Robotics news · RoboAlmanac

Light-activated gel could impact wearables, soft robotics, and more ↗

New MIT work advances the growing field of ionotronics, in which data are transferred through ions, potentially providing a bridge between electronics and biological tissue.

Handle with care: Soft robot gripper picks ripe fruit without bruising ↗

Cornell researchers used stretchable fiber-optic sensors to create a soft robot gripper that can predict the ripeness of strawberries by touch.

Robot Talk Episode 157 – Generating new robot designs, with Josie Hughes ↗

Claire chatted to Josie Hughes from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne about using AI to develop new designs for robotic manipulators.

Robotics Café brings together autonomous robot practitioners ↗

The recently launched Robotics Café is a weekly online seminar series to bring together researchers, students and industry practitioners working in the field of autonomous robotics.

Table tennis robot defeats some of world’s best players – why this has major implications for robotics ↗

Ace rotates its paddle as it prepares to return the ball back to its human opponent, Yamato Kawamata, during a match in December 2025.

Robot Talk Episode 156 – Rugged robots for dangerous missions, with Gavin Kenneally ↗

Claire chatted to Gavin Kenneally from Ghost Robotics about robot dogs for defence, security, and public safety.

Developing active and flexible microrobots ↗

By C Huygelen Leiden researchers Professor Daniela Kraft and Mengshi Wei have created microscopic robots that move without sensors, software, or external control.

How to teach the same skill to different robots ↗

The assembly line task setup. Credit: 2026 LASA EPFL CC-BY-SA.

Robot Talk Episode 155 – Making aerial robots smarter, with Melissa Greeff ↗

Claire chatted to Melissa Greeff from Queen’s University about autonomous navigation and learning for drones.

New understanding of insect flight points way to stable flapping-wing robots ↗

By David Nutt The way bugs and birds flap their wings may look effortless, but the dynamics that keep them aloft are dizzyingly complex and difficult to quantify.

Robotically assembled building blocks could make construction more efficient and sustainable ↗

New research suggests constructing a simple building from interlocking subunits should be mechanically feasible and have a much smaller carbon footprint.

Robot Talk Episode 154 – Visual navigation in insects and robots, with Andrew Philippides ↗

Claire chatted to Andrew Philippides from the University of Sussex about what we can learn from ants and bees to improve robot navigation.

Ultralightweight sonar plus AI lets tiny drones navigate like bats ↗

This small drone is using sonar, similar to bats’ echolocation, to navigate through a grove of trees.

Gradient-based planning for world models at longer horizons ↗

GRASP is a new gradient-based planner for learned dynamics (a “world model”) that makes long-horizon planning practical by (1) lifting the trajectory into virtual states so optimization is parallel across time, (2)…

Robot Talk Episode 153 – Origami-inspired robots, with Chenying Liu ↗

Claire chatted to Chenying Liu from University of Oxford about how a robot’s physical form can actively contribute to sensing, processing, decision-making, and movement.

Sony AI table tennis robot outplays elite human players ↗

Ace rotates its paddle as it prepares to return the ball back to its human opponent, Yamato Kawamata, during a match in December 2025.

AI system learns to keep warehouse robot traffic running smoothly ↗

This new approach adapts to decide which robots should get the right of way at every moment, avoiding congestion and increasing throughput.

Robot Talk Episode 152 – Dexterous robot hands, with Rich Walker ↗

Claire chatted to Rich Walker from Shadow Robot Company about their advanced robotic hands for research and industry.