Jason Falconer

DARPA's robotic pack mule, the Legged Squad Support System (or LS3 for short) is now following orders and its master, going where no robot has gone before. In a recently published video, the impressive quadruped robot developed by Boston Dynamics climbs up and down hills, scrambles over logs, bobs and weaves through woods, and even takes an impromptu dip in a bog before leaving the obstacle-ridden forest and picking up the pace. Video after the break.  Read More

Imagine if you could harness the productivity of an insect colony – hundreds, if not thousands of miniature agents working together towards a larger goal – that's the future promised by swarm robotics. Potential applications, such as intelligent sensor networks, could have a wide-ranging impact on various industries. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) are developing the technology with prototypes about the size of a ping-pong ball, which they have called "droplets."  Read More

Industrial robots have been around for the better part of the last sixty years, but until recently most took days to program and had to be cordoned off to prevent injuring their human coworkers. That's beginning to change thanks to smarter robots, like those developed by Universal Robots, a Danish company who's technology – already prevalent in Europe – has been hailed "the world's most innovative robot" by the International Federation of Robotics and the IEEE.  Read More

Is the fashion industry ready for a robot takeover? A new robotic mannequin developed by South Korea's IMD Communications may give rivals from Japan some competition. It comes in three varieties, each named after an Indian god and programmed with its own modeling behaviors. Endrani is described as a 30-something woman who exudes elegance, Dipani highlights women's confidence and creativity, and Marian – the most dynamic of the three – symbolizes strength and the outdoors.  Read More

Northrop Grumman has delivered two X-47B Unmanned Combat Aircraft Systems (UCAS) to the US Navy, which has begun three weeks of tests aboard the USS Truman – the first aircraft carrier to host test operations for an unmanned aircraft. The X-47B is based on the Pegasus X-47A (originally designed in 2001) but features improved landing gear and folding wings for work aboard carriers.  Read More

Last year a portable solar LED lamp called the WakaWaka Light – a winner of four Accenture Innovation awards in 2012 – was successfully crowd-funded. Now, its makers are launching a follow-up device that can fully recharge a phone or fuel your tablet for an extra couple of hours on a single day's charge.  Read More

Most human-like robots don't even attempt biological accuracy, because replicating every muscle in the body isn't necessary for a functional humanoid. Even biomimetic robots based on animals don't attempt to replicate every anatomical detail of the animals they imitate, because that would needlessly complicate things. That said, there is much to be learned from how muscle groups move and interact with the skeleton, which is why a team at Tokyo University's JSK Lab has developed what could be considered the world's most anatomically correct robot to date.  Read More

The burgeoning telepresence market continues to gather steam with Revolve Robotics the latest venture to introduce a low-cost telepresence system through crowd-funding. But unlike the others, KUBI (Japanese for "neck") is mainly stationary. It's essentially a tablet stand that can hold a tablet in portrait or landscape mode and allows the caller to remotely pan and tilt the tablet to change their point of view.  Read More