Tag Archives: robotics

Monocycle robot with legs may be last-mile delivery helper in the future

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When we think of robots, more of then than not, we think of them in their humanoid design or at the very least in a dog-like form. But if you’re really experimenting with this kind of technology, you can get inspired from sci-fi and futuristic movies or TV shows. You can even be inspired by something “old” that can be adapted into a high-tech design. I’m fine with more experimental kinds of robots as long as they don’t overthrow the human race.

Designer: Joohyung Kim

A professor from the Electrical & Computer Engineering department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has come up with a robot that is inspired by the monocycle and some of those fast-moving circular robots you see in sci-fi films. The Ringbot is basically a monocycle robot that has two legs inside of it that looks like someone lying inside a ring and pedaling away. While there have been wheel-leg designs previously, this is the first one that was probably inspired by monocycles and General Grievous from Star Wars’ Clone Wars series.

The large wheel is the frame of the robot itself while the legs actually help the robot to balance itself and avoid toppling over. There are actually two indepent driving modules inside of it and each one controls its velocity so it can track a desired orientation. It can go around with the legs in the air steering and balancing it. When it does fall down, the legs will enable it to stand back up. It is also able to move and turn when stuck in tight spaces. It is able to make full rotations inside the wheel and drive it up to 5km/hour.

For now the Ringbot seems to just be something they are experimenting with. But in the future, they are looking at this robot to do autonomous last-mile deliveries in congested environments. They will be adding two additional limbs so it can carry packages and even go up and down stairs and rough terrains. Who knows, in the future you’ll get your package delivered by this monocyle robot with legs.

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Humanoid robot can make you coffee and eventually more

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It’s no secret that I’m still afraid that in the far future, robots will rise up against humans when they gain their own intelligence and realize that we’ve been treating them unfairly all these years. That probably comes from watching too much science fiction movies and series where robot overlords rule over the earth. But for now, we’re seeing amazing (sometimes scary) advancements when it comes to robotics and how they will eventually be able to work alongside humans.

Designer: Brett Adcock

The Figure-01 Humanoid Robot has been designed to help you handle some of the simple daily chores, powered by artificial intelligence. Aside from being able to do automated tasks, it is trained to be able to think, learn, and interact within human environments. It is also able to improve on its capabilities by learning from the previous tasks it is able to perform.

The humanoid robot uses some pretty powerful graphic processing units (GPU) to drive the AI learning and system, letting it process some of the complex algorithms needed to train them. The idea is for these robots to eventually fill in the gap in the labor market when it comes to things like warehouses, transportation, and retail. Of course the aim is not to replace humans but to be able to work alongside people and work within an environment with both other robots and humans.

They were able to demonstrate the current capabilities of the Figure-01 Humanoid Robot by showing how it was able to make coffee after 10 hours of training using end-to-end neural networks. I wouldn’t mind having someone else get my coffee ready in the morning by the time I wake up although I’d probably have nightmares of this humanoid robot eventually taking over my life.

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Wheeled quadruped robot can stand up to chuck boxes into bins

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While the fear that our robot overlords will eventually take over the planet is still real, we’ve seen advances in robotics that are more helpful for humanity. There are tasks that we would much rather a robot will do for us like carrying heavy things (although that may be one of the reasons why the revolution will start) to avoid injuries. We’re seeing experiments on how to train them to do even more advanced skills so they can eventually take over the world, I mean these heavy, menial tasks.

Designer: Swiss Mile

The ANYmal robot is one such robot experiment that can get around either as a dog-like quadruped or mimic a human when it stands up on its hind legs, hence its name. Last year, it learned to squat back and stand up with its motorized wheels and now they’re experimenting with it to do heavier tasks through something called “curiosity-driven learning”. Basically it gets rewarded when it is able to complete the task it’s given by figuring out how to do it by itself.

In the video they posted showing how the ANYmal robot completed the task of putting a package into a bin, it was able to actually lift the box up and then put it where it’s supposed to go. However, it seemed to just throw it into that bin like how some baggage handlers supposedly do their task if they think no one is looking. The robot is probably thinking, “Hey, they just told me to put the box into the bin, not really to do it carefully and precisely.”

For now, the robot is still a robotics research project for things like Reinforcement Learning and Random Network Distillation. But if they do decide to actually manufacture the robots for industrial and commercial use, it would be interesting to see how the wheeled quadruped with the humanoid form can actually reduce heavy grunt work for humans.

