All posts tagged: Robotics

First Hydrogen completes unmanned ground vehicle prototype

First Hydrogen completes unmanned ground vehicle prototype

Published by Miika Tikkanen

First Hydrogen Corp. has completed the build of its new unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), marking a development milestone under its agreement covering a patented mobile drone UGV. The company says the completed platform demonstrates the technology’s core architecture, mobility, and modular payload capabilities. The milestone also gives First Hydrogen exclusive worldwide rights for the remaining life of the patent, subject to a 1% royalty on gross sales of products that incorporate or use the patented technology. The completed unmanned ground vehicle is intended as a flexible base platform that can be adapted for different applications through interchangeable modules and payloads. The UGV combines morphing-wheel technology, a constant-direction drivetrain, semi-robotic suspension and a configurable payload system. Together, these features are designed to support operation across difficult terrain while allowing the platform to be rapidly adapted to different mission requirements. Balraj Mann, Chairman and CEO of First Hydrogen, commented: “Completion of the drone UGV build and achievement of the Development Milestone represent significant steps in First Hydrogen’s robotics strategy. “We now have a completed platform demonstrating the …

The Aeropod automates soil aeration without robotics. See it at TechCrunch Disrupt.

The Aeropod automates soil aeration without robotics. See it at TechCrunch Disrupt.

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Farmers around the world face a pressing problem: the equipment they use to till, plant, and harvest their fields is killing their margins. Studies have estimated that soil compaction can reduce yields by 20% to 60%.  Plowing can help, but it’s a laborious and expensive task that harms soil health in different ways. Muju Earth has developed an alternative, the Aeropod, which automatically aerates the soil without machinery or robotics. The startup says it can promote better soil health while cutting farmers’ tilling costs by half or more. The device is “built like a seed, it sows like a seed, and it ships like a seed,” Afolayan said. The device is about the size of a fingernail, and farmers drop it in the soil alongside their seeds using the same equipment. There’s no need to till the soil in advance. “It just really seems like a no-brainer,” Ifeoluwa Afolayan, the company’s co-founder and CEO, tells TechCrunch. After the Aeropod is exposed to a combination of temperature, pressure, and moisture, it bursts open, loosening the soil …

Trump’s AI protectionism has come for robotics

Trump’s AI protectionism has come for robotics

Published by Miika Tikkanen

It was a surprise, then, when last week the Federal Trade Commission issued a sweeping ban on foreign imports of advanced robots, including humanoids, quadrupeds, and wheeled robots. The decision, made by an increasingly partisan and Trump-aligned FTC, cites two reasons. One is that foreign-made humanoids will collect so much data—in homes but also potentially at sensitive facilities—that they’d pose a threat to national security. The second is that US robotics companies need protection from Chinese competition to create a more robust and secure domestic supply chain. On its face, it’s a strategy to align political and industry interests that is much older than the Trump administration. Whenever China has gotten good at offering cheap versions of strategic technologies like solar panels, electric vehicles, and drones, the US government has tried to stop it from flooding the market by using tariffs or rules on how government agencies purchase the tech. Such moves are always followed by debates about whether the trade-offs—particularly higher prices for consumers—are worth the benefits. But robotics is now best seen as …

Remote-controlled cockroach swarm can now breathe underwater

Remote-controlled cockroach swarm can now breathe underwater

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Swarms of cyborg insects controlled remotely via electrical implants can now operate underwater, thanks to tiny diving suits supplying them with oxygen – which could one day enable them to explore Mars. Hirotaka Sato at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and his colleagues first demonstrated in 2021 that Madagascar hissing cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa) could be remotely controlled with electrodes embedded in sensory organs known as cerci. In 2024, they demonstrated that a swarm of 20 of these cyborg insects could coordinate. The aim was to develop biological robots equipped with infrared sensors that could be released in large numbers after natural disasters to search for survivors. Cockroaches represent a ready-made platform for such applications with a working fuel source, efficient locomotion and in-built reflexes to dodge obstacles – capabilities that engineers still struggle to replicate mechanically at such a small scale. But Sato and his team were unhappy with the insects’ inability to search flooded areas, which aren’t uncommon in disaster zones, so they have developed a diving suit to allow them to operate underwater. …

