It Takes A Village To Deploy A Tactile Telerobot

Observing MLK Day, I followed in the footsteps of Katherine Johnson at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Her memory still looms large over the Mission Control room that launched Apollo 11’s successful lunar landing fifty years ago. This historic milestone could not have been achieved without the mathematical genius … Read More

The Space Force Includes AI, Robonauts, And Handful Of Humans

Space Policy Directive-4: Establishment of the United States Space Force, signed last month by the President, created not just a new division of the Air Force, but a “United States Space Command.” The directive is clear: “Unfettered access to, and freedom to operate in, space and provide vital effects and … Read More

Could Robots Solve The Mystery Of The Universe?

While vacationing and experiencing a major family milestone, a hidden news story about a local-born scientist caught my eye. Dr. Avi Loeb, chairman of Harvard University’s astronomy department, controversially proposed that Oumuamua (the mysterious elongated astroid-like object that was discovered in 2017) could be an interstellar alien visitor. The scout from the … Read More

Accessing The Power Of Quantum Computing, Today

Two weeks ago, I participated on a panel at the BCI Summit exploring the impact of quantum computing. As a neophyte to the subject, I marveled at the riddle posed by Grover’s Algorithm. Imagine you are assigned to find a contact in a phonebook with a billion names, but all you … Read More

Ice-Bot Cometh: Building Self-Reliant Unmanned Systems

Last June, a massive dust storm engulfed Mars and immobilized the most famous robots in the galaxy, Opportunity and Curiosity. This is not the first time that Martian dirt has prevented Opportunity from recharging its solar panels. Its creators originally predicted that the planet’s harsh weather conditions would limit the … Read More

Disposable Robots Take Flight

Last Wednesday, I attended AeroVironment’s presentation of their contribution to NASA’s Mars Helicopter mission. The autonomous vertical-lift drone is remarkably capable of flying through the planet’s thin atmosphere, as demonstrated on Earth in a vacuum chamber by their CEO, Wahid Nawabi. The unmanned aerial craft will provide a bird’s eye view of the Martian landscape to … Read More

Exclusive Interview With Nic Radford Creator Of Aquanaut, The Shape-Shifting Subsea Robot

It has been two years since OceanOne, “the robotic mermaid,” first discovered the seventeenth century shipwreck La Lune, the prized frigate of King Louis XIV’s navy. Professor Oussama Khatib of Stanford, the inventor of the swimming humanoid, heralded in then a new age of subsea exploration. After the 100 meter dive labeled too dangerous … Read More

The Five Senses of Robotics

Healthy humans take for granted their five senses. In order to mold metal into perceiving machines, it requires a significant amount of engineers and capital. Already, we have handed over many of our faculties to embedded devices in our cars, homes, workplaces, hospitals, and governments. Even automation skeptics unwillingly trust … Read More

NASA Spinoffs: Bringing Space Down To Earth

In a time of “America First” the benefits of space travel are clouded by the smoke of hyperbole. In reality, there have been over 2,000 inventions courtesy of NASA that are making our lives better here on Earth. Everyday we benefit as much from the journey as from the destination. These innovations include … Read More

Is Robot Virtual Reality Just Hype?

Virtual Reality (VR) could be one of the most overhyped technologies since the introduction of 3D televisions. However, Juliano Pinto would be the first to rebut that criticism. Pinto, a paraplegic, is part of a new brain-machine interface study that reteaches the brain to walk using virtual reality and robotic exoskeletons. Pinto is … Read More