Robotics news 79 stories
AI agents create virtual playgrounds to help robots get crucial training data ↗
A new system developed at MIT uses three agents to piece together the objects, walls, and overall look of a 3D scene.
Robots in society, business and culture: July 2026 ↗
By Emmet Cole This new monthly series from IEEE RAS showcases a selection of robotics stories from society, business, research, and culture, as we track the field’s ongoing journey from specialized industrial machines…
Simulated zebrafish and a vision-equipped robotic fish reveal how the body shapes brain circuits ↗
Image credit: Olivier Porchet, Biorobotics Laboratory, EPFL When a fish holds its position against a current in a river, its brain must figure out how fast to swim and how to steer to offset the water flow.
Researchers develop modular nanorobot ↗
Illustration of the versatile nanorobot. It is 150 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
Surviving the paper deluge: a one-year study in learning from demonstration ↗
By Emmet Cole With the explosion of robotics research, staying current in fields like Learning from Demonstration (LfD) is a monumental challenge.
Soft robotic heart offers new way to study disease and test life-saving devices ↗
The soft robotic model of the human heart, developed at UNSW.
A mini robot to simplify dental treatment ↗
A miniature robot developed at the University of Basel could help prepare teeth for a crown.
Pressure-free growing robots for soft medical robotics ↗
By Emmet Cole Researchers at the University of Leeds and collaborators from the University of California San Diego won the Best Paper Award at RoboSoft, the leading international conference focused on soft robotics…
Interactive world simulator for robot policy training and evaluation ↗
Imagine you want to teach a robot to push an object on a table.
Undergrads’ weed-killing robot wins top prize ↗
Andrew James (from left), Neil Morrison, Natalia Kurz and Michael Neiss work on a prototype of their weed-killing robot ahead of The Farm Robotics Challenge, which they won on May 21.
A flapping robot swims and flies like a diving bird ↗
Image copyright: Raphael Zufferey. By Jennifer Chu Loons, gulls, puffins, and petrels are some of the 100 species of birds that can both fly and swim.
Wristband enables wearers to control a robotic hand with their own movements ↗
By moving their hands and fingers, users can direct a robot to play piano or shoot a basketball, or they can manipulate objects in a virtual environment.
#RoboCup2026 social media round-up ↗
This year, RoboCup took place in Incheon, South Korea, from 2-6 July.
#RoboCup2026 – humanoid league knockout stages ↗
This weekend saw the finale of the league competitions at RoboCup 2026 in Incheon, South Korea, with the winners in the small, middle, and large humanoid divisions decided.
#RoboCup2026 – humanoid league day 2 ↗
The second day’s play at RoboCup 2026 has drawn to a close with another bumper set of matches.
Reflections from ICRA 2026 ↗
From the 1st-5th June, the robots descended on Vienna.
#RoboCup2026 – humanoid league day 1 ↗
Image credit: RoboCup Federation. RoboCup 2026 kicked off today in Incheon, South Korea, with the league competitions running until 5 July.
What’s coming up at #RoboCup2026? ↗
This year, RoboCup will be held in Incheon, South Korea, from 2-6 July.
Robot Talk Episode 162 – The robot doctor will see you now ↗
Since the first robot-assisted surgery was performed, over 40 years ago, major advances in robotics, computer vision and artificial intelligence have fundamentally changed medicine and healthcare.
AI brings object-level vision prosthetics closer to reality ↗
Image credit: By Jeff Dahl – Own work by uploader, Based on the public domain document: [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, Link By Stephanie Parker This research from the NeuroAI Lab of Martin Schrimpf, part of EPFL’s Schools of…
AURA Foresight Reaches Global XPRIZE Wildfire Finals in Alaska ↗
One of only four teams remaining from more than 130 competitors worldwide, our team AURA Foresight is developing autonomous technology to stop wildfires before they grow out of control.
Robot Talk Episode 161 – Collaborative haptic systems, with Allison Okamura ↗
Claire chatted to Allison Okamura from Stanford University about developing advanced robotic systems for haptic (touch) interaction.
New research enables a robot to chart a better course ↗
By rapidly generating a smooth path plan that cuts travel time and avoids obstacles, the open-source “MIGHTY” system could streamline disaster recovery and parcel delivery.
Entangled robotic matter with cohesive motion ↗
By Syl Kacapyr Cornell engineers have developed a robotic collective that behaves less like a machine and more like a material that flows, reshapes and adapts to its environment without centralized control.
Robot Talk Episode 160 – Robotic blacksmiths, with Edward Mehr ↗
Claire chatted to Edward Mehr from Machina Labs about their RoboCraftsman that shapes complex metal parts for the aerospace, defence, and automotive industries.
Congratulations to the #AAMAS2026 best paper award winners ↗
The AAMAS 2026 best paper awards were presented at the 25th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, which took place from 25-29 May 2025 in Paphos, Cyprus.
Robot Talk Episode 159 – Robot sensing and manipulation, with Maria Koskinopoulou ↗
Claire chatted to Maria Koskinopoulou from Heriot-Watt University about autonomous robotic manipulators for surgery, industry, and beyond.
Global robotics technology roadmap ↗
Deborah Lupton / Pop Chips / Licenced by CC-BY 4.0.
RoboChem Flex: democratisation of the autonomous synthesis robot ↗
Image credit: HIMS / Nature Synthesis. In a paper published in Nature Synthesis, researchers led by Professor Timothy Noël of the University of Amsterdam’s Van ’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences present an advance…
Robot Talk Episode 158 – Autonomous robot deliveries, with Ahti Heinla ↗
Claire chatted to Ahti Heinla from Starship Technologies about their AI-powered delivery robots that operate independently on streets and pavements.