New bioinspired robot flies, rolls, walks, and more
From Caltech 03/07/2023 A newly created real-life Transformer is capable of reconfiguring its body to achieve eight distinct types of motion and can autonomously assess the environment it faces to choose the most effective combination of motions to maneuver. The new robot, dubbed M4 (for Multi-Modal Mobility Morphobot) can roll on four wheels, turn its […]
Autonomous Black Hawk
By Charles Carter, 07/11/22 US aviation company Sikorsky and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have demonstrated an autonomous Black Hawk helicopter to the US Army. The machine conducted pilotless cargo resupply and medical evacuation missions at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, last month. No humans were on board. Sikorsky was acquired by Lockheed Martin for […]
Microplastic-eating bionic fish
By Charles Carter, 02/11/22 The Natural Robotics Contest built a prototype of this year’s winning entry from Eleanor Mackinstosh: Gillbert, a bionic fish that eats microplastic by filtering it from ingested water using mesh gills. Eleanor’s idea was to mimic how fish swim and extract oxygen from water to help clean up microplastic pollution in […]
Self-righting reaction wheel unicycle
By Charles Carter, 19/10/22 Innovators at Max Planck Institute have created a unicycle bot that can withstand being pushed, self-right and balance on an inclined plane using the momentum of a reaction wheel. The unicycle is built from a combination of off-the-shelf components and 3D-printed parts, and can jump on to its wheels from any […]
Burrowing bot mimics Pacific mole crab
By Charles Carter, 14/10/22 Engineers from the University of California, Berkeley have built a small bot that mimics the burrowing of the Pacific mole crab. The approach could be used in the future to build burrowing bots to explore, dig down and provide dynamic tethers for spacecraft on The Moon and other planets. The findings […]
Live neurons on chip learn to play Pong
By Charles Carter, 13/10/22 Live human and mouse neurons integrated with a silicon electrode array in a petri dish have learned to play the video game Pong. The DishBrain innovation comes from Australian startup Cortical Labs with their findings recently published in the journal Neuron. How does it work? Embryonic mouse or human brain cells […]
SpinLaunch tests NASA and Airbus payloads
By Charles Carter, 12/10/22 US startup SpinLaunch has tested NASA, Airbus, Cornell University and Outpost payloads in the latest flight of their 10,000G electric powered centrifuge launch system. This was the tenth flight test of their 200kg-class satellite launcher, taking place on 27th September, although it was first time partner payloads have been mounted to […]
Lightweight multi-purpose robot tractor
By Charles Carter, 11/10/22 Norwegian startup Autoagri has developed a lightweight, multi-purpose robot tractor that aims to reduce costs, soil compaction and carbon footprint. The company unveiled their IC-Series machine in May last year, taking orders for pilot units for use in agriculture and other sectors in October 2021. How does it work? The IC-Series […]
Sustainable vegan cactus leather
By Charles Carter, 10/10/22 Mexican startup Desserto has created a sustainable vegan leather made from cactus proteins and fibres. As well being a no-slaughter leather, the company claims the nopal cactus needs no irrigation water, is a very efficient natural carbon sink and doesn’t pollute waterways like the conventional leather industry. How does it work? […]
Hull cleaning bot: lowers emissions and protects biodiversity
By Charles Carter, 08/10/22 South Korean startup SLM has created a cleaning bot, CHIRO, that removes the build up of plants and organisms on a ship’s hull, reducing friction, lowering emissions and protecting biodiversity. Known as biofouling, the accumulation of aquatic species is a major cause of bio invasions as ships transfer organisms across the […]