Robotics Research News
January 22, 2026
Top Headlines
Jan. 19, 2026 As global energy demand surges—driven by AI-hungry data centers, advanced manufacturing, and electrified transportation—researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have unveiled a breakthrough that could help squeeze far more power ...
Jan. 15, 2026 Foams were once thought to behave like glass, with bubbles frozen in place at the microscopic level. But new simulations reveal that foam bubbles are always shifting, even while the foam keeps its overall shape. Remarkably, this restless motion ...
Jan. 8, 2026 A team of physicists has discovered a surprisingly simple way to build nuclear clocks using tiny amounts of rare thorium. By electroplating thorium onto steel, they achieved the same results as years of work with delicate crystals — but far more ...
Nov. 2, 2025 Cambridge researchers have engineered a solar-powered “artificial leaf” that mimics photosynthesis to make valuable chemicals sustainably. Their biohybrid device combines organic semiconductors and enzymes to convert CO₂ and sunlight into ...
Oct. 11, 2025 A team of engineers at North Carolina State University has designed a polymer “Chinese lantern” that can rapidly snap into multiple stable 3D shapes—including a lantern, a spinning top, and more—by compression or twisting. By adding a ...
Oct. 7, 2025 Researchers at Columbia have created a chip that turns a single laser into a “frequency comb,” producing dozens of powerful light channels at once. Using a special locking mechanism to clean ...
Oct. 7, 2025 Solar energy is now the cheapest source of power worldwide, driving a massive shift toward renewables. Falling battery prices and innovations in solar materials are making clean energy more reliable than ever. Yet, grid congestion and integration ...
Oct. 5, 2025 A Penn State research team found that streetlights could double as affordable EV charging stations. After installing 23 units in Kansas City, they discovered these chargers were faster, cheaper, and more eco-friendly than traditional stations. Their ...
Oct. 1, 2025 A powerful new AI tool called Diag2Diag is revolutionizing fusion research by filling in missing plasma data with synthetic yet highly detailed information. Developed by Princeton scientists and international collaborators, this system uses sensor ...
Sep. 20, 2025 CHESS thin-film materials nearly double refrigeration efficiency compared to traditional methods. Scalable and versatile, they promise applications from household cooling to space ...
Sep. 9, 2025 Artificial intelligence is consuming enormous amounts of energy, but researchers at the University of Florida have built a chip that could change everything by using light instead of electricity for a core AI function. By etching microscopic lenses ...
Aug. 28, 2025 In just one afternoon, scientists used a nanoparticle “megalibrary” to find a catalyst that matches or exceeds iridium’s performance in hydrogen fuel production, at a fraction of the ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:23pm EST
Oct. 24, 2025 Researchers in Konstanz discovered a way to manipulate materials with light by exciting magnon pairs, reshaping their magnetic “fingerprint.” This allows non-thermal control of magnetic states ...
Oct. 22, 2025 Under the sea, green algae have evolved a clever way to handle too much sunlight. Scientists found that a special pigment called siphonein acts like a natural sun shield, protecting the algae’s ...
Oct. 12, 2025 A team at the University at Buffalo has made it possible to simulate complex quantum systems without needing a supercomputer. By expanding the truncated Wigner approximation, they’ve created an ...
Aug. 26, 2025 A research team created a plant-inspired molecule that can store four charges using sunlight, a key step toward artificial photosynthesis. Unlike past attempts, it works with dimmer light, edging ...
Aug. 24, 2025 A Rochester team engineered a new type of solar thermoelectric generator that produces 15 times more power than earlier versions. By enhancing heat absorption and dissipation rather than tweaking ...
Aug. 24, 2025 Ripple bugs’ fan-like legs inspired engineers to build the Rhagobot, a tiny robot with self-morphing fans. By mimicking these insects’ passive, ultra-fast movements, the robot gains speed, ...
Aug. 13, 2025 Scientists have developed a lightning-fast AI tool called HEAT-ML that can spot hidden “safe zones” inside a fusion reactor where parts are protected from blistering plasma heat. Finding these ...
Aug. 2, 2025 AI is helping scientists crack the code on next-gen batteries that could replace lithium-ion tech. By discovering novel porous materials, researchers may have paved the way for more powerful and ...
July 29, 2025 Researchers are exploring AI-powered digital twins as a game-changing tool to accelerate the clean energy transition. These digital models simulate and optimize real-world energy systems like wind, ...
July 23, 2025 Imagine concrete that not only survives wildfires and extreme weather, but heals itself and absorbs carbon from the air. Scientists at USC have created an AI model called Allegro-FM that simulates ...
Earlier Headlines
July 14, 2025 A new leap in lab automation is shaking up how scientists discover materials. By switching from slow, traditional methods to real-time, dynamic chemical experiments, researchers have created a ...
