The popularity of machine vision for quality assurance (QA) is increasing, but conventional systems lack the flexibility that most manufacturers need. Source: Robotics Tomorrow

The robot grippers designed by Professor Stefan Seelecke and his team at Saarland University can grip and manipulate objects with complex geometries. The system can adapt almost instantaneously to changes in form, switching seamlessly between differently shaped parts. The articulated gripper is driven electrically, is lightweight and accelerates rapidly and is even able to tell whether it is holding the object securely enough. The ultrafine nickel-titanium wires that control the motion of the four fingers of the prototype can rapidly […]

Recently developed ‘smart skin’ is very similar to human skin. It senses pressure, humidity and temperature simultaneously and produces electronic signals. More sensitive robots or more intelligent prostheses are thus conceivable. Source: Science Daily – Robotics

When developing new technologies, computer scientists and roboticists often draw inspiration from animals and other living organisms. This allows them to artificially replicate complex behaviors and locomotion patterns to enhance their systems’ performance, efficiency and capabilities. Source: Phys Org – Robotics

A trio of researchers at City University of Hong Kong has developed a tiny drone based on the maple seed pod. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, Songnan Bai, Qingning He and Pakpong Chirarattananon, describe how they used the maple seed pod as an inspiration for increasing flight time in under 100-gram drones. Source: Phys Org – Robotics

Now, G2P is evolving. The latest tote-to-person AMR (T2P AMR) solutions enable robots to bring individual totes to pickers, instead of whole racks. Source: Robotics Tomorrow

Robot-assisted surgery used to perform bladder cancer removal and reconstruction enables patients to recover far more quickly and spend significantly (20 per cent) less time in hospital, concludes a new clinical trial. Source: Science Daily – Robotics

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion. ICRA 2022: 23 May–27 May 2022, PHILADELPHIA IEEE ARSO 2022: 28 May–30 May 2022, LONG BEACH, CALIF. RSS 2022: 21 June–1 July 2022, NEW YORK CITY ERF 2022: 28 June–30 June 2022, ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS RoboCup 2022: 11 July–17 July 2022, […]

Robin Murphy, a roboticist at Texas A&M University has published a Focus piece in the journal Science Robotics outlining her views on the robots portrayed in “Star Wars,” most particularly those featured in “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett.” In her article, she says she believes that the portrayals of robots in both movies are quite creative, but suggests they are not wild enough to compete with robots that are made and used in the real world today. […]