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The Future of Robotics

Life Like Robots
Robotic engineers are designing the next generation of robots to look, feel and act more human, to make it easier for us to warm up to a cold machine.
Realistic looking hair and skin with embedded sensors will allow robots to react naturally in their environment. For example, a robot that senses your touch on the shoulder and turns to greet you.
Subtle actions by robots that typically go unnoticed between people, help bring them to life and can also relay non verbal communication.
Artificial eyes that move and blink. Slight chest movements that simulate breathing. Man made muscles to change facial expressions. These are all must have attributes for the socially acceptable robots of the future.

The brain behind the beauty will be the key to turning a realistic looking machine into a life like robot. AI plays a pivotal role in successful human/robot interaction.
Links
HRP-4C, AIST, close-up (video)
Life-like walking female robot (video)

Rescue Robots
Imagine yourself lost deep in the forest on a cold autumn night and nightfall is rapidly approaching. Too windy for search aircraft and too dark for ground teams, this could be a life threatening situation. Fortunately for you, it is ten years into the future and hundreds of tiny intelligent robots will be combing the woods for you throughout the night.
All terrain robots (ATRs), will truly function as a team by sharing their locations, discoveries, search patterns and more. Large ATRs could carry many smaller robots and provide them with localized control and power.
These smaller more specialized robots will have cameras, sonar, heat sensors, motion detectors and can be sent out by the large ATRs as needed. Smaller robots might work together to perform tasks such as moving a large obstacle.
Related Articles
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Researchers investigate evolving 'swarm' robots
Robots go where scientists fear to tread
Robotic Competitions

