Imagine navigating a virtual reality with contact lenses or operating your smartphone under water: This and more could soon be a reality thanks to innovative e-skins. A research team has developed an electronic skin that detects and precisely tracks magnetic fields with a single global sensor. This artificial skin is not only light, transparent and permeable, but also mimics the interactions of real skin and the brain.

A new study shows that people in Japan treat robots and AI agents more respectfully than people in Western societies.

This a robot can walk, without electronics, and only with the addition of a cartridge of compressed gas, right off the 3D-printer. It can also be printed in one go, from one material.

A leaping robot could have application in search and rescue, construction, even forest monitoring. But how do you design a robot to stick a landing on a branch or pipe? Biologists worked with robot designers to discover how squirrels do it, and used what they learned to design a one-legged robot with the balancing ability and leg biomechanics to correct for over- and undershooting and land successfully on a narrow perch.

An AI-powered robot that can prepare cups of coffee in a busy kitchen could usher in the next generation of intelligent machines, a study suggests.

Chemists have created a machine learning tool that can identify the chemical composition of dried salt solutions from an image with 99% accuracy. By using robotics to prepare thousands of samples and artificial intelligence to analyze their data, they created a simple, inexpensive tool that could expand possibilities for performing chemical analysis.

Virginia Tech researchers say a true revolution in wireless technologies is only possible through endowing the system with the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) that can think, imagine, and plan akin to humans. Doing so will allow networks to break free from traditional enablers, deliver unprecedented quality, and usher in a new phase of the AI evolution.

Engineers developed a method to grow artificial muscle tissue that twitches and flexes in multiple, coordinated directions. These tissues could be useful for building 'biohybrid' robots powered by soft, artificially grown muscle fibers.

Researchers have enabled a man who is paralyzed to control a robotic arm through a device that relays signals from his brain to a computer. He was able to grasp, move and drop objects just by imagining himself performing the actions.

Energy remains a significant factor in industrial production processes. High levels of energy consumption make production more expensive and exacerbate the climate crisis. A new type of robot technology needs 90% less electricity than conventional systems. The technology uses lightweight, shape memory materials to construct novel, non-pneumatic, industrial gripper systems that function without the need for additional sensors.

Scientists have developed a biorobotic arm that can mirror human tremors, such as those experienced by individuals that live with Parkinson's disease. Artificial muscles on either side of the forearm contract and relax to suppress the involuntary shaking of the wrist and hand. The researchers see their biorobotic arm not only as a platform for other scientists in the field to test new ideas in exoskeleton technology. The arm also serves as a test bed to see how well artificial muscles known as HASELs can one day become the building blocks of wearable devices. The vision is to one day develop a sleeve that tremor patients can comfortably wear to be able to better cope with everyday tasks such as holding a cup.

Cutting edge technology may come with downsides.

Walking into your favorite restaurant and seeing a robot chef in the kitchen may seem far-fetched, but new research suggests that bots could be a solution to persistent labor shortages in the industry.

Engineers have developed a pioneering prosthetic hand that can grip plush toys, water bottles, and other everyday objects like a human, carefully conforming and adjusting its grasp to avoid damaging or mishandling whatever it holds.

Soilless growing systems inside greenhouses, known as controlled environment agriculture, promise to advance the year-round production of high-quality specialty crops, according to an interdisciplinary research team. But to be competitive and sustainable, this advanced farming method will require the development and implementation of precision agriculture techniques. To meet that demand, the team developed an automated crop-monitoring system capable of providing continuous and frequent data about plant growth and needs, allowing for informed crop management.

Researchers have demonstrated that multicolored stickers applied to stop or speed limit signs on the roadside can 'confuse' self-driving vehicles, causing unpredictable and possibly hazardous operations.

A research team has recently developed a groundbreaking neuromorphic exposure control (NEC) system that revolutionizes machine vision under extreme lighting variations. This biologically inspired system mimics human peripheral vision to achieve unprecedented speed and robustness in dynamic perception environments.

Springtails, small bugs often found crawling through leaf litter and garden soil, are expert jumpers. Inspired by these hopping hexapods, roboticists have made a walking, jumping robot that pushes the boundaries of what small robots can do. The research glimpses a future where nimble microrobots can crawl through tiny spaces, skitter across dangerous ground, and sense their environments without human intervention.

A bioinspired robot can change shape to alter its own physical properties in response to its environment, resulting in a robust and efficient autonomous vehicle as well as a fresh approach to robotic locomotion.

A research team demonstrated the 'world's smallest shooting game,' a unique nanoscale game inspired by classic arcade games. This achievement was made possible by real-time control of the force fields between nanoparticles using focused electron beams. This research has practical applications, as the manipulation of nanoscale objects could revolutionize biomedical engineering and nanotechnology.

