Institute for Personal Robots in Education Blog

Most robots are built out of rigid materials, but a DARPA initiative to build soft-bodied robots that can squeeze into hard-to-reach places has led to the development of new types of the mechanical marvels. Harvard's Whitesides Research Group is working on a soft-bodied solution and the requisite propulsion required, producing a squishy three-legged bot that can jump 30 times its height using ...

A new research program is underway in Japan which will introduce fifth graders to a 1.2 meter tall communication robot called Robovie over a period of 14 months. Researchers at the International Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute (ATR) say Robovie has the conversational skills of a five-year-old, which they hope to improve through daily interactions with the children at Higashihikari ...

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Electrodes on the brain of a paralyzed man allowed him to move a robot arm to touch a friend's hand for the first time in seven years, researchers said.

A look back at some of the quirky and strange stories from the week

From Nature magazine [More]

After years in the making, an augmented reality robot physically embodies the appearance of a virtual character. ->

An unmanned K-MAX helicopter that is being used to deliver cargo and resupply troops in combat zones. Kaman

He was no help in the Russian Revolution, but robot made famous in exam gaffe has come to rescue for some.

Interviewers are likely to lead witnesses astray. It's time for the machines to start asking the questions

Different Dimension Inc., a Japanese start-up company, will begin marketing an Augmented Reality robot doll that can take on the appearance of any virtual character. Essentially, a computer-generated image is projected in real-time onto a robot (covered in green screen material) that is viewable through a head-mounted display (HMD). It's a spin-off of a bizarre research project led by Michihiko ...

KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com Watch this moth drive a robot exoskeleton designed by Japanese scientists.

Trainee doctors and nurses in Scotland are honing their techniques on robot patients at a new medical facility.

Life-like robotic patients are being used in central Scotland by doctors and nurses who want to practise their clinical skills.

The Winbot 7 series cleans windows, like a floor cleaning robot for vertical surfaces.

Doctors and nurses are set to hone their techniques on robot patients, as a new medical training centre opens.

The Winbot 7 series cleans windows, like a floor cleaning robot for vertical surfaces.

Forget driving dogs - Japanese scientists have created a robot which can be controlled by moths.Researchers from the University of Tokyo have developed a two-wheeled robot which a male silkmoth (Bombyx mori) can control, by walking...

5 reasons robot cars are inevitable

Why would you attach a moth to a robot so that it could maneuver around a wind tunnel? Not to create some sort of science fiction monster. The goal is to learn more about how to detect dangerous odors. Moths' antennae may provide some clues.

Why would you attach a moth to a robot so that it could maneuver around a wind tunnel? Not to create some sort of science fiction monster. The goal is to learn more about how to detect dangerous odors. Moths' antennae may provide some clues.