsed building. A new review argues that the answer may not come from better chips. Instead, engineers may need to partner with life itself. Researchers are building living biohybrid miniature robots, or LBMs, by combining living organisms with synthetic tools. These systems use bacteria, algae, immune cells, sperm cells and insects as natural engines. They can move, sense, adapt and sometimes repair themselves. The relationship diagram and size range of LBMs in the field of robotics. (a) Schematic showing the relationships between robotics, miniature robots, biohybrid miniature robots, and LBMs. (CREDIT: International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing) Why Biology Solves A Robot Problem Traditional miniature robots can be precise, but they struggle in complex settings. They often need outside power. They may fail …

Robophobic Airline Bans Humanoid Robots From Flights After Disruption

Robophobic Airline Bans Humanoid Robots From Flights After Disruption

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Southwest Airlines appears to have become the first airline to enshrine a no-robots policy into their rulebook, after a Dallas business owner tried to take his 3.5-foot robot for a jaunt through the clouds. First reported by CBS News, Aaron Mehdizadeh, owner of robot-rental company the Robot Studio, was on his way home from a trip to Las Vegas with his robot pal “Stewie” in tow. Rather than shipping the humanoid-robot or checking it as cargo, Mehdizadeh bought the robot its own seat, presumably to draw out a little publicity. It wasn’t even the first such incident on a Southwest flight. Just days prior, a different humanoid robot passenger caused an hour-long delay on another Southwest flight, this one out of Oakland, California. In that episode, flight attendants went through a thorough checklist to ensure the robot would behave and that its battery didn’t pose a flight hazard. The pair of incidents apparently caused such a stir that …

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Got Its Drill Stuck on a Rock. Here’s How They Freed It

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Got Its Drill Stuck on a Rock. Here’s How They Freed It

Published by skeptic

While it has enabled many exciting discoveries, the Curiosity Rover has also encountered its share of setbacks. The latest left NASA engineers speechless. On April 25, Curiosity drilled into a rock nicknamed “Atacama” to collect a sample. When the rover retracted the robotic arm after drilling, the entire rock unexpectedly lifted off the Martian surface—all 28.6 pounds of it. While other Curiosity drilling operations have caused cracks or breaks in the upper layers of Martian rocks during the rover’s nearly 14-year mission, this is the first time one has remained stuck to the sleeve that surrounds the drill’s rotating tip. As the space agency itself recounts, it was the black-and-white obstacle-detection cameras mounted on the front of the rover’s chassis that captured this peculiar “accident” in a sequence of images that allowed engineers to get to work immediately to free it, moving its robotic arm and operating the drill repeatedly over several days. Engineers initially tried to remove the rock by vibrating the drill, to no avail. On April 29, they adjusted the position of …

The Unitree GD01 Is a Giant Mecha Robot You Can Actually Buy

The Unitree GD01 Is a Giant Mecha Robot You Can Actually Buy

Published by skeptic

Unitree is a Chinese company known for making adorable, relatively affordable robots that dance and shuffle and such. Last night, it revealed its latest creation, which is something of a departure: a giant, walking, crawling, transforming, wall-smashing “mecha” called the GD01. An introductory video for the GD01—set to a thundering rock guitar soundtrack—shows the company’s founder and CEO, Xingxing Wang, holding hands with the robot before climbing into its prodigious, open-air belly. A disclaimer added to Unitree’s social media post reads: “Please everyone be sure to use the robot in a Friendly and Safe manner.” The video cuts to a view in which GD01 has no human pilot on board, but still manages to smash a wall of cinder blocks. Unitree later shows the red-limbed robot contorting itself by bending backwards and crawling on its hands and legs. (In this crabwalk position, the human operator would be lying on their back, looking at the ceiling or sky, but honestly who cares at that point.) Unitree is a fast-rising robotics startup based in Hangzhou, China. The …

