actuators
30 articles about actuators in AI news
Boston Dynamics Electric Atlas Spins on Arms in New Video
Boston Dynamics shows production electric Atlas spinning on arms. Hand jitter reveals real-time balance control, signaling industrial readiness.
MIT's Silent Artificial Muscle Fibers Lift 1kg Using Electrohydraulic Actuation
MIT engineers created artificial muscle fibers that contract silently when voltage is applied. Bundled fibers can lift over 1 kilogram by pumping charged fluid inside sealed tubes, mimicking antagonistic muscle pairs.
ROBOTIS Unveils AI Sapiens: 34 kg Humanoid with Dynamic Balance
ROBOTIS has introduced the AI Sapiens humanoid robot. The 34 kg platform is engineered to maintain balance during dynamic shifts and quick leg movements.
TienKung Ultra Robot Wins Design Award at Beijing Humanoid Half-Marathon
The TienKung Ultra humanoid robot won the 'Best Design' award at the Beijing Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon, recognized for its natural running motion. It completed the full 21.1 km course in 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Unitree H1 Humanoid Robot Shifts from Jog to Run in Seconds
A new video shows Unitree's H1 humanoid robot accelerating from a jogging pace to a running gait in seconds, showcasing improved dynamic locomotion control.
BrainCo Revo 3 Dexterous Hand Targets Real-World Robot Deployment Gap
BrainCo announced the Revo 3 dexterous robotic hand, engineered to bridge the gap between lab demos and real-world deployment. It features 21 active degrees of freedom, a 5kg per-finger load capacity, and one-click sim-to-real transfer.
Beijing Humanoid Robot Half Marathon Tests 40% Autonomous Teams
A night-time half-marathon test for humanoid robots in Beijing revealed approximately 40% of participating teams were running fully autonomous systems, a key benchmark for real-world robotic mobility.
AI Drone Farming Game Teaches Python Automation Through Simulation
A developer has created a game where players write actual code to program drones for farm automation tasks like planting and harvesting. This gamifies learning practical automation and control logic.
AI Tool 'Build' Generates Wiring Diagrams & BOMs from English Descriptions
A new AI tool, 'Build,' automates the tedious front-end of hardware prototyping. Users describe a project in plain English, and it generates wiring diagrams, a bill of materials, and step-by-step assembly instructions instantly.
Chinese Firm Unveils Dexterous Robotic Hand for Fine Motor Tasks
A Chinese tech company has unveiled a robotic hand designed for complex fine-motor tasks, including playing finger games and solving Rubik's cubes. This represents a step forward in robotic manipulation, a key challenge for real-world AI integration.
Beijing Humanoid Robots Tested in Half-Marathon for Stability, Endurance
Humanoid robots in Beijing underwent a half-marathon test run, demonstrating sustained running speeds that challenge their dynamic stability and energy efficiency. This is a significant endurance test for real-world deployment.
Figure CEO: Data Scarcity is the 'Only Thing' Holding Back General Robots
Figure CEO Brett Adcock asserts that solving general robotics is contingent on acquiring a 'pile of data' for training, highlighting the extreme cost and difficulty of collecting real-world robotic interaction data.
Unitree H1 Humanoid Hits 10 m/s, Nearing Elite Human Sprint Speed
Unitree's H1 humanoid robot has reportedly reached a running speed of 10 meters per second. This performance brings it close to the peak speed of elite sprinters like Usain Bolt.
KIMM's AI-Powered Wheels Adjust Stiffness in Real-Time for Terrain
Researchers at KIMM created wheels that autonomously adjust their stiffness based on terrain. On smooth ground, they stay rigid for efficiency; on rough terrain, they soften and deform to conform to obstacles.
Clone Robotics CEO Critiques Motor Reliance, Touts Fluid-Actuated Humanoids
Clone Robotics CEO Dhanush Radhakrishnan criticizes the industry's reliance on motors and rigid structures, advocating for fluid actuation and Myofiber artificial muscles to achieve more human-like movement.
ROKAE's AR Robotic Arms Achieve ±1mm Force Control for Needle Threading
ROKAE has demonstrated its augmented reality (AR)-guided robotic arms repeatedly threading a needle, showcasing ±1 mm force-controlled precision. This capability targets high-precision tasks in electronics assembly and micro-manufacturing.
