Darting around with a tiny brain
Physicist Elisabetta Chicca’s latest research at the University of Groningen demonstrates how understanding insect brain functions can lead to advancements in creating energy-efficient computing, exemplified by a robot designed to navigate like an insect.
Bots can now do your eyelashes
From Superinnovators 16/02/24 US-based Luum (f.2017) built a bot that can apply eyelash extensions using narrow-AI and computer vision, launching to the public via invitation back in 2021. The bot uses two delicate implements to isolate a single eyelash and a third adheres an extension to it, adjusting in real-time to the client’s movements. A […]
Monocycle bot with legs
From Superinnovators 08/02/24 KIMLAB, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), unveiled a leg-wheel transformer bot named Ringbot earlier this week. It offers a novel approach to robot mobility by integrating a monocycle mechanism with two x 3-DoF (degrees of freedom) legs that help the bot balance, steer, self-right and orientate. To steer the bot sticks its […]
The 32-legged spherical bot named after Mochi sweets
From Superinnovators 05/02/24 Mochibot, a spherical robot equipped with 32 individually actuated telescoping legs, was unveiled by researchers from Keio University and the University of Tokyo in 2018. Named after round Japanese Mochi sweets, it utilises a rhombic triacontahedron shape for omnidirectional movement, achieving stability through deformability and ground contact adjustment. Each leg can extend […]
World’s smallest humanoid built by students
From Superinnovators 05/02/24 Four students in the DBS Robotics team at Hong Kong’s Diocesan Boys’ School, unveiled the world’s smallest humanoid robot on 6 January 2024, standing at 141mm tall. This achievement, 11.3mm shorter than the previous record set in 2022 by Zain Ahmad Qureshi from Pakistan, required the robot to articulate its shoulders, elbows, […]
Multi-terrain delivery bot with corkscrew wheels
From Superinnovators 22/01/24 Innovators from South Korea’s Hanyang University unveiled ‘SPIRA’ in June 2023, a novel delivery robot designed for sandy, grassy and paved road terrains. Published in the International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing, SPIRA features a retractable spiral wheel mechanism. This mechanism enhances mobility on beaches, dunes, and deserts, outperforming conventional wheels […]
Bot repositions trailers at logistics terminals
From Superinnovators 02/01/24 French startup ex9, German electric yard truck manufacturer ANT and DHL France are piloting greater automation of operations at logistics terminals to boost efficiency and reduce emissions. The startup are developing an integrated automation solution for logistics terminals which includes transforming ANT’s existing remote controlled yard truck into an autonomous bot for […]
Bot can drive on walls using propeller thrust
From Superinnovators 01/01/24 Innovators from Disney and ETH Zurich created a four wheel bot named VertiGo in 2015 that uses thrust from two propellers mounted on its back to enable it to drive on vertical walls. Each propeller has two degrees of freedom for adjusting the direction of thrust enabling a smooth transition from horizontal […]
Scientists develop ‘flying dragon’ robot to fight fires from a distance
From Frontiers 01/01/24 Imagine a flying dragon that doesn’t spout fire, but instead extinguishes it with blasts of water. Thanks to a team of Japanese researchers, this new kind of beast may soon be recruited to firefighter teams around the world, to help put out fires that are too dangerous for their human teammates to […]
Pallet bots help to automate AC factory
From Superinnovators 12/12/23 Chinese company Tuskrobots have developed an autonomous pallet handling bot that has been helping to automate various factories including air conditioning, automotive electronics and pharmaceutical facilities. Their first generation pallet bot was launched in 2018 and they are now shipping sixth generation products across the globe which have max. speeds of 1.5m/s […]