Robotic applications for wildfire management

Robotic applications for wildfire management

Published by Miika Tikkanen

As wildfires increase in both intensity and frequency, how can new technologies such as robotics aid management efforts? Read more to find out. Robotic applications for wildfire management include drones, fixed sensors, and AI models that detect ignitions early, fuse satellite data, and send georeferenced alerts. UAVs and UGVs map hotspots with thermal imaging, monitor perimeters for slopovers, and update fireline conditions in real time. Ground robots can clear vegetation for fuel breaks, support controlled burns, and deliver water or foam for suppression. Others scout terrain, resupply crews, or assist extraction. Wildfire robotics: types and real-world examples Several distinct categories of wildfire robotics are already proving their value in real-world operations, ranging from autonomous fireline systems that clear dry vegetation to create strategic fuel breaks near critical infrastructure to satellite-driven platforms like AiDASH’s CRIS™ that run daily scans to flag risk zones and produce mitigation plans from real-time fuel load analysis. Together, these robotic innovations expand what fireline technology can accomplish before and after active flame fronts, while keeping personnel farther from danger. BurnBot systems …

Restoring surgeons’ sense of touch with robotic fingertips

Restoring surgeons’ sense of touch with robotic fingertips

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Researchers are developing robotic “fingertips” that could restore surgeons’ sense of touch during minimally invasive and robotic operations. Modern surgery has gone from long incisions to tiny cuts guided by robots and AI. In the process, however, surgeons have lost something vital: the chance to feel inside the body directly. Without palpation, it becomes harder to detect tissue abnormalities during an operation. A group of surgeons and engineers across Europe is now working to restore this vital aspect of surgery. Working within an EU-funded research collaboration called PALPABLE, they are developing a soft robotic “fingertip” that can sense tissue firmness or softness during minimally invasive and robotic surgery. The research runs until the end of 2026, with a first prototype expected to be tested by surgeons around March 2026. By combining optical sensing, soft robotics and AI, the team is designing a probe that mimics the way a fingertip presses and feels during surgery. It would gently probe organs and create a visual map of tissue stiffness, displayed on a screen to guide surgeons during surgery. …

How YC-backed Bucket Robotics survived its first CES

How YC-backed Bucket Robotics survived its first CES

Published by Miika Tikkanen

The weather in Las Vegas wasn’t looking good. The plan had been that each employee of YC-backed Bucket Robotics would carry parts of their booth in their luggage to the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show. But CEO and founder Matt Puchalski didn’t want to take the chance that one (or all) of their flights would be delayed. So he rented a Hyundai Santa Fe and packed it up.  “It was… it was tight,” he said with a laugh on the show floor.   It took 12 hours driving in the rain, but the gear – and Puchalski – made it safely to Las Vegas, and so began the young company’s first-ever CES. San Francisco-based Bucket Robotics was just one of thousands of companies exhibiting at the annual tech conference, a speck of sand on a beach full of products and promises. But despite its modest setup in the automotive-focused West Hall, Puchalski said the trip was worth it. Part of that was a willingness to be tireless, observant, and always ready to pitch. An engineer by trade, Puchalski spent most of the last decade working on autonomous vehicles at Uber, Argo AI, Ford’s subsidiary Latitude AI, and SoftBank-backed Stack AV. At those jobs, Puchalski developed deep connections in the automotive industry, and we crossed paths all week. Techcrunch event San Francisco | October 13-15, …

Embedding human-centred values into robotics

Embedding human-centred values into robotics

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Dr Farshad Badie, Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science and Informatics, Berlin School of Business and Innovation, explores how AI and robotics can incorporate human-centred values to complement our experiences. When I think about the rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, I am both excited and cautious. In my opinion, these technologies (and, in fact, systems) have significant potential to reshape all industries and improve our daily lives. But along with such a promise comes a challenge: How do we ensure these systems serve us in ways that are truly meaningful? How can we design robots that not only perform tasks but also respect and reflect human beings’ (as well as societies’) values, feelings, and diverse cultural contexts? Why human-centred values matter in robotics I see responsible AI development in robotics as being grounded in human-centric principles, including empathy, inclusivity, cultural awareness, and design driven by a clear purpose, integrated at every step. Actually, it’s not enough to create robots that are technically functional or efficient. The designed robots need to be …