The James Dyson Award: a call to young inventors
The Optimist Daily has written about many winners of the James Dyson Award. This is an international design award that celebrates, encourages, and inspires the next generation of design engineers. It is open to current and recent design engineering students and is run by the James Dyson Foundation, Read More...
This concept of shape shifting robots will blow your mind
The capabilities of robots keeps growing and growing thanks to innovative minds across the world. In the past few years, scientists have taught robots to independently perform keyhole surgery, hike across unknown and uneven terrain faster than humans, and an oft forgotten challenge of all, the Read More...
Floating ants may inspire the future of robotics and adaptive materials
Ants are extremely adaptable creatures. The little critters are one of the strongest animals in relation to their size, being able to carry 50 times their own body weight. They are also the longest living insect, with some species living for around 30 years. However, the teamwork these tiny animals Read More...
These insect-sized robots tap nature's wisdom for more efficient flight
Humans are constantly looking at ways to level up our mechanical friends, robots. Teaching them how to sort through recyclables, hike, reproduce independently, and the biggest challenge of all, opening doors. Scientists are teaming together with computer algorithms and advanced mechanics to create Read More...
This ‘AI’ tool helps prevent Collisions in space
Space junk The amount of satellites being sent into space, to keep connecting the wider world and provide humans with the latest technology, is exponentially increasing. Along with this comes an increase in the amount of space debris circling the Earth. These expensive pieces of equipment can sit Read More...
This US airport's fleet of autonomous robots deliver food to travelers
Considering the interconnectivity of our world, for some, air travel is a necessity. That said, with the pandemic, the more that travelers can physically distance, the better. For those at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, maintaining a safe distance from others is even easier Read More...
Robots with ‘human like’ brains able to escape maze
Mazes are commonly used in psychology to assess the behavior of rats and mice. As scientists create more and more human-like robot brains, they thought it was time for the machines to have a turn. Robot vs. maze Teams from the Eindhoven University of Technology and the Max Planck Institute for Read More...
Robots can now reproduce on their own
Created using cutting edge biotechnology, xenobots are the world’s first living robots. They can amazingly make decisions and reproduce all on their own. These tiny living machines made out of frog cells duplicate themselves by collecting resources from the environment, with their offspring going Read More...
AI and robots team up to piece together ancient Pompeii frescoes
The Roman city of Pompeii was buried in ash by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, and has fascinated archeologists since its discovery in the 1700s. Unfortunately, piecing this ancient city back together is no easy feat. To more efficiently reconstruct the ancient city, researchers from the Read More...
Researchers finally teach robots how to master the challenge of doors
Turns out that if you want to stop a looming robot take over of the planet, put a door in front of them. An aerospace engineering professor at the University of Cincinnati (UC), Ou Ma explains, "Robots can do many things, but if you want one to open a door by itself and go through the doorway, Read More...