Disney brings beauty and personality into robot movements

Disney Research Hub has different priorities to other robot developers; its robots need to move effectively and efficiently – but also with a ton of style and personality. This super-cute biped, based on the BD-1 droid, is a perfect example.

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World’s fastest brick-laying construction robot lands on American shores

A robotic truck equipped with a mighty telescopic boom arm has just journeyed from Australia to Florida. Now the construction robot will get busy churning out up to 10 houses in a bid to become the employee of choice for building entire communities.

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Six-legged robot looks to replace guide dogs for the blind

The ratio of guide dogs to blind people in China is roughly one service pooch for every 40,000 people. Researchers are currently developing a six-legged, AI-enhanced robodog to close the gap and safely guide users to their destinations.

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New technique gives robotic faces living human skin

In a breakthrough that isn't at all creepy, scientists have devised a method of anchoring living human skin to robots' faces. The technology could actually have some valuable applications, beyond making Westworld-like scenarios a reality.

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GR-1 humanoid takes a multi-camera approach to the world around it

Instead of equipping its sharp-looking GR-1 general purpose humanoid with a full next-gen sensor suite including such things as radar and LiDAR, Fourier Intelligence's engineers have gone vision-only.

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Rock-climbing robot scales rough walls with bio-inspired grippers

Scientists have created a four-legged bio-inspired robot that climbs like no other. It clings to rough vertical surfaces utilizing a unique mechanism that is highly effective, yet at the same time relatively simple.

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Watch: Sony’s new microsurgery robot stitches up a corn kernel

Sony has shown off its new surgical robot doing some super-precise work sewing up a tiny slit in a corn kernel. It's the first machine of its kind that auto-switches between its different tools, and has successfully been tested in animal surgery.

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Video: Snail robot climbs vertical walls without leaving a slimy trail

Snails are great at climbing vertical surfaces, even though they have just a single wet suction-cup foot. A new robot climbs walls by mimicking that simple yet effective mechanism, although thankfully it leaves a trail of water instead of mucus.

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Video: Robo erectus – W1 quadruped robot evolves to stand and walk upright

You might think that having four legs with wheels on the ends would already make a robot pretty useful. China's LimX Dynamics is taking things further, however, as its W1 quadruped robot is now able to stand up and walk on two "feet."

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Energy-efficient underwater robot rises and falls via fuel-cell balloons

If scuba divers use inflatable BCDs (buoyancy control devices), why don't underwater robots? Well, an experimental new one does, and the technology is said to be much more energy-efficient than traditional methods of moving up and down in the water.

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