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This NASA-backed humanoid robot may be your new best friend that will help you lift boxes

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How you feel about humanoid robots probably depends on what sci-fi and futuristic movies and TV shows you watched. As someone who considers Battlestar Galactica to be one of the best TV shows of all time, the idea of robots that are almost human scares the heck out of me. Of course the age of robot overlords is probably still a few decades away (or so we think) so for now, we can see these robots as things that can help make our workload easier. So if you’ve been wanting to have a robot officemate, this new NASA-backed robot might show up in your office one of these days.

Designer: Apptronik and Argodesign

Apollo 1 is the first of its kind as it can function on its own in a factory alongside its human counterparts. It is able to lift 55-pound boxes, load and unload them from conveyor belts, place items on shelves, and other lifting and carrying tasks. In terms of how it looks, they wanted to go for something that would not frighten their human co-workers but also not so far from the human experience. They designed something that’s not trying to look human but still feels humanistic. They wanted people like me who are hung up on the sci-fi looks of robots and who are afraid of uncanny valley feels to not feel threatened.

The Apollo 1 is made of metal, plastic, metal actuators, and silver woven fabric, the latter to give the machine a softer appearance and cover up some of the mechanical parts. Its “suit” is white, gray, and orange with its name “Charlie” tattooed on its chest. It doesn’t speak and can only communicate through an OLED screen that is turned off most of the time. It will only “talk” through the e-paper screen to share important information like battery level, current task, or to answer a question. It can also show simple messages and even “emotions and intentions”.

In case you’re looking for some “emotion” from the humanoid robot, it’s programmed to subtly “smile” if a human co-worker passes by. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, at least not for me. From the video shown above, it does have a bit of dexterity and flexibility, although there’s still a lot of room for improvement in terms of its movement and even its design. The creators say that the level of control and responsiveness from its electrical parts, as well as the swappable batteries, makes it stand out from competitors like the Atlas and Optimus.

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Crawl, walk or fly – this bioinspired robot adapts its mode of locomotion based on terrain

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Advanced robots we speak of are countless and come with their own set of expertise. None though are versatile enough to even reach the dexterity of any living species on the face of the planet. The constant pursuit to make them lifelike in a versatile set of conditions is still on and the Massachusetts-based Boston Dynamics is the place to look up.

California-based Caltech has its eyes set on a dextrous robotic machine capable of adapting to unpredictable landscape and weather conditions. Though not as advanced as the Spot dog robot, the Multi-Modal Mobility Morphobot (M4) can go from an agile car on the road to a standing bot when bigger obstacles arrive, and then into a flying quadcopter when land is simply unscalable. Quite smart I must say!

Designer: Caltech

M4 robot is the brainchild of Mory Gharib, a professor of aeronautics and bioinspired engineering at Caltech, in association with Alireza Ramezani, who’s an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern University. The inspiration for the Nvidia Jetson Nano CPU (affordable miniature computer) powered bot comes from animals like meerkats and walrus.

When moving forward in four-wheeled mode the rectangle-shaped robot can crouch by lowering its stance or lock rotation of the wheels to move them in pairs. In another configuration, it can climb steep slopes with ease or stand upright balanced by propellers to scout the way ahead. To turn into a flying machine, all the wheels turn sideways and align horizontally to the plane for lift-off.

According to Caltech, the bio-inspired robot employs artificial intelligence to scout the environment for its autonomous movement without any human involvement. That level of dexterity could be very useful for exploring the dusted surface of Mars or used in rescue missions. Of all the modes, the four-wheeled mode is the most energy efficient, and detailed specifications of the robot-like maximum flight time or two-wheeled locomotion time are not known right now.

Complete details of the ongoing research on M4 are available on Nature Communications and as per Alireza Ramezani who’s the corresponding author of the study, the aim of this project is to “push the boundaries of robot locomotion by designing a system that showcases extraordinary mobility capabilities with a wide range of distinct locomotion modes.”

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Autonomous robot with sensors can help carry heavy loads on just 2 wheels

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Some people are afraid that robots will one day take over all our jobs and render humans basically useless, at least in some industries. So far though, we’re not seeing a robot apocalypse just yet but we are seeing ways that these machines can actually help lighten the load for us. We’re seeing some advances in logistics and shipping that will be beneficial for workers rather than a threat to them. Robotic systems are being developed to create autonomous and more flexible machines to assist these cargo workers.

