Animal Inspired Technology

Conventional drones rely on spinning propellers to generate lift and maneuver in the air. While effective, this approach has limitations, especially in tight, cluttered,...

Small drones are increasingly used in environments where visibility is limited, such as collapsed buildings, smoke-filled structures, and dense vegetation, but most navigation systems...

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) operate in an environment that is constantly shifting. Sudden currents, turbulence and pressure changes can destabilize rigid wings and control...

Robots designed to detect and track chemical sources, such as gas leaks, explosives, or hazardous materials, typically rely on multiple sensors working in perfect...

Coordinating large groups of autonomous systems, whether drones, vehicles, or software agents, remains a difficult problem. In real-world conditions, signals are often noisy, incomplete,...

Autonomous robots still struggle with a basic problem that animals solve effortlessly: how to keep moving when conditions suddenly change. Uneven terrain, loss of...

Modern militaries continue to search for reconnaissance tools that can operate where drones and ground robots struggle — inside collapsed buildings, narrow tunnels or...

One of the biggest obstacles to deploying very small autonomous robots is navigation. As machines shrink, the hardware required to determine position and direction...

Small drones and mobile robots increasingly operate in tight, cluttered environments where awareness must be both wide and fast. Conventional camera systems can capture...

Small drones have become a common tool for surveillance, inspection, and reconnaissance, but they come with limits. Battery life restricts endurance, electric motors generate...

Maintaining armored vehicles is often as demanding as operating them. Tank engines are packed with sensors, wiring, fuel lines, and mechanical components layered in...

Robots have steadily become smaller, cheaper, and more capable—but until now, true autonomy stopped at around the millimeter scale. Below that threshold, conventional designs...

Small flying robots face a persistent tradeoff between endurance and complexity. Flapping-wing designs can generate thrust but consume energy quickly, while fixed-wing platforms struggle...

Moving equipment, sensors, and unmanned systems across land–sea boundaries has long been a logistical bottleneck. Most platforms are built for either terrain or water,...

Robots intended for complex natural environments face a familiar problem: rigid bodies and fixed-color surfaces make them easy to detect and limit their ability...

Autonomous flight at insect scale has long been a challenge in robotics. Existing microrobots can hover or move along controlled paths, but they typically...

High-performance infrared imaging normally requires exotic materials or cryogenic cooling, making it too costly for widespread commercial or security use. Conventional CMOS sensors—the same...

Autonomous robots face a persistent challenge - navigating complex, unpredictable environments without human intervention. Standard navigation systems typically rely on GPS to locate a...

China has publicly demonstrated a new class of quadruped robots, dubbed “wolf robots,” during a large-scale military exercise simulating an amphibious attack on Taiwan....

A new class of small, ground robots is being pitched for frontline missions: low-cost, networked unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) that operate in coordinated swarms...

Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts are developing small aerial robots that rely on sound rather than cameras to navigate, offering new...

Chinese researchers have unveiled a new biomimetic underwater robot designed to operate almost invisibly beneath the surface. Modelled after a jellyfish, the transparent robot...