June 19, 2025 Scientists have, for the first time, directly observed phonon wave dynamics within self-assembling nanomaterials unlocking the potential for customizable, reconfigurable metamaterials with ...
June 14, 2025 Physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have created a groundbreaking quantum device that can measure 3D acceleration using ultracold atoms, something once thought nearly impossible. By ...
June 2, 2025 Despite advances in machine vision, processing visual data requires substantial computing resources and energy, limiting deployment in edge devices. Now, researchers from Japan have developed a ...
May 30, 2025 A new method for predicting underwater landslides may improve the resilience of offshore ...
May 30, 2025 Students recently unveiled their invention of a robotic actuator -- the 'muscle' that converts energy into a robot's physical movement -- that has the ability to detect punctures or ...
May 29, 2025 Researchers gave participants face tattoos that can track when their brain is working too hard. The study introduces a non-permanent wireless forehead e-tattoo that decodes brainwaves to measure ...
May 28, 2025 Interactive robots should not just be passive companions, but active partners -- like therapy horses who respond to human emotion -- say ...
May 28, 2025 Engineers have developed a real-life Transformer that has the 'brains' to morph in midair, allowing the drone-like robot to smoothly roll away and begin its ground operations without pause. ...
May 28, 2025 Engineers have developed a multifunctional, reconfigurable component for an optical computing system that could be a game changer in ...
May 27, 2025 Most people have witnessed -- or rather smelled -- when a protein enzyme called sulfite reductase works its magic. This enzyme catalyzes the chemical reduction of sulfite to hydrogen sulfide. ...
May 27, 2025 Laser-based metal processing enables the automated and precise production of complex components, whether for the automotive industry or for medicine. However, conventional methods require time- and ...
May 27, 2025 A research team has discovered ferroelectric phenomena occurring at a subatomic scale in the natural mineral ...
May 22, 2025 Proteins catalyze life by changing shape when they interact with other molecules. The result is a muscle twitching, the perception of light, or a bit of energy extracted from food. The ability to ...
May 22, 2025 A new artificial intelligence system pinpoints the origin of 3D printed parts down to the specific machine that made them. The technology could allow manufacturers to monitor their suppliers and ...
May 21, 2025 A team at POSTECH has unveiled a world-first in display technology: Pixel-Based Local Sound OLEDs that allow every pixel on a screen to emit distinct sounds. By embedding ultra-thin piezoelectric ...
May 21, 2025 Researchers have unveiled a breakthrough in solid-state cooling technology, doubling the efficiency of today's commercial systems. Driven by the Lab's patented nano-engineered thin-film ...
May 21, 2025 Large shifts in UV radiation at Lake Tahoe are associated with wet and dry climate extremes, finds a new ...
May 20, 2025 A metamaterial is a composite material that exhibits unique properties due to its structure, and now researchers have used one featuring a small sawtooth pattern on its surface to move and position ...
May 19, 2025 Humans no longer have exclusive control over training social robots to interact effectively, thanks to a new study. The study introduces a new simulation method that lets researchers test their ...
Monday, July 14, 2025
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Saturday, June 14, 2025
Monday, June 2, 2025
Friday, May 30, 2025
- Predicting Underwater Landslides Before They Strike
- Engineers Develop Self-Healing Muscle for Robots
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
- Horses 'mane' Inspiration for New Generation of Social Robots
- Mid-Air Transformation Helps Flying, Rolling Robot to Transition Smoothly
- New Chiral Photonic Device Combines Light Manipulation With Memory
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
- Cryo-Em Freezes the Funk: How Scientists Visualized a Pungent Protein
- Machine Learning Simplifies Industrial Laser Processes
- Nature-Inspired Breakthrough Enables Subatomic Ferroelectric Memory
Thursday, May 22, 2025
- An Artificial Protein That Moves Like Something Found in Nature
- 3D Printers Leave Hidden 'fingerprints' That Reveal Part Origins
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
- High-Quality OLED Displays Now Enabling Integrated Thin and Multichannel Audio
- Nano-Engineered Thermoelectrics Enable Scalable, Compressor-Free Cooling
- Extreme Weather Cycles Change Underwater Light at Lake Tahoe
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Monday, May 19, 2025
- Robots Learning Without Us? New Study Cuts Humans from Early Testing
- Using Sound to 'see' Unexploded Munitions on the Seafloor
- Empowering Robots With Human-Like Perception to Navigate Unwieldy Terrain
- Nimble Dimples: Agile Underwater Vehicles Inspired by Golf Balls
- How to Swim Without a Brain
- Remotely Controlled Robots at Your Fingertips: Enhancing Safety in Industrial Sites
Thursday, May 15, 2025
- New Gene Editor Enables Greater Precision
- Researchers Develop New Metallic Materials Using Data-Driven Frameworks and Explainable AI
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
- Energy and Memory: A New Neural Network Paradigm
- Handy Octopus Robot Can Adapt to Its Surroundings
- Digital Lab for Data And Robot-Driven Materials Science
- Light-Driven Cockroach Cyborgs Navigate Without Wires or Surgery
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
- Eldercare Robot Helps People Sit and Stand, and Catches Them If They Fall
- Enzymes from Scratch
- Robotic Hand Moves Objects With Human-Like Grasp
Monday, May 12, 2025
Friday, May 9, 2025
Thursday, May 8, 2025
- Ping Pong Bot Returns Shots With High-Speed Precision
- Robotic Dog Mimics Mammals for Superior Mobility on Land and in Water
- Eco-Friendly Aquatic Robot Is Made from Fish Food
- New Chip Uses AI to Shrink Large Language Models' Energy Footprint by 50%
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
- Transforming Hospital Sanitation: Autonomous Robots for Wiping and UV-C Disinfection
- Groundbreaking Device Instantly Detects Dangerous Street Drugs, Offering Hope for Harm Reduction
- Smart Spongy Device Captures Water from Thin Air
- Piecing Together the Brain Puzzle
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
- Gender Characteristics of Service Robots Can Influence Customer Decisions
- How AI Tools Can Improve Manufacturing Worker Safety, Product Quality
- Do Manta Rays Benefit from Collective Motion?