Beatbot Pool-Cleaning Robots Are on Sale

Beatbot Pool-Cleaning Robots Are on Sale

Published by skeptic

Just in time for summer, Beatbot’s pool-cleaning robots are on sale through the end of the month. If you’re on the hunt for smarter pool care, these are some of the best pool-cleaning robots on the market, and we haven’t seen them sell for less. Whether you’re tired of paying the pool guy or just don’t want to deal with whatever scary stuff is floating in the water, these robots can help. Be sure to check out our related buying guides for more summer outdoors coverage, including the best bug sprays, the best sunscreens, and the best fitness trackers. Beatbot iSkim Ultra Robotic Pool Skimmer for $599 ($400 off) Beatbot iSkim Ultra Robotic Pool Skimmer This surface skimmer is slow and methodical with its approach, which means it won’t slam into your pool’s walls while doing its job. Use the app to set schedules, monitor the temperature, dock the unit, adjust its speed, and more. It has a 9-liter basket that holds a ton of crud and features both solar and magnetic wireless charging. If …

Would lip-synching make humanoid robots less creepy?

Would lip-synching make humanoid robots less creepy?

Published by skeptic

android: An engineered device (usually a robot) that has been designed to look and behave like a human. anthropomorphize:  (adj. anthropomorphic) To attribute human traits or behaviors to some animal or object. engineering: The field of research that uses math and science to solve practical problems. Someone who works in this field is known as an engineer. graphics: (in computing) Images or video displayed on a computer screen or other digital media. high school: A designation for grades nine through 12 in the U.S. system of compulsory public education. High-school graduates may apply to colleges for further, advanced education. humanoid: Something that appears human-like, but isn’t (perhaps a robot). It’s frequently a character in science fiction. interface: (in computing) A term for the technology people use to interact with a computer to input data and instructions or to receive its outputs. Long ago, people input data and instructions using punched cards or by typing and receiving data onto a screen. More recently, interfaces can range from joysticks, headsticks and trackballs to voice commands, touch screens, …

The app store for robots has arrived: Hugging Face launches open-source Reachy Mini App Store with 200+ apps

The app store for robots has arrived: Hugging Face launches open-source Reachy Mini App Store with 200+ apps

Published by skeptic

There’s an app for nearly every imaginable user and use case these days, but one thing they all have in common is that they’re centered around one device: the smartphone. That changes today as Hugging Face, the 10-year-old New York City startup best known for being the go-to place online to host and use cutting-edge, open-source AI models, agents and applications, launches a new App Store for Reachy Mini, its low-cost ($299) open-source physical robot that debuted back in July 2025 (itself the fruit of Hugging Face’s acquisition of another startup, Pollen Robotics). The new Hugging Face Reachy Mini App Store already hosts a library of over 200 community-built applications, and Reachy Mini owners will be able to download any of these free of charge to start (unlike smartphone apps, there’s no monetization option for app creators on this store — yet). The Reachy Mini App Store will also offer Reachy Mini owners — around 10,000 units have been sold so far since last year — an easy means of building their own custom apps …

Even in Japan, robots are a long way from being fully-fledged carers – here’s why

Even in Japan, robots are a long way from being fully-fledged carers – here’s why

Published by skeptic

The robot pauses at the edge of the room as an engineer checks its sensors. Then, with a soft mechanical hum, this humanoid machine begins to move. It lifts a mannequin from a bed, slowly and carefully. The engineers hold their breath. I am in a robotics lab in Tokyo, Japan, as part of my Wellcome research fellowship. The engineers have repeated this test hundreds of times over several weeks, with mixed results. Japan has one of the world’s oldest populations, and a strained health and care workforce. It has also long been the global leader in the development and deployment of care robots. While other countries are exploring robotic technologies, Japan stands out for the size of its investment over several decades, and the strong link between innovation and national policy. Government-led initiatives such as Society 5.0 and Moonshot promote a “super-smart” society in which, by 2050, robots could be integrated into everyday life. One early example is the impending trial of humanoid baggage handlers at Tokyo’s Haneda airport. My research assesses what the …