University of Virginia engineers create robots that walk on water

#DisruptiveTech 🔵HydroSpread: Soft Robotics Walk On Water. Imagine a robot no larger than a leaf, skimming across a pond like a water strider. That’s the future envisioned by researchers at the University of Virginia, who’ve developed HydroSpread—a breakthrough method for fabricating soft robots directly on water. Published in Science Advances, the technique lets liquid act as the workbench. Droplets of polymer naturally spread into ultrathin sheets, which are then laser-carved into precise shapes. No more fragile transfers from glass. No more torn films. The team built two prototypes: 🔵HydroFlexor, which paddles with fin-like motions 🔵HydroBuckler, which walks using buckling legs inspired by insects Powered by infrared heat, these robots move, turn, and adapt—proof that controlled motion is possible on liquid surfaces. Future versions could respond to sunlight, magnetic fields, or embedded heaters, enabling autonomous operation in real-world environments. Beyond robotics, HydroSpread opens doors to wearable medical sensors, flexible electronics, and environmental monitors—tools that need to be soft, thin, and resilient where rigid materials fail. This is more than a fabrication trick. It’s a new paradigm for building machines that float, flex, and function in places we couldn’t reach before. #SoftRobotics #HydroSpread #EnvironmentalTech #FlexibleElectronics Campaign Catapult, Pravo Consulting

🤖 A Breakthrough in Physically Intelligent Robotics! 🧠 Exciting progress in mechanical intelligence and robot design! A research team from Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), led by Professor Katia Bertoldi, has created a walking robot powered only by one motor and a few rubber bands; no sensors or onboard computer required. The study demonstrates how mechanical structure and elasticity can be used to “program” robotic behavior. By adjusting the placement and tension of rubber bands, the robot can walk, turn, avoid obstacles, and even sort objects by mass, all without electronic control systems. This innovation points toward a new generation of physically intelligent machines; robots that can respond to their environment through design alone. The research could lead to simpler, lighter, and more energy-efficient robots for use in manufacturing, exploration, and soft robotics. 📖 Read more about the study: https://lnkd.in/ejfC_spH -Robots can be “programmed” through mechanical structure, not just code -Fewer electronic components mean lighter, more durable machines -A foundation for new forms of adaptable, energy-efficient robotics What do you think about the future of mechanical intelligence in robotics? Could this redefine how we design machines? #Robotics #MechanicalIntelligence #HarvardSEAS #Innovation #Engineering #SoftRobotics #PhysicalIntelligence #PNAS #Automation #DesignEngineering

What if a robot had no rigid motors, no wires, and its "brain" was powered by air? This is the mind-bending world of soft robotics, a field that is completely rethinking how machines are built and controlled. This incredible research, pioneered by labs like EPFL and soiboi studio, moves beyond traditional robotics. Instead of electric motors, these robots use 3D-printed, soft pneumatic actuators—"muscles"—that flex and move when air pressure or a vacuum is applied. The true paradigm shift, however, is using these same principles to create fluidic logic gates, forming a "pneumatic nervous system" that can generate control signals without a single silicon chip. This is more than just a scientific curiosity. Soft robots are inherently safer for human interaction, more resilient to damage, and can navigate spaces that are impossible for rigid machines. This research is paving the way for a new generation of robots in medicine, delicate manufacturing, and search and rescue, creating machines that are more biological than mechanical. #SoftRobotics #Robotics #Innovation #Biomimicry #Engineering #Pneumatics #3DPrinting #FutureTech

"An international team led by researchers at the University of Waterloo has developed a new material that can be used as flexible artificial muscles to replace rigid motors and pumps in robots and allow them to move more naturally and fluidly. Soft robots differ from hard robots in that they are pliable and flexible, making them safe for interaction with people, but the materials currently used for components enabling their movement aren't strong enough to be effective. The Waterloo-led research group found a way to dramatically strengthen smart, rubber-like materials by mixing liquid crystals (LCs)—commonly found in displays for electronics and sensors—into promising building blocks for soft robots known as liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs). The study is published in the journal Advanced Materials." #robots #artificialmuscles

👉 Lectures notes of robotics 👉 Download Handbook: https://lnkd.in/gCyEJdzF 1️⃣ What is Robotics? ✅ Robotics is the branch of engineering that deals with the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Robots are programmable machines capable of carrying out complex actions automatically. 2️⃣ Major Components of a Robot: 🔹 Sensors – Collect information from the environment 🔹 Actuators – Convert energy into motion 🔹 Controller – The robot’s brain (usually a microprocessor) 🔹 Power Supply – Provides the required energy 🔹 End Effector – The tool or gripper used to interact with objects 3️⃣ Types of Robots: 🤖 Industrial Robots (used in manufacturing) 🚗 Mobile Robots (autonomous or semi-autonomous) 🧠 Humanoid Robots (mimic human motion & interaction) 🚀 Space Robots (exploration and research) 4️⃣ Applications: ⚙️ Manufacturing & Automation 🏥 Healthcare & Surgery 🌍 Agriculture & Environment 🏭 Logistics & Warehousing 5️⃣ Future of Robotics: ✅ AI-powered robots are transforming industries — from intelligent assistants to autonomous systems in transportation, robotics is at the heart of Industry 4.0. 💡 Robotics blends mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering — shaping the future of innovation. 👉 For more information follow MechZone #Robotics #Engineering #Automation #Technology #Learning

