Researchers are always looking for ways to develop more effective robots for space exploration. NASA is now investigating soft robots for these types of projects. Chuck Sullivan and Jack Fitzpatrick are learning how to develop soft robot actuators by 3D printing flexible silicone molds.
In the future, robots may bring your packages to your door. Take Digit for instance: it is a human-like robot that is deployed from a self-driving vehicle to bring packages to customers. It is smart enough to get around obstacles and humans. The robot can walk up stairs and handle packages up to 40lbs.
Muscle controlled robots are nothing new. We have covered a bunch of them in the past. MIT researchers are taking it to the next level though. They are using muscle signals to enable people to lift objects with robots. Wearable EMG electrodes are used to detect muscle signals.
Sensors have been used in the past to enable robots to predict and avoid collisions. As Acutronic Robotics shows in their latest video, it is possible to achieve this without sensors. A MARA robotic arm running ROS 2 was used to demonstrate this. The MoveIt 2 model was used to detect collisions without any external torque sensor.
Here is another educational robot for kids and adults. The XIAO R robot can walk and shoot balls. It is driven by a STM32 Board board. It is powered by a 2200mAh battery and XR-218 digital servos.
Remember Salto? It is a high flying robot that was introduced by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley in 2016. It has come a long way since. It is now capable of bouncing in place like a pogo stick and jumping over obstacles. It can reach a speed of 10mph and jump up to 4ft.
Here is another drone that can climb surfaces to do things regular drones can’t do. Sherbrooke’s Multimodal Autonomous Drone (S-MAD) performs autonomous vertical thrust-assisted jumps to climb vertical surfaces. It features soft suspension and microspine feet. When perched, it can observe its surroundings.
Remember Laikago? It is a robot dog with 12 high-performance motors that is developed with developers in mind. Unitree Robotics is planning to introduce a new, more versatile robot soon. As the below video shows, AlienGo has more smooth, agile movements. The below video shows this robot in action:
In the past few years, we have covered plenty of dog-like robots here. Have you ever wondered what it takes to build your own? Stanford students have that covered. Doggo is their open source robot dog that can be made for about $3000. The plans, code, and parts are made available online.
Here is another robot that is versatile enough to help in search & rescue, standoffs, and other dangerous situations. The Vantage Tactical Robot can climb stairs and move over mud, sand, gravel, and debris. It has a FLIR camera for seeing heat signatures.