A team of scientists has now created a computer model that can represent and generate human-like goals by learning from how people create games. The work could lead to AI systems that better understand human intentions and more faithfully model and align with our goals. It may also lead to AI systems that can help us design more human-like games.

Most AI diagnostic tools are black boxes, but the approach allows doctors and patients to understand how the computer reached a diagnosis.

Researchers are blurring the lines between robotics and materials, with a proof-of-concept material-like collective of robots with behaviors inspired by biology.

Groundbreaking study shows machine learning can decode emotions in seven ungulate species. A game-changer for animal welfare? Can artificial intelligence help us understand what animals feel? A pioneering study suggests the answer is yes. Researchers have successfully trained a machine-learning model to distinguish between positive and negative emotions in seven different ungulate species, including cows, pigs, and wild boars. By analyzing the acoustic patterns of their vocalizations, the model achieved an impressive accuracy of 89.49%, marking the first cross-species study to detect emotional valence using AI.

A novel system that chases larval zebrafish around an arena with predator robots is enabling scientists to understand how these days-old fish quickly learn in the real world.

Engineers have developed a versatile swimming robot that nimbly navigates cluttered water surfaces. Inspired by marine flatworms, the innovative device offers new possibilities for environmental monitoring and ecological research.

Researchers find large language models process diverse types of data, like different languages, audio inputs, images, etc., similarly to how humans reason about complex problems. Like humans, LLMs integrate data inputs across modalities in a central hub that processes data in an input-type-agnostic fashion.

Researchers have unveiled a transformative framework for understanding complex systems. This pioneering study establishes the new field of higher-order topological dynamics, revealing how the hidden geometry of networks shapes everything from brain activity to the climate and artificial intelligence (AI).

Ballbots are versatile robotic systems with the ability to move around in all directions. This makes it tricky to control their movement. In a recent study, a team has proposed a novel proportional integral derivative controller that, in combination with radial basis function neural network, robustly controls ballbot motion. This technology is expected to find applications in service robots, assistive robots, and delivery robots.

A research team has developed two new autonomous navigation systems for cyborg insects to better navigate unknown, complex environments. The algorithms utilized only simple circuits that leveraged natural insect behaviors, like wall-following and climbing, to navigate challenging terrain, such as sandy, rock-strewn surfaces. For all difficulties of terrain tested, the cyborg insects were able to reach their target destination, demonstrating the potential of cyborg insects for surveillance, disaster-site exploration, and more.

Researchers have developed a new AI algorithm, called Torque Clustering, that significantly improves how AI systems independently learn and uncover patterns in data, without human guidance.

A study showed that chatbots alone outperformed doctors when making nuanced clinical decisions, but when supported by artificial intelligence, doctors performed as well as the chatbots.

Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) is becoming immensely popular because of its widespread applications. In a groundbreaking study, researchers present a new AIoT framework called MSF-Net for accurately recognizing human activities using WiFi signals. The framework utilizes a novel approach that combines different signal processing techniques and a deep learning architecture to overcome challenges like environmental interference and achieve high recognition accuracy.

Researchers developed an automated system to help programmers increase the efficiency of their deep learning algorithms by simultaneously leveraging two types of redundancy in complex data structures: sparsity and symmetry.

AI agents trained in simulations that differ from the environments where they are deployed sometimes perform better than agents trained and deployed in the same environment, research shows.

Can a computer learn a language the way a child does? A recent study sheds new light on this question. The researchers advocate for a fundamental revision of how artificial intelligence acquires and processes language.

In the same way that terrestrial life evolved from ocean swimmers to land walkers, soft robots are progressing, too, thanks to recent research in battery development and design.

Scientists have developed a computing chip that can learn, correct errors, and process AI tasks.

The robotics industry should be creating robots that could be reprogrammed and repurposed for other tasks once its life span is completed, researchers have advised.

Researchers have developed a novel 6D pose dataset designed to improve robotic grasping accuracy and adaptability in industrial settings. The dataset, which integrates RGB and depth images, demonstrates significant potential to enhance the precision of robots performing pick-and-place tasks in dynamic environments.

New insect-scale microrobots can fly more than 100 times longer than previous versions. The new bots, also significantly faster and more agile, could someday be used to pollinate fruits and vegetables.

A new initiative is challenging the conversation around the direction of artificial intelligence (AI). It charges that the current trajectory is inherently biased against non-Western modes of thinking about intelligence -- especially those originating from Indigenous cultures. Abundant Intelligences is an international, multi-institutional and interdisciplinary program that seeks to rethink how we conceive of AI. The driving concept behind it is the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems to create an inclusive, robust concept of intelligence and intelligent action, and how that can be embedded into existing and future technologies.

Are humans or machines better at recognizing speech? A new study shows that in noisy conditions, current automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems achieve remarkable accuracy and sometimes even surpass human performance. However, the systems need to be trained on an incredible amount of data, while humans acquire comparable skills in less time.

