Blog

Robot valets in France become the new parking service

Catwell

After a few years of testing, French company Stanley Robotics will push out its self-driving robot valets and put them to use at France's Lyon-Saint-Exupery airport later this week. It only costs $61 to park for a week in the cheapest parking lot (fa...
- 22 Mar 2019
Hayabusa2 makes successful touchdown on Ryugu

Catwell

The Hayabusa2 was originally supposed to make contact back in October (Image credit: JAXA) Last month, Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 landed on asteroid Ryugu to collect samples for scientists to study back home – only the second time this has be...
- 22 Mar 2019
NASA Makes History with First Female Spacewalk

Catwell

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly works outside of the ISS during a spacewalk in 2015 (Photo from NASA/Getty Images) NASA is about to make history. The agency is set to hold its first ever all-female spacewalk at the end of this month. American astrona...
- 20 Mar 2019
A fleet of mini cars makes experiments for cooperative driving possible

Catwell

Researchers at The University of Cambridge have created a cost-effective testbed for cooperative driving experiments. (Photo via University of Cambridge) If anything, this would make for a fun toy. Get kids to run your research testing. Hmmmmm.....
- 14 Mar 2019
MIT's robotic cheetah can do backflips

Catwell

MIT's latest robot can do backflips, walk and trot on uneven ground. It’s rivaling Boston Dynamic’s bots. The mini cheetah can even be programmed to perform certain tasks when it dealt with unexpected force or kicked to the ground. Researchers say th...
- 11 Mar 2019
Soft Robotic Hand Developed by Festo Runs on AI

Catwell

Festo's BionicSoftHand is the latest robotic hand attempting to immitate the way a human hand works. Using artificial intelligence, the hand is able to use its fingers to work out how to manipulate an object by gripping and moving it around. Th...
- 8 Mar 2019
Cotton seeds sprouted on the moon, then stop growing

Catwell

(Image Credit: China National Space Administration/Xinhua News Agency/AP) It didn’t last long. Bitter cold and a long night ended the plant’s growth. Day and night cycles on the moon are around two weeks long each. The plant sprouted and grew fo...
- 7 Mar 2019
These Two Robots Are Set to Deliver Packages

Catwell

Agility Robotics has unveiled a new robotic model called "Digit." The company's robot is the first one to have four-degree-of-freedom arms that can be used for balance, pushing doors and lifting up boxes that weigh 40 pounds. The design is also sleek...
- 5 Mar 2019
Hololens and Kinect get amazing sequels

Catwell

Hololens and Kinect from Microsoft , I always thought, had a huge potential for development. Before I even get my hands on either, they’ve been updated! Microsoft's unveiling of the HoloLens2 headset promises to be the next big release and the e...
- 28 Feb 2019
Titanium harpoon passes experiment to help clean up debris orbiting Earth

Catwell

www.youtube.com/watch A harpoon meant to collect space debris has been tested in space for the first time as part of the space debris removal mission called RemoveDEBRIS. The titanium harpoon developed by Airbus engineers in the U.K. hit the satelli...
- 21 Feb 2019
NASA’s Opportunity Rover Signs off after almost 15-Year Mission on Mars

Catwell

Opportunity was designed to run for 90 days, and travel up to 1,100 yards before ending its exploration mission. Instead, the robot endured for nearly 15 years and traveled more than 28-miles before reaching its resting spot on Perseverance Valley. (...
- 15 Feb 2019
University 3D Printer 'Replicator' uses light to create a model

Catwell

The new 3D printing technique uses gelatinous resin to create models. (Image Credit: UC Berkeley) Researchers from the University of California at Berkeley have revealed the Replicator. A 3D printer that uses light from a digital video projector to b...
- 13 Feb 2019
Teen student builds prosthetic arms out of Lego pieces

Catwell

The arms were inspired by Tony Stark's Iron Man suit. David Aguilar and his four robotic arms made of Lego pieces. (Image Credit: Reuters/Albert Gea) David Aguilar has built a robotic prosthetic arm (named after Iron Man's suit) for himself ma...
- 11 Feb 2019
Robots on the path to self-awareness