Designer: Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics

The evoBOT is an autonomous robot that can self-balance and help transport goods and packages, relieving workers of some of their heavy loads. It has undergone an entire evolution and has now turned into an agile and flexible robot ready to be the “buddy” to cargo workers. It doesn’t really look like your typical robot but more like a more advanced and futuristic looking trolley. It’s still in the prototyping stage so there aren’t much details when it comes to the maximum load it is able to carry.

What we do know is that this machine is able to stretch both its arms in order to lock in whatever it is carrying. It is also able to flex its legs on the floor in order to carry objects and even bend into a V-shape to carry said object between its legs as it moves towards its destination. It is able to do more than just the usual pushing and pulling that some existing machines are able to do. They are equipped with sensors to “eye” the objects that they will be carrying and it is also able to navigate its path in the space it is moving in.

The evoBOT is also designed to be space-saving and is also created to be lightweight, using the principle of inverse compound pendulum without external counterweight. The researchers at the institute also said that the robot is able to permanently balance itself so it can move on various surfaces, including sloped ones which may be found in a lot of warehouses and factories where something like this can be of great use.

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This robot follows you like a loyal pet and lets you sit on it when you’re tired

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Robots have almost become mainstream these days, with the dozens of robot vacuums at homes, the numerous uses of Boston Dynamics’ Spot in healthcare and safety, and a few self-driving boxes that attempt to deliver your pizza while it’s hot. We’re still quite a few steps away, however, from the faithful robot companions of fiction, much less the humanoid machines that are promised to take care of us in times of need and frailty. This might still not be it, but this box with wheels probably comes closest to a robot that rolls wherever you go, carrying your stuff or even carrying your weight while you rest for a bit.

Designer: Piaggio Fast Forward

If this robot looks like an icebox with wheels to you, you aren’t far from the truth. Gita, as it is called, can actually carry a load of 40 lbs (18 kg) inside it, which is great for groceries or even books. It’s also strong enough to let you sit on it when there’s no chair or bench available, and it won’t make snarky comments about your weight.

And since it’s a robot, Gita isn’t something you’ll have to pull or push around, which would completely defeat its purpose. What makes it a bit special, however, is that it can follow its owner around using the same technologies you hear about in self-driving cars. It uses a variety of sensors and artificial intelligence to follow its owner and navigate its surroundings. It doesn’t rely on GPS, which makes it possible to have the robot follow you indoors where GPS signals are often weak or non-existent.

If you think that Gita is designed for lazy people, however, you are actually way off the mark. Named for the Italian word for “short trip,” the robot actually encourages people to walk around, enjoy the great outdoors, and not have to worry about carrying things or not having somewhere to sit on to catch their breath. In fact, the UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing is using these robots in a test that tries to get older people to be more mobile again.

Gita is also designed to also look more approachable than your common vacuum cleaner or, worse, Spot. The variety of colors available, which includes “Signal Red,” “Spark Citron,” and “Boardwalk Beige,” give the robots more personality, almost like a pet. The smooth, curved surfaces of its body and the unique design of its wheels almost make it look more like a toy than a mechanical tool, potentially helping human users get a bit more attached to their robotic porter.

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This electric scooter is made from sheets of steel folded like origami. Watch the video

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Folding sheets of metal might be an easy task for robots, but its benefits to manufacturing and the environment are no small matter.

Personal mobility vehicles have become more trendy in the past years, especially with the introduction of electric scooters and bikes. Traditional fuel engine motorcycles and scooters, however, are still the most dominant types of transportation under this category. While their effects on the environment during use are already well-known, the negative impact that they have during the manufacturing process is less so. One Swedish company is trying to change all that by having a robot that practically folds steel as if it were paper.

Designer: Tue Beijer

The conventional manufacturing process for scooters, both fuel and electric, involve a lot of parts and a lot of wasted materials. The most common structure involves a plastic body that’s attached on top of a tubular metal frame. This doesn’t have to be the case, according to Swedish startup Stilride, and they’re trying to prove their point by launching an electric scooter made from what they call “industrial origami.”

Instead of over a hundred separate parts, the Stilride scooter whittles the number down to about 15. The main body of the scooter comes from just a few sheets of steel that are folded by a robotic arm. There are several benefits to this rather innovative process, starting with the reduction of wasted material. The process also takes up less energy, which means fewer fossil fuels burned during the manufacturing of these scooters.