Imagine a future where your phone, computer or even a tiny wearable device can think and learn like the human brain -- processing information faster, smarter and using less energy. A breakthrough approach brings this vision closer to reality by electrically 'twisting' a single nanoscale ferroelectric domain wall.

AI-powered algorithm can analyze video recordings of clinical sleep tests and more accurately diagnose REM sleep behavior disorder.

Facing high employee turnover and an aging population, nursing homes have increasingly turned to robots to complete a variety of care tasks, but few researchers have explored how these technologies impact workers and the quality of care. A new study on the future of work finds that robot use is associated with increased employment and employee retention, improved productivity and a higher quality of care.

Researchers have harnessed artificial intelligence to take a key step toward slashing the time and cost of designing new wireless chips and discovering new functionalities to meet expanding demands for better wireless speed and performance.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve the analysis of medical image data. For example, algorithms based on deep learning can determine the location and size of tumors. This is the result of AutoPET, an international competition in medical image analysis. The seven best autoPET teams report on how algorithms can detect tumor lesions in positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT).

Bio-inspired wind sensing using strain sensors on flexible wings could revolutionize robotic flight control strategy. Researchers have developed a method to detect wind direction with 99% accuracy using seven strain gauges on the flapping wing and a convolutional neural network model. This breakthrough, inspired by natural strain receptors in birds and insects, opens up new possibilities for improving the control and adaptability of flapping-wing aerial robots in varying wind conditions.

Even highly realistic androids can cause unease when their facial expressions lack emotional consistency. Traditionally, a 'patchwork method' has been used for facial movements, but it comes with practical limitations. A team developed a new technology using 'waveform movements' to create real-time, complex expressions without unnatural transitions. This system reflects internal states, enhancing emotional communication between robots and humans, potentially making androids feel more humanlike.

Artificial intelligence that is as intelligent as humans may become possible thanks to psychological learning models, combined with certain types of AI.

Researchers developed a laser-based artificial neuron that fully emulates the functions, dynamics and information processing of a biological graded neuron, which could lead to new breakthroughs in advanced computing. With a processing speed a billion times faster than nature, chip-based laser neuron could help advance AI tasks such as pattern recognition and sequence prediction.

Scientists have developed swarms of tiny magnetic robots that work together like ants to achieve Herculean feats, including traversing and picking up objects many times their size. The findings suggest that these microrobot swarms -- operating under a rotating magnetic field -- could be used to take on difficult tasks in challenging environments that individual robots would struggle to handle, such as offering a minimally invasive treatment for clogged arteries and precisely guiding organisms.

Reinforcement Learning, an artificial intelligence approach, has the potential to guide physicians in designing sequential treatment strategies for better patient outcomes but requires significant improvements before it can be applied in clinical settings, finds a new study.

Infertility affects an estimated 186 million people worldwide, with fallopian tube obstruction contributing to 11%-67% of female infertility cases. Researchers have developed an innovative solution using a magnetically driven robotic microscrew to treat fallopian tube blockages. The microrobot is made from nonmagnetic photosensitive resin, coated with a thin iron layer to give it magnetic properties. By applying an external magnetic field, the robot rotates, generating translational motion that enables it to navigate through a glass channel simulating a fallopian tube.

A study is the first-of-its-kind to recognize American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet gestures using computer vision. Researchers developed a custom dataset of 29,820 static images of ASL hand gestures. Each image was annotated with 21 key landmarks on the hand, providing detailed spatial information about its structure and position. Combining MediaPipe and YOLOv8, a deep learning method they trained, with fine-tuning hyperparameters for the best accuracy, represents a groundbreaking and innovative approach that hasn't been explored in previous research.

The rapidly increasing aging population will lead to a shortage of care providers in the future. While robotic technologies are a potential alternative, their widespread use is limited by poor acceptance. In a new study, researchers have examined a user-centric approach to understand the factors influencing user willingness among caregivers and recipients in Japan, Ireland, and Finland. Users' perspectives can aid the development of home-care robots with better acceptance.

Imagine an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can watch and understand moving images with the subtlety of a human brain. Now, scientists have made this a reality by creating MovieNet: an innovative AI that processes videos much like how our brains interpret real-life scenes as they unfold over time.

Pretrained large-scale AI models need to 'forget' specific information for privacy and computational efficiency, but no methods exist for doing so in black-box vision-language models, where internal details are inaccessible. Now, researchers addressed this issue through a strategy based on latent context sharing, successfully getting an image classifier to forget multiple classes it was trained on. Their findings could expand the use cases of large-scale AI models while safeguarding end users' privacy.

Physicists have devised an algorithm that provides a mathematical framework for how learning works in lattices called mechanical neural networks.