Catwell

Self-aware robots may seem like something you'd expect out of a science fiction film, but that seems more likely to become reality. Engineering researchers from Columbia have made stellar progress in robotics by creating a robot with self-awareness. ...
- 6 Feb 2019
MIT teaches robot Jenga to help it learn real world physics

Catwell

This robot prefers Jenga over Go (Photo from MIT) Jenga may be one of the most popular and simple games to play; you keep the tower going until it tips over. But it actually takes a good amount of dexterity, patience, and physical manipulation t...
- 4 Feb 2019
Amazon reveals new electronic vest to prevent warehouse robot accidents

Catwell

Amazon hopes the new vest will decrease collisions between warehouse robots and humans (Photo from Amazon) With Amazon Warehouses employing more robots than humans you have to ensure the safety of all your workers, which the company hasn’t been ...
- 30 Jan 2019
Robot Riot Gets Rebooted, Brings Robot Fighting Back to the Tavern

Catwell

Robot Riot is a tabletop fighting competition that pits home-brew robots against each other. (Image credit: The Emporium) Time for a little local news in Chicago! (BTW... I think I will enter this competition circuit.) Robot Riot is an even...
- 28 Jan 2019
Amazon Field Testing Their Scout Delivery Robot in Snohomish County, Washington

Catwell

Six of the six-wheeled robots will deliver packages in an undisclosed neighborhood with an Amazon employee chaperone in tow. (Image credit: Amazon) Amazon is gaining traction in the robot delivery business, as the e-commerce company has started...
- 25 Jan 2019
GMC’s New Sierra Heavy Duty Pickup Truck Packs 15 Camera Views and can see Through Trailers

Catwell

GMC’s Prograde Trailering System allows you to see through a trailer using cameras mounted on the tailgate and the back of the trailer. (Image credit: GMC) I was inspired by this tech development. Seeing through objects for safety. For anyone w...
- 25 Jan 2019
WINE Spacecraft can Theoretically Explore Space Forever using Steam Power

Catwell

UCF’s World Is Not Enough spacecraft extracts water from asteroids and other celestial resources to generate steam, which is used as a propellant. (Image credit: UCF) Scientists from the University of Central Florida have designed a spacecraft ...
- 24 Jan 2019
Robot Roundup: NVIDIA opens new Seattle lab, Open Bionics gets millions from investors, and the robot who helped police end a stand-off

Catwell

The kitchen robot is just one of the new projects housed in NVIDIA’s new Seattle lab (Photo from NVIDIA) NVIDIA now has a new lab in Seattle that will serve as home for all its robotics projects. Research scientists and students from the Univers...
- 18 Jan 2019
Researchers Hack Plants making it easy for them to Just Say No to Oxygen Molecules

Catwell

The researchers found that plants modified to bypass photorespiration could increase their biomass by 40%. (Image credit: RIPE) It’s common knowledge plants take sunlight and CO2 to make the energy they need to grow. A long time ago, the proces...
- 10 Jan 2019
China’s Chang’e 4 Probe Takes Images of the Moon’s Far Side While Yutu 2 Begins Exploration

Catwell

First ever image of the moon’s far side and South Pole-Aitken basin landing location of CNSA’s Chang’e 4 probe. (Image credit: CSNA) The China National Space Administration’s made history on January 3rd when it successfully landed their Chang’e...
- 8 Jan 2019
Self-driving Drones and Cars: The Delivery Platforms of the Future

Catwell

The journey of the self-driving car started in 1925 when the inventor Francis Houdina put on the streets of Manhattan a radio-controlled car with no driver. People at the time really thought it was a trick from the famous illusionist Houdini, especia...
- 4 Jan 2019
Lovot: A Robot for Love

Catwell

Pair of Lovots, Groove X explained on their website that the robots in a pair are connected and can feel each other’s “emotions”; when one is being hugged, the other might come around asking for a hug too. (Image from lovot.life) When it comes t...
- 3 Jan 2019