The ultimate goal of the RoboCup project is to develop a team of fully autonomous humanoid robots that can win against the human world champion team in soccer by the year 2050.
The FIRST Robotics Competition challenges teams of young people and their mentors to solve a common problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard "kit of parts" and a common set of rules. Teams build robots from the parts and enter them in competitions.
Robotic Insects
Insects have come up with many interesting solutions for the problems that future robots will have to deal with like cooperation, specialized movement and adapting to changing environments. Robotic engineers are incorporating examples found in nature into their designs.
Robotic Prosthetics
Prosthetics are one of the best uses for robotics and man-machine interfaces.
Revolutionary mechanical hand adds a sense of touch to mind-controlled prostheses
Man controls cybernetic hand with thoughts
Cyborg-style iLimb hand a big hit with Iraq veterans
Bionic arm, "Luke Arm" prosthesis
Exoskeletons
Wearable bionic suits are being developed for the military to allow soldiers to carry heavier loads and to conserve energy.
Other uses for exoskeletons are assisting rescue workers move heavy objects and bionics for motor-impaired patients.
Robot Caregivers
Mobile robot assistants designed to people in daily life activities.
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FreeMove turns any industrial robot into a cobot - designnews.com
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The Everyday Robot Project - x.company
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Research Aims to Give Robots Human-Like Social Skills - learningenglish.voanews.com
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Soft skin-like robots you can put in your pocket - eurekalert.org
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Meet OffWorld, the startup that wants to mine the moon with a swarm of robots - digitaltrends.com
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Getting ready for the robot revolution - schoolnewsnetwork.org
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Helping Delivery Robots Find Your Front Door - smithsonianmag.com
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Robot overlords? More like co-verlords. The future is human-robot collaboration - digitaltrends.com
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Do Schools Need a Robotics Program? - euroscientist.com
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Robots to the rescue - upenn.edu
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So Maybe These Hackable Hotel Robots Were Not the Best Idea - popularmechanics.com
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BILL-E is a cute robot that builds structures block by block - engadget.com
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10 Open-Source Datasets To Learn Robotics - analyticsindiamag.com
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This ‘ultragentle’ robotic gripper collects fragile marine life - techcrunch.com
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China Now Has a Robot Traffic Police Force - beebom.com
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Inspired from nature - robots can now learn to swarm on the go - bristol.ac.uk
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Sophia the Robot in SophiaWorld - hansonrobotics.com
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An evolutionary robotics approach for robot swarm cooperation - techxplore.com
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Delivery robots are finally coming to SF - sf.curbed.com
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Robots Need a New Philosophy to Get a Grip - birmingham.ac.uk
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Revolutionary robotics optics and vision systems - plantservices.com
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Tips for using coding, robots in the classroom - smartbrief.com
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Trust is key to service robot design, says SoftBank Robotics - therobotreport.com
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Our Turing Test for androids will judge how lifelike humanoid robots can be - The Conversation
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Should I have let my daughter marry our robot? - Metro.co.uk
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Meet your new coworker—it’s a robot! - Fast Company
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Electronic skin could give robots an exceptional sense of touch - The Robot Report
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Robotic arm performs teleoperated tasks - Youtube
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Robot uses machine learning to harvest lettuce - University of Cambridge
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Robots in the cornfield? UNL team believes it’s the next big thing - Lincoln Journal Star
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MIT ‘walking motor’ could help robots assemble complex structures - The Robot Report
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PyRobot - Open Source Robotics Research Platform
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The first robot for scrubbing dishes will check each plate for dirt - Technology Review
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Engineers Built a Robotic Lionfish With an Energetic Bloodstream - Smithsonian.com
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Robotic Golf Caddie - Youtube
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Magnetic Micro-Robots - Youtube
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The Microbots Are on Their Way - The New York Times
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Squishy robots now have squishy computers to control them - Popular Science
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Japan unveils robot assistants for 2020 Olympics - The Verge
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Can Robots Do A Better Job Than People? - FacilityExecutive.com
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Cities of the future could be built by robots mimicking nature - Imperial College London
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Robots will not take over most jobs - TechRepublic
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Sensors and Machine Learning Are Giving Robots a Sixth Sense - Singularity Hub
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Microrobot running video - FFA
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This AI teaches robots how to walk - Venture Beat
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Room Service by Robot - Youtube (2:28)
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Stanford develops an electronic glove that gives robots a sense of touch - Stanford University
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5 robotics development tips - The Robot Report
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Beyond bionics: how the future of prosthetics is redefining humanity - Youtube (15:31)
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Jackrabbot is being designed to learn how to move among humans - Youtube (18:26)
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Robots that could shape the future, at 2018 World Robot Conference - Youtube (18:26)
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$25 Arduino Robot with augmented reality - Youtube
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America’s Robot Geography - CityLab
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Why Humanoid Robots Are Still So Hard to Make Useful - Singularity Hub
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Vestri the robot imagines the future of its actions - Youtube (2:25)
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Autonomous Dual Arm Robot - Youtube (4:32)
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Autonomous robotic CNC machine tool - Youtube (3:13)
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Strawberry Picking Robot - Youtube (:41)
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Japan battles population decline with robots - CBS News
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Farmers race to replace workers with robots - LA Times
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How Robots Are Getting Better at Making Sense of the World - Singularity Hub
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Poorer workers hardest hit by strong arm of robotics - Financial Times
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How do you avoid a robot apocalypse? - Dezeen
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This New Robotics System Can Easily Learn a New Task - Interesting Engineering
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Robotics changing how lung surgery is performed - ABC6 - 05/17
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Robotics and Girls. It’s not about gender. - HuffPost - 05/17
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How DIY became a driving force of china’s robot revolution - SCMP - 05/17
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Wiping Out Jobs Growth With Robotics - Nasdaq - 04/17
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Rise of robotics will upend laws and lead to human job quotas, study says - The Guardian - 04/17
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Robot kills worker on assembly line, raising concerns about human-robot collaboration - TechRepublic - 03/17
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The Future of Human-Centered Robotics - Electronic Design - 03/17
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TALOS: High Performance humanoid robot for research - Youtube (1:40) - 03/17
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Table tennis playing robot - Youtube (3:31) - 03/17
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Brain-controlled Robot - Youtube (1:11) - 03/17
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Advanced Robotic Bat Can Fly Like the Real Thing - Youtube (2:40) - 02/17
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Reptilian Robots are Spies in the Wild - Youtube (1:34) - 01/17
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This Robot Barista Makes a Dang Good Latte - Wired - 01/17
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CES 2017 Robotics panel: Are they ready to help? - CNET Video (9:14) - 01/17
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References
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Image credit: BradBeattie at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
Image credit: Gnsin
Image credit: angela n.
Ping Pong robot image credit: By Humanrobo (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Robot Pets - Image courtesy of Flickr
Robocup - Image Courtesy of hello_naomi (Flickr)
WREX Exoskeleton By John Cummings (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Robotics Articles and Web Sites
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