Cybernetics and Robotics News

Scientists to develop 'swarms' of miniature robotic ocean explorers

Sunday, November 15, 2009 00:00 MST

In an effort to plug gaps of knowledge about key ocean processes, scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have been awarded nearly $1 million from the National Science Foundation to develop a new breed of ocean-probing instruments.

Creating 3D models with a simple webcam

Friday, November 13, 2009 00:00 MST

PhD Engineering student creates a software system that uses a simple webcam to map objects into a digital image.

Robot fish could monitor water quality

Wednesday, November 04, 2009 00:00 MST

Nature inspires technology for an engineer and an ecologist teamed up at Michigan State University. They're developing robots that use advanced materials to swim like fish to probe underwater environments. Robotic fish -- perhaps schools of them operating autonomously for months -- could give researchers far more precise data on aquatic conditions, deepening our knowledge of critical water supplies and habitats.

Autosub6000 dives to depth of 3.5 miles

Thursday, October 29, 2009 00:00 MST

The United Kingdom's deepest diving Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Autosub6000, has been put through its paces during an extremely successful engineering trials cruise on the RRS Discovery, Sept. 27 to Oct. 17, 2009.

Blue light-filtering increases macular pigment, may protect against age-related vision loss

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 00:00 MST

A new study shows that implantation of blue light-filtering intraocular lens at the time of cataract surgery increases a nutritional component of the eye, which may afford protection against the development and/or progression of age-related macular degeneration. The study, conducted by leading ophthalmology and vision researchers from the Macular Pigment Research Group at the Waterford Institute of Technology, is published in the October 2009 issue of the high impact journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

Is your microrobot up for the (NIST) challenge?

Sunday, October 25, 2009 00:00 MST

The folks who introduced the world to tiny robots demonstrating soccer skills are creating the next level of friendly competition designed to advance microrobotics. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, in collaboration with IEEE, is inviting university and collegiate student teams to participate in the 2010 NIST Mobile Microrobotics Challenge in May 2010.

Pushing through brain barriers

Thursday, October 22, 2009 00:00 MST

Case Western Reserve University scientist building nimble tools to monitor brain works

Experimental treatments restore partial vision to blind people

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 00:00 MST

Two experimental treatments, a retinal prosthesis and fetal tissue transplant, restored some vision to people with blinding eye diseases. The findings, presented at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health, may lead to new treatments for the blind. Researchers also reported that an engineered protein restored vision in an animal model and identified ways to improve stem cell treatments.

Is my robot happy to see me?

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 00:00 MST

Scientists at Georgia Tech tested our ability to interpret a robot's "emotion" by reading its expression to see if there were any differences between the ages. They found that older adults showed some unexpected differences in the way they read a robot's face from the way younger adults performed. The research is being presented this week at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting in San Antonio.

Bioengineering of nerve-muscle connection could improve hand use for wounded soldiers

Friday, October 16, 2009 00:00 MST

Prosthetic hand devices used by wounded soldiers have limited motor control and no sensory feedback. But a bioengineered interface, developed at the University of Michigan and made of muscle cells and a nano-sized polymer, could go a long way in creating prostheses that move like a normal hand. Animal studies show the interface may possibly restore a sense of touch.

Findings about veracity of peripheral vision could lead to better robotic eyes

Friday, October 16, 2009 00:00 MST

Two Kansas State University psychology researchers have found that peripheral vision is most important for telling us what type of scene we're looking at. Examining how people take in scene information paves the way for building better robots.

Communicating person to person through the power of thought alone

Thursday, October 08, 2009 00:00 MST

New research from the University of Southampton has demonstrated that it is possible for communication from person to person through the power of thought alone.

Energy-autonomous sensors for aircraft

Wednesday, October 07, 2009 00:00 MST

Aircraft maintenance will be easier in future, with sensors monitoring the aircraft skin. If they discover any dents or cracks they will send a radio message to a monitoring unit. The energy needed for this will be obtained from temperature difference.

Color sensors for better vision

Tuesday, October 06, 2009 00:00 MST

CMOS image sensors in special cameras -- as used for driver assistance systems -- mostly only provide monochrome images and have a limited sensitivity to light. Thanks to a new production process these sensors can now distinguish color and are much more sensitive to light.

A step toward better brain implants using conducting polymer nanotubes

Thursday, October 01, 2009 00:00 MST

Brain implants that can more clearly record signals from surrounding neurons in rats have been created at the University of Michigan. The findings could eventually lead to more effective treatment of neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and paralysis.