Swarms of small robots could get big stuff done

Swarms of small, inexpensive robots could one day be used in search and rescue, landmine clearing, and environmental monitoring.

Tufts University • futurity
Feb. 18, 2025 ~6 min

Engineers enable a drone to determine its position in the dark and indoors

A new low-power system using radio frequency waves takes a major step toward autonomous, indoor drone navigation.

Adam Zewe | MIT News • mit
Feb. 13, 2025 ~8 min


Sofas that self-assemble when you heat them up? How 4D printing could transform manufacturing

This unsung research area involves 3D-printing smart materials that can change shape when they come into contact with stimuli like heat or light.

Mahdi Bodaghi, Associate Professor of Smart Materials & Manufacturing, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Feb. 12, 2025 ~8 min

MIT engineers help multirobot systems stay in the safety zone

New research could improve the safety of drone shows, warehouse robots, and self-driving cars.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News • mit
Jan. 31, 2025 ~9 min

New training approach could help AI agents perform better in uncertain conditions

Sometimes, it might be better to train a robot in an environment that’s different from the one where it will be deployed.

Adam Zewe | MIT News • mit
Jan. 29, 2025 ~7 min

This fast and agile robotic insect could someday aid in mechanical pollination

With a new design, the bug-sized bot was able to fly 100 times longer than prior versions.

Adam Zewe | MIT News • mit
Jan. 15, 2025 ~8 min

How humans continuously adapt while walking stably

Research could help improve motor rehabilitation programs and assistive robot control.

Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences • mit
Dec. 18, 2024 ~3 min

Teaching a robot its limits, to complete open-ended tasks safely

The “PRoC3S” method helps an LLM create a viable action plan by testing each step in a simulation. This strategy could eventually aid in-home robots to complete more ambiguous chore requests.

Alex Shipps | MIT CSAIL • mit
Dec. 12, 2024 ~6 min


Manta ray robots break speedy swimming record

Researchers have taken inspiration from manta rays to create the fastest swimming robot yet.

Matt Shipman-NC State • futurity
Dec. 12, 2024 ~6 min

Watch: New approach gets robot to clear the table

Clearing the dinner table is a task easy enough for a child to master, but it's a major challenge for robots. A new method changes that.

Byron Spice-Carnegie Mellon • futurity
Dec. 4, 2024 ~7 min

/

63