Researchers have created microscale robots less than 1 millimeter in size that are printed as a 2D hexagonal 'metasheet' but, with a jolt of electricity, morph into preprogrammed 3D shapes and crawl.

Roboticists at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the University of Michigan have shown that elastic rods can be bent ...

Some of the most perplexing and awe-inspiring phenomena in nature involve self-assembly, where thousands—sometimes millions—of individual disorganized actors manage to form large, complex structures ...

Princeton Engineering researchers led by Glaucio Paulino have drawn inspiration from the familiar snap of a ketchup bottle ...

But shape-shifting robots, which are controlled by magnetic fields, can dynamically squish, bend, or elongate their entire bodies. "Such a robot could have thousands of small pieces of muscle to ...

(Nanowerk Spotlight) Building robots that can effortlessly mimic the movements of insects on water has been a persistent challenge in robotics. The ability to move autonomously and efficiently in ...

(Nanowerk News) Biologically inspired robotics aims to replicate the extraordinary versatility found in nature. Chameleons alter skin pigmentation to camouflage against predators. Birds morph wings ...

The GOAT robot can passively roll downhill configured as a sphere to save time and energy. Nature offers countless examples of animals responding to their surroundings with agility and resilience, ...

Toss aside your typical idea of a robot — all metal, jerky movements and a stiff-legged walk. Scientists at Tufts University are developing soft, squishy robots that are able to squeeze into spaces a ...