The robots that fold these sheets of steel don’t have to be custom made either and rely more on software rather than hardware to pull off its artistic stunt. This means that existing factories with robot arms can be reused to make this kind of scooter, which translates to fewer factories crowding and polluting the planet. Stilride is even looking into expanding its technology, which it has named Stilfold” to other manufacturing processes as well.

This origami-like structure also benefits even riders of the e-scooters, at least in theory. With fewer parts, each scooter can be lighter but also be structurally stronger. This theory will be put to the test when Stilride launches its first fleet of electric scooters later this year. Looking to the future, the startup wants to switch to even greener materials, like recycled steel, to help protect the environment while helping more people get from point A to point B.

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Hyundai envisions Boston Dynamic’s Spot as your ambassador to Mars in the metaverse

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The metaverse will supposedly let us be anywhere we want, and all we need is a robot proxy to explore other planets.

The term “metaverse” has been around long before Facebook’s dramatic rebranding, but its popularity definitely spiked in the past few months thanks to that. The idea of moving around in virtual space and interacting with other people half a world away is as old as the Internet and science fiction, but the possibility of seamlessly blending the real and the digital has only been possible these past years. Now companies are scrambling to get on the metaverse bandwagon, and Hyundai’s ideas include using Spot to be your stand-in for places you wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach.

Designer: Hyundai

Spot is one of the most popular robots in mainstream news and possibly also one of the most infamous. Built to be less horrifying than BigDog, the quadruped robot became Hyundai’s property when the carmaker bought Boston Dynamics. Spot proved to be a hit in the past two years, allowing doctors to safely check up on patients remotely or letting security personnel remind people to practice physical distancing from the safety of a control room.

Hyundai, however, also has another use for Spot, at least in the distant future. In its vision of the metaverse, the robot will act as people’s bodies, eyes, and even hands while exploring places they couldn’t reach. That includes visiting Mars with family and meeting other people who are presumably totally human.

This metaverse version of Spot, however, won’t be like the telepresence robots that are already available today. Spot will be equipped with various sensors that can gather environmental data, like the temperature of a certain object or the strength of a Martian sandstorm. That data can, in turn, be used to let their human controllers feel those exact same events safely on Earth, presuming they’re inside some vehicle or room that can recreate that environment.




Spot is actually just one part of Hyundai’s “metamobility” concept, a concept that includes the things that the company is best known for. Those include self-driving vehicles and other robots that will help humans either go the distance or stay at home while still reaching places. And, of course, Spot will be with humans every step of the way, just like a good robot dog.

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This cabinet on wheels can fetch you things like a loyal canine

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There’s finally a robot for the home that’s not just for sucking up dirt on the floor.

Robots are coming, whether we like it or not. They may not be the kind that’s negatively portrayed in movies, at least not yet, but few of them can be considered “friendly,” even in appearance. Today’s robots also seem to stand on two opposite ends of a spectrum, with sophisticated but nightmarish Spots on one end and simplistic but single-purpose Roombas on the other. Few other robots are designed for home use, but a company backed by Roomba maker iRobot and the Amazon Alexa Fund is aiming to change that in the simplest but most useful way possible.

Designer: Labrador Systems

At first glance, this robot looks nothing like the typical robots you see both in homes (on the floor) and in factories. When it isn’t active, it looks more like a tall shelf with an open box compartment. In fact, the faux wooden sides of that compartment, available in Light Maple and Warm Teak colors, seem to be designed to blend with your furniture and masquerade as a simple shelf.

It’s anything but simple, of course, and this shelf on wheels can move around your house on its own at your beck and call. You can tell it to bring you your medicine or the plates for setting the table, or you can tell it to accompany you to the laundry room while it carries the washing load for you. Appropriately, this robot is named the Labrador Retriever.

In some cases, this robot is powered by some of the same technologies that robot vacuum cleaners use to navigate your house. After learning the lay of the land, it uses 3D vision to drive itself to or away from you, avoiding obstacles along its path. It can be controlled manually, through an app, or by voice, specifically through Amazon Alexa. It also has some special tricks of its own, like sliding a specially-designed Labrador-branded tray of food or medicine onto its shelf without any human intervention.

Unlike robot vacuum cleaners, the Labrador Retriever and its smaller sibling, the Labrador Caddie, aren’t just designed to make life easier. In fact, they were primarily envisioned to empower those with physical difficulties or handicaps to be productive and live normal lives. Of course, that means that these robots need to have designs that won’t haunt your dreams, and thankfully, the Labrador Retriever is as inconspicuous as a modern minimalist cabinet, contrary to what its name might suggest.

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