Robotics

Meet RoboBin: The Robot That Tells You How to Sort Your Trash

In a garbage-strewn wasteland that our earth has become, a rickety old machine goes around, hauls trash into its small square body, vibrates intensely, and plops the trash back out in a compacted form, shaped just like its own body. Yes, I’m talking about Wall-E from the movie ”Wall-E,” and he is beyond adorable. But, Read More
Should We Be Scared of AI?

For decades, humans have fantasized about the idea of an artificial intelligence (AI) takeover. Science fiction movies like “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “The Terminator” and “I, Robot” enthralled viewers for years, mostly because they teased the chance of an AI-driven, dystopian future. But today, that dystopian future may be too close for comfort. Before his Read More
XPRIZE Looking for University Groups to Create Robotic Avatar, Win Millions

XPRIZE Foundation is looking for university groups to join its $10 million ANA Avatar XPRIZE before the September 30 deadline. To win the grand prize, teams must create a robotic avatar capable of transporting a human’s “sense, actions, and presence to a remote location in real time.” Instead of relying on a plane or a Read More
What Robots and AI May Mean for University Lecturers and Students

The number of robots around the world is increasing rapidly. And it’s said that automation will threatening more than 800m jobs worldwide by 2030. In the UK, it’s claimed robots will replace 3.6m workers by this date, which means one in five British jobs would be performed by an intelligent machine. Jobs in higher education Read More
In an AI Era, Lessons From Dinosaurs Help Us Adapt to the Future of Work

The ancestors of modern birds were the sole survivors of one of the most severe mass extinction events in the history of the world. Today, 10,000 known bird species exist, all of them the descendants of dinosaurs. Polar adaptations, seed-based diets and even nest designs may have played roles in determining who lived and who Read More
Humans and Machines Can Improve Accuracy When They Work Together

Whether artificial intelligence systems steal humans’ jobs or create new work opportunities, people will need to work together with them. In my research I use sensors and computers to monitor how the brain itself processes decision-making. Together with another brain-computer interface scholar, Riccardo Poli, I looked at one example of possible human-machine collaboration – situations Read More
Can Robots Ever Have a True Sense of Self? Scientists Are Making Progress

Having a sense of self lies at the heart of what it means to be human. Without it, we couldn’t navigate, interact, empathise or ultimately survive in an ever-changing, complex world of others. We need a sense of self when we are taking action, but also when we are anticipating the consequences of potential actions, Read More
Robots Star in Ads, But Mislead Viewers About Technology

Nowhere is the advance of technology more evident than in the rise of robots and artificial intelligence. From smart devices to self-checkout lanes to Netflix recommendations, robots (the hardware) and AI (the software) are everywhere inside the technology of modern society. They’re increasingly common in ads, too: During the 2019 Super Bowl alone, seven ads Read More
A Robot That Can Touch, Eat and Sleep? The Reality of Cyborgs Like Alita: Battle Angel

Alita: Battle Angel is an interesting and wild ride, jam-packed full of concepts around cybernetics, dystopian futures and cyberpunk themes. The film – in cinemas from today – revolves around Alita (Rosa Salazar), a female cyborg (with original human brain) that is recovered by cybernetic doctor Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) and brought into the world Read More
5 Ways to Help Robots Work Together with People

For most people today, robots and smart systems are servants that work in the background, vacuuming carpets or turning lights on and off. Or they’re machines that have taken over repetitive human jobs from assembly-line workers and bank tellers. But the technologies are getting good enough that machines will be able work alongside people as Read More
How to Prevent the ‘Robot Apocalypse’ From Ending Labor as We Know It

It seems not a day goes by without the appearance of another dire warning about the future of work. Some alarmists fear a “robot apocalypse,” while others foresee the day of “singularity” coming when artificial intelligence exceeds human intelligence. Still others warn that income inequality will continue to rise as owners of capital capture more Read More
Women Killin’ It in AI

From autonomous vehicles to emergency response robots, machine-learning artificial intelligence is quickly entering our daily lives. AI is developing at impressive rates, and continues to aid in the improvement of medicine, engineering, robotics and entertainment. Each day scientists around the world are developing innovative new technology — ranging in diversity from flexible robots to algorithms Read More
New Robotic Skin Can Bring Everyday Objects to Life

As robotics quickly progress, robots are becoming increasingly capable of performing specific tasks at a very high level. But one important characteristic that many robots still lack is versatility. Even in today’s advanced field, robots are still generally rigid and only capable of performing specific tasks. Now, imagine a flexible robot that could be reprogrammed Read More
Women Killin’ it in STEM Fields

Though women make up 45.8 percent of the U.S. workforce, there are still significant gender gaps within the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). But that doesn’t mean women aren’t making some of the most incredible scientific discoveries to date. In fact, the number of women entering STEM careers is growing worldwide, and Read More
Meet Your New Robot Co-Worker

Robots are coming. But this time they aren’t the giant, metal gearheads in “The Terminator,” or the slick, futuristic machines that Will Smith fought off in “I, Robot.” And, as of now, the goal of the machines isn’t to enslave the human race. Instead, they are gunning for jobs. Robots have already transformed manufacturing and Read More