Before there was the BigDog — the Pentagon’s remarkably lifelike four-legged robot — there was a German short-haired pointer named Laney. More »
The BigDog robot was terrifying and all, but its big brother the Legged Squad Support System (LS3) is stronger, lasts longer, and should make life way easier for our soldiers. Here’s what it looks like in the great outdoors. More »
Computer vision, the science of teaching silicon to interpert images and film, is both incredibly fascinating and extremely complex. This video, Robot Readable World, lets you understand how robots see their surroundings. More »
It’s useless for keeping your floors clean, but those of us who hate the cold will certainly appreciate this concept Hagent robot that seeks out the warmest places in your home, absorbing the heat to share with you later. More »
No, that’s not an LCD screen pretending to be a zen garden. That’s sand (well, tiny silicon beads) under a glass sheet, with images being sculpted into the grains by a programmable robot that lives underneath. If you think it’s the most beautiful piece of furniture you’ve ever seen, you’re in luck — its currently a Kickstarter project you can be involved in, so you can eventually have your very own. More »
The famous Chili Crab dish from Singapore inspires more than just drooling. A pair of researchers have developed a robot with two tiny crab-like pincers that attacks stomach cancer via your mouth. More »
One day, drones won’t just fly by themselves: they’ll hunt in packs. Imagine a swarm of tiny, flying drones chasing after you, synchronising their movements to catch you in the most effective way possible. If you can’t imagine it, don’t worry: it’s already happened. More »
Michael Jordan? Mohammed Ali? Joe Montana? Sit down. The world’s most amazing athlete works for NASA. Meet the gigantic, six-legged, tool-wielding robot that can hop around an asteroid. Tiger Woods ain’t got nothin’. More »
Last year the German Aerospace Center developed Rollin’ Justin, an articulated robot that was particularly adept at catching balls. So he doesn’t have to play catch alone, the DLR just finished building his clunky pitching teammate, Agile Justin. More »
When you were a kid, did you dream of going into space? Maybe you had a colouring book about a lunar voyage. Or maybe you and your best friend tried to create anti-gravity out of cleaning products and accidentally killed a tree in your front yard. Y’know, hypothetically. If any of this sounds even remotely familiar, it’s a safe bet that NASA figured into your dreams. More »