Robotics, features and articles | Educational Science

Aug 31, 2014

Gallery: Snapshots from NYC's World Maker Faire 2014

Fun for all ages (Image credit: Kelly Dickerson/Live Science)World Maker Faire, a festival that celebrates science, technology and innovation, is being held on Sept. 20 and Sept. 21, 2014. The event features hands-on workshops, panel discussions and exhibits from inventors, engineers and companies. Here are some photos from the 2014...

Nov 30, 2015

From Blood Rain to Green Poo: 10 Weirdest Science Stories of 2015

The rain in Spain seemed to turn a gory shade of blood red. A scientist revealed he hadn't showered in more than 10 years. Somehow, tapeworms got even worse. These are just a few of the weird things that happened this year around the world. Here are the strangest (and...

Jun 30, 2015

Mean Machines: US & Japan Mega-Robots to Battle

If watching giant robots fight to the death sounds like your idea of a good time, then you're in luck. Two huge, Transformer-type bots — one from Japan, the other from the United States — could soon be facing off in the ultimate futuristic duel. Last week, the geeks over...

Apr 30, 2015

Clearing Hurdles: Cheetah Robot Shows Off New Trick

One four-legged machine is making great leaps in the field of robotics: Researchers have developed a cheetahlike bot that can run at impressive speeds and even jump over obstacles in its path. The mechanical cheetah first made a name for itself last fall, when researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of...

Jan 31, 2015

Chef Bot? Robot Learns Cooking from YouTube Videos

The U.S. military may not be known for its haute cuisine, but it's developing a new robot that can learn how to cook from watching YouTube videos. Using its brainy programming, the robot is capable of recognizing how kitchen utensils are used in the videos, and can accurately replicate those...

Jan 24, 2017

Tiny, Underwater Robots Offer Unprecedented View of World's Oceans

Robots the size of grapefruits are set to change the way scientists study the Earth's oceans, according to a new study. Though space is often known as the final frontier, the oceans of our home planet remain much of a mystery. Satellites have played a big role in that divide,...

Jan 25, 2017

New Exosuit Fabric Could Boost Mobility in People with Disabilities

Knitting and weaving artificial muscles could help create soft exoskeletons that people with disabilities could wear under their clothes to help them walk, according to new research. Textile processing is one of humanity's oldest technologies, but in recent years there has been renewed interest in using it to create smart...

Feb 1, 2017

'Bat Bot' Can Pull Off Impressive Aerial Acrobatics

Whether they're swooping around to catch dinner or delicately hanging upside down to sleep, bats are known for their acrobatic prowess. Now, scientists have created a robot inspired by these flying creatures. Dubbed the Bat Bot, it can fly, turn and swoop like its real-life counterpart in the animal kingdom....

Feb 2, 2017

RoboDragonfly: Tiny Backpack Turns Insect into a Cyborg

Scientists look to flying animals — birds, bats and insects — for inspiration when they design airborne drones. But researchers are also investigating how to use technology to interact with, and even guide, animals as they fly, enhancing the unique adaptations that allow them to take to the air. To...

Feb 3, 2017

Watch This Squishy, See-Through Robot Grab a Live Goldfish

Squishy, nearly transparent robots that flap, squeeze and kick when pumped with water could be the next underwater spies, at least when it comes to sneaking up on aquatic life. In a robotic test, one of these jelly-like machines was quick enough to grab and release a goldfish, a team...

Feb 9, 2017

Robo-Bees Could Aid Insects with Pollination Duties

Mini drones sporting horsehair coated in a sticky gel could one day take the pressure off beleaguered bee populations by transporting pollen from plant to plant, researchers said. Roughly three-quarters of the world’s flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world's food crops depend on animals to pollinate them,...

Feb 15, 2017

Cancer-Fighting Army? Magnetic Robot Swarms Could Combat Disease

Magnetically controlled swarms of microscopic robots might one day help fight cancer inside the body, new research suggests. Over the past decade, scientists have shown they can manipulate magnetic forces to guide medical devices within the human body, as these fields can apply forces to remotely control objects. For instance,...

Feb 24, 2017

A Killer Spin: Table Tennis Gets 'First' Robotic Coach

If you're interested in learning how to play table tennis, a robot in Japan is up for the coaching job, and the bot has even earned a Guinness World Record for its tutoring skills. The robot, called FORPHEUS, was named the first robot table tennis tutor for its ability to...

Feb 27, 2017

Robotic Arm Turns Your Digital Doodles into Good Old-Fashioned Sketches

A small robotic arm can bring your digital sketches to life, by re-creating your on-screen drawings with a pen and paper. The robotic drawing arm was designed by a team of researchers, who combined their knowledge of kinetic art, drawing machines and internet-connected microprocessor chips to develop the idea. The...

Mar 7, 2017

Robot 'Telepathy' Could Make Self-Driving Cars Safer

Are you nervous about entrusting your life to a self-driving car? What if you could telepathically communicate with the vehicle to instantaneously let it know if it makes a mistake? That is the ultimate promise of technology being developed by a team fromBoston University and the Computer Science and Artificial...