robotics

Topic description and stories

Expanding polymer-coated gold nanoparticles

Little ANTs: researchers build the world’s tiniest engine

02 May 2016

Researchers have built a nano-engine that could form the basis for future applications in nano-robotics, including robots small enough to enter...

Teaching machines to see: new smartphone-based system could accelerate development of driverless cars

21 Dec 2015

Two technologies which use deep learning techniques to help machines to see and recognise their location and surroundings could be used for the...

Opinion: How we built a robot that can evolve – and why it won’t take over the world

18 Dec 2015

Fumiya Iida (Department of Engineering) discusses the "mother" robot he has built with his colleagues, and why reacting to developments in robotics...

On the origin of (robot) species

12 Aug 2015

Researchers have observed the process of evolution by natural selection at work in robots, by constructing a ‘mother’ robot that can design, build...

‘Pick & mix’ smart materials for robotics

24 Jun 2015

Researchers have successfully combined multiple functions into a single smart life-like material for the first time. These ‘designer’ materials could...

We ask the experts: will robots take over the world?

19 Jul 2013

Robots can do a lot for us: they can explore space or they can cut our toenails. But do advances in robotics and artificial intelligence hold hidden...