Cockroach Robot veloci-roach

VelociRoach is a small, crawling robot inspired by the maneuverability of the cockroach. The team studied how the animal can move so well.

Drone Postal Deliveries Begin in Switzerland

Switzerland's postal service said Tuesday it had begun testing parcel deliveries by unmanned drones, although widespread use of the flying postmen is not likely to kick in for another five years.

Wall-Climbing, Gecko Robot Could Scuttle in Space

gecko-robot

A wall-crawling robot inspired by the gecko has taken a small but important step towards a future in space, scientists said on Thursday.

Flying Robot Moves Like a Jellyfish

Flying-Robot

Miniature robots can fly like helicopters and insects. Why not a jellyfish? Weird as it sounds, Leif Ristroph of New York University decided that the aerodynamics of jellyfish offered a good method of designing a flying robot while keeping the size down

Turtle Robot Dives Wrecks

Turtle Robot

Diving shipwrecks can be dangerous work. As their name implies, these deep sea curiosities are underwater disaster zones that could trap an unwary diver.

Palm Size Drones Buzz Over Battlefield

Nano-drone

Weighing only 0.56 ounces (16 grams), the Black Hornet looks like a tiny toy helicopter. But it's really a nano-size piece of military hardware.

Pee Powered Robot

Pee Powered Robot

There's a new use for artificial hearts, and it involves a more taboo bodily fluid than blood. A device that mimics the squeezing action of the human heart has been.

World's First Robotic LEGO Band Rocks Out

Robotic LEGO

The Italian music producer has put together the “Toa Mata Band,” a quartet that includes several small robotic LEGO figures programmed to play various electronic instruments.

Can Drones Save the Elephants?

This week, 89 African elephants in southern Chad were slaughtered for their ivory tusks, the worst such incident since the killing of 300 elephants a year ago in Cameroon.
To stop the massacre of these stately beasts, conservation groups are fighting poachers with eye-in-the-sky drones.

TOP UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES TAKING FLIGHT

Perching UAVs

Earlier this year, Stanford University researchers created a model-plane sized unmanned aerial vehicle that can fly directly to a wall and then land vertically on it, superhero style. Miniature spines on its feet allow the vehicle to cling to a surface. The feet, with help from the propeller, can be manipulated so the UAV walks the wall to get a better view.

“I am impressed with the engineering on the aircraft and the iterations they went through to get that configuration,” Kochersberger says. “It’s going to lead to new technologies.”