MindOn's Unitree G1 Robot Performs Household Tasks Fully Autonomously
AI startup MindOn released a demo of a Unitree G1 humanoid robot performing household tasks like picking up scattered items fully autonomously. The demo highlights rapid progress in applying large models to real-world robot control.
Neo 1X Humanoid Robot Shown at Abundance Summit, Weighs Under 70 lbs
Neo 1X, a sub-70-pound humanoid robot designed for homes, was shown moving and interacting with people at the Abundance Summit. This demo highlights a growing industry focus on creating robots for safe cohabitation with families.
Humanoid Robot Deployed for Traffic Control in Shenzhen, China
A humanoid robot equipped with cameras and AI has been deployed to direct traffic at a busy intersection in Shenzhen, China. This represents a real-world test of embodied AI for public infrastructure management.
EngineAI PM01 Humanoid Falls During Filming, Demonstrates Manual Push-Recovery Mode
During a CGTN news crew filming, the EngineAI PM01 humanoid robot was lightly kicked before its push-recovery mode was active, causing it to fall. Operators manually activated the system, after which the robot recovered smoothly.
Maker 'Sword Man' Builds 5,000 kg Real-Time Motion-Tracking Robotic Hand
A Chinese maker known as Sword Man has constructed a massive 5,000 kg robotic hand from scratch. It uses a motion-tracking glove to perfectly mimic the operator's hand movements in real-time.
China's First Fully Automated Humanoid Robot Factory Goes Live in Foshan, Targets 10,000+ Units Annually
China's first fully automated humanoid robot production line has launched in Foshan, capable of building one complete robot every ~30 minutes. The facility aims for over 10,000 units per year, with five more sites planned.
Elon Musk Claims Tesla Optimus Will Surpass Human Surgeons by 2029, Advises Against Medical School
Elon Musk stated Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot will outperform any human surgeon at scale within three years, calling medical school 'pointless.' He predicts universal access to superior medical care within five years.
Aletta Robot Uses AI & Ultrasound to Fully Automate Blood Draws
Aletta is a robotic system that automates the entire blood draw process, using ultrasound to locate veins, position the arm, collect the sample, and apply a bandage. This addresses a critical bottleneck in healthcare by reducing failed sticks and freeing up clinical staff.
Columbia's Truss Links Robots Self-Assemble and Cannibalize for Parts, Achieving 66.5% Mobility Gain
Columbia University researchers demonstrated 'Truss Links' robots that autonomously self-assemble using magnetic connectors, then selectively disassemble other robots to harvest parts for repair or growth. The system achieved a 66.5% mobility improvement through this zero-waste physical adaptation.
Figure AI CEO Brett Adcock Demonstrates Figure 03 Robot in Live Interview, Showcasing Real-World Mobility
Figure AI CEO Brett Adcock brought a Figure 03 humanoid robot to an in-person interview for a live demonstration. The event highlights the company's push for real-world validation and public visibility of its flagship platform.
Unitree G1 Humanoid Robot Spotted Navigating NYC Streets, Interacting with Public
A Unitree G1 humanoid robot was filmed autonomously navigating sidewalks and interacting with children in New York City, showcasing significant progress in real-world mobility and human-robot interaction.
Ethan Mollick: AI's Real Economic Impact Will Be in Robotics, Not Just White-Collar Work
Wharton professor Ethan Mollick argues that while AI is transforming knowledge work, the true economic revolution will occur when AI-powered robots transform the physical economy, echoing past industrial shifts.
AgentComm-Bench Exposes Catastrophic Failure Modes in Cooperative Embodied AI Under Real-World Network Conditions
Researchers introduce AgentComm-Bench, a benchmark that stress-tests multi-agent embodied AI systems under six real-world network impairments. It reveals performance drops of over 96% in navigation and 85% in perception F1, highlighting a critical gap between lab evaluations and deployable systems.
AheadFrom Unveils 'Scary Human' Robotic Face with Advanced AI Animation
AheadFrom has revealed a new robotic face with AI-driven animation that users describe as 'scary human.' The system uses real-time AI to generate facial expressions and lip-syncing.