🤖 The US just built robots that can fold themselves into 256 shapes No motors. No gears. Just smart sheets of plastic that move, jump, and crawl on their own. Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new class of robots called 'metabots', that can snap into hundreds of stable shapes and adapt to almost any terrain. Here’s what makes them extraordinary ☛ Built from flat polymer sheets that respond to electric or magnetic fields ☛ Can jump, crawl, and twist without motors or complex machinery ☛ A single sheet achieves 20 shapes, while 4 connected sheets can form 256 distinct states ☛ They can grip, lift, or maneuver through tight, uneven surfaces ☛ Cost-efficient, energy-light, and almost eerily adaptable ☛ By integrating piezoelectric materials, these robots can even vibrate and steer themselves precisely, turning left or right while staying in one spot. 🧾 The research, published in Science Advances, merges metamaterials and robotics to create reconfigurable machines that might one day transform search-and-rescue, exploration, and micro-manufacturing. 🧑��� Jie Yin, who led the study, summed it up perfectly 'This approach to robotics is both inexpensive and highly adaptable'. ⚛️ Flat today. Transforming tomorrow. 📄 Read: Developable surface, based multistable thin-shell metastructures, Science Advances, 2025, link in Comments. 📌📢 Follow my BOARDS Newsletters series by BOARDS Interconnected Insights #Robotics #Innovation #AI #Engineering #Science #Technology #SoftRobotics #Research #Automation

❗𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰❗ 💡Curious about how to model a robot cell 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 relying on external sensors? - Discover the answer in my latest research, now published in IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine (RAM). DOI: 10.1109/MRA.2025.3615354 (https://lnkd.in/daeTNbdY) 𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 Generating a collision-free robot motion is crucial for safe applications in real-world settings. This requires an accurate model of all obstacle shapes within the constrained robot cell, which is particularly challenging and time-consuming. The difficulty is heightened in flexible production lines, where the environment model must be updated each time the robot cell is modified. Furthermore, sensor-based methods often necessitate costly hardware and calibration procedures and can be influenced by environmental factors (e.g., light conditions or reflections). To address these challenges, we present a novel data-driven approach to modeling a cluttered workspace, leveraging solely the robot’s internal joint encoders to capture exploratory motions. By computing the corresponding swept volume (SV), we generate a (conservative) mesh of the environment that is subsequently used for collision checking within established path planning and control methods. Our method significantly reduces the complexity and cost of classical environment modeling by removing the need for computer-aided design (CAD) files and external sensors. We validate the approach with the KUKA LBR iisy collaborative robot in a pick-and-place scenario. In less than three minutes of exploratory robot motions and less than four additional minutes of computation time, we obtain an accurate model that enables collision-free motions. Our approach is intuitive and easy to use, making it accessible to users without specialized technical knowledge. It is applicable to all types of industrial robots or cobots.

Today Scientists have developed a soft, power-free robotic “eye” that can automatically focus using only light. The new lens, created by researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology, uses a hydrogel embedded with graphene oxide particles. When light hits the lens, the hydrogel heats up, contracts, and adjusts the focus — no electronics or batteries needed. When the light is removed, it cools and returns to its original shape. This innovative design mimics how the human eye works and can resolve extremely fine details, such as hairs on an ant’s leg or fungal filaments. It was demonstrated as a replacement for traditional microscope lenses, offering high precision. The team is now integrating the lens into a hydrogel-based microfluidic system, enabling light to both power and control the device. In the future, this adaptive lens could give soft robots and sensors vision capabilities that surpass the human eye, potentially mimicking features like a cat’s vertical pupils or a cuttlefish’s unique color perception. https://lnkd.in/euF6MRB2

Recent advancements in robotic design demonstrate that intended functions can be programmed directly into a robot’s physical structure, reducing reliance on complex electronics. Using a mechanism of levers and rubber bands, researchers have developed a walking robot capable of navigating mazes and sorting objects by mass, all with minimal moving parts and a single motor. This approach enables robots to sense and adapt to their environment mechanically, offering a pathway to simpler, more cost-effective autonomous machines. The findings highlight the potential for physically intelligent robots that are lightweight, adaptable, and easier to manufacture.

A breakthrough from the University of Waterloo is reshaping the future of robotics. 🤖✨ . Researchers have discovered that adding liquid crystal inclusions to soft, rubber-like materials dramatically boosts their strength — creating artificial muscles that can lift 2,000 times their own weight. These flexible, heat-responsive materials could soon replace traditional motors and pumps, giving rise to a new generation of lifelike soft robots. . From medical micro-robots to adaptive manufacturing systems, this innovation could transform how machines move, interact, and even feel. 👉 Read the full story on Quantum Server Networks: https://lnkd.in/e8C58RFR . #LiquidCrystalElastomers #ArtificialMuscles #SoftRobotics #UniversityOfWaterloo #SmartMaterials #BioinspiredEngineering #AdvancedMaterials #3DPrinting #FlexibleActuators #MaterialsScience #TechXplore #QuantumServerNetworks #PWmat #AIinScience