Monday, May 5, 2025
- Robotic Touch Sensors Are Not Just Skin Deep
- A Big Data Approach for Battery Electrolytes
- Text-to-Video AI Blossoms With New Metamorphic Video Capabilities
- Privacy-Aware Building Automation
Thursday, May 1, 2025
- Using Principles of Swarm Intelligence, Study Compared Platforms That Allow Brainstorming Among Large Groups
- Artificial Sense of Touch, Improved
- Researchers Develop a Novel Vote-Based Model for More Accurate Hand-Held Object Pose Estimation
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
- Engineers Advance Toward a Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computer
- Rare Earth Element Extraction Bolstered by New Research
Monday, April 28, 2025
- High-Wire Act: Soft Robot Can Carry Cargo Up and Down Steep Aerial Wires
- Using Humor in Communication Helps Scientists Connect, Build Trust
Friday, April 25, 2025
Thursday, April 24, 2025
- Flying Robots Unlock New Horizons in Construction
- Combining Signals Could Make for Better Control of Prosthetics
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
- Engineering a Robot That Can Jump 10 Feet High -- Without Legs
- 'Periodic Table of Machine Learning' Could Fuel AI Discovery
- Engineer Reinvents Ceramics With Origami-Inspired 3D Printing
- New Model Predicts a Chemical Reaction's Point of No Return
- Material? Robot? It's a Metabot
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
- Robot See, Robot Do: System Learns After Watching How-to Videos
- Transformable Flat-to-Shape Objects Created Using Sewing Technology
Monday, April 21, 2025
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
- Faster Way to Solve Complex Planning Problems
- RoboBee Comes in for a Landing
- Farm Robot Autonomously Navigates, Harvests Among Raised Beds
- Bite-Sized Chunks of Chicken With the Texture of Whole Meat Can Be Grown in the Lab
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
- Explainable AI for Ship Navigation Raises Trust, Decreases Human Error
- Machine Learning Unlocks Superior Performance in Light-Driven Organic Crystals
Monday, April 14, 2025
Friday, April 11, 2025
- Astroparticle Physics: Neutrinos Weigh Less Than 0.45 Electronvolts
- A Fluid Battery That Can Take Any Shape
Thursday, April 10, 2025
- AI Tool Set to Speed Quest for Advanced Superconductors
- New Research Examines How Nanoscopic Ripples Affect Material Properties
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
- A New Robotic Gripper Made of Measuring Tape Is Sizing Up Fruit and Veggie Picking
- Hopping Gives This Tiny Robot a Leg Up
- 3D-Printed Open-Source Robot Offers Accessible Solution for Materials Synthesis
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Friday, April 4, 2025
- How Can Science Benefit from AI? Risks?
- Polymers With Flawed Fillers Boost Heat Transfer in Plastics
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
- Smartphone Photo Sensors Transformed Into an Unprecedented Resolution Antimatter Camera
- Scientists Unveil Starfish-Inspired Wearable Tech for Heart Monitoring
- Metamaterials: Highly Twisted Rods Store Large Amounts of Energy
- Scientists Merge Two 'impossible' Materials Into New Artificial Structure
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
- Diagnosing a Dud May Lead to a Better Battery
- We Know Nanoplastics Are a Threat -- This New Tool Can Help Us Figure out Just How Bad They Are
Monday, March 31, 2025
- My Robot Therapist: The Ethics of AI Mental Health Chatbots for Kids
- Chance Discovery Improves Stability of Bioelectronic Material Used in Medical Implants, Computing and Biosensors