Commercial drone products can tackle some automated tasks, but one thing those systems don’t address is filming artistically. Researchers have now proposed a complete system for aerial cinematography that learns humans’ visual preferences. The fully autonomous system does not require scripted scenes, GPS tags to localize targets or prior maps of the environment. Source: Science Daily – Robotics

In-hand manipulation is a skill that, as far as I’m aware, humans in general don’t actively learn. We just sort of figure it out by doing other, more specific tasks with our fingers and hands. This makes it particularly tricky to teach robots to solve in-hand manipulation tasks because the way we do it is through experimentation and trial and error. Robots can learn through trial and error as well, but since it usually ends up being mostly error, it takes a […]

In work that combines a deep understanding of the biology of soft-bodied animals such as earthworms with advances in materials and electronic technologies, researchers have developed a robotic device containing a stretchable transistor that allows neurological function. Source: Science Daily – Robotics

Many applications would benefit from a brushless motor without a sensor. There are various options for realizing this. A method developed by maxon is now setting new standards for precision and reliability. Source: Robotics Tomorrow

Developing robots for the home is still a challenge, especially if you want those robots to interact with people and help them do practical, useful things. However, the potential markets for home robots are huge, and one of the most compelling markets is for home robots that can assist humans who need them. Today, Labrador Systems, a startup based in California, is announcing a pre-seed funding round of $2 million (led by SOSV’s hardware accelerator HAX with participation from Amazon’s […]

Food and beverage production is becoming continuous to keep up with rising demands. To maintain the flow of products and to make sure there are low levels of waste, spoilage or contamination inside a continuous system, automation must be integrated into the production line. Source: Robotics Tomorrow

Last time we saw Agility Robotics’ Digit biped, it was picking up a box from a Ford delivery van and autonomously dropping it off on a porch, while at the same time managing to not trip over stairs, grass, or small children. As a demo, it was pretty impressive, but of course there’s an enormous gap between making a video of a robot doing a successful autonomous delivery and letting that robot out into the semi-structured world and expecting it […]