robotics engineering

The large robotic arm on the International Space Station has stopped working, and NASA says it is currently unable to move it. The Canada-arm2 manipulator is a critical tool for capturing cargo vehicles and supporting spacewalks, so any outage draws close attention. Engineers are assessing the fault, and officials stress the problem is described as temporary while troubleshooting continues.

The large robotic arm on the International Space Station, a critical tool for capturing cargo vehicles and supporting spacewalks, has reportedly stopped working. Engineers at NASA and its partners are expected to assess the fault and work on restoring the Canadarm2, which has been a workhorse of station operations for over two decades. Discussions are focused on what caused the failure and how operations might proceed without it.

A CNBC report examines how artificial intelligence and robotics are transforming human resources and the wider workplace, with growing anxiety among workers about job security. The piece looks at how automation is changing hiring, management and everyday roles, and what employees can do as machines take on more tasks once handled by people.

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD has revealed details of a humanoid robot featuring 31 degrees of freedom and a dexterous hand, according to a report by Interesting Engineering. The announcement puts the automaker in direct competition with companies like Tesla and Unitree in the fast-growing humanoid robotics race, as firms leverage manufacturing expertise to build general-purpose robots.

MIT researchers have developed a shape-sensing sheet that digitally tracks its own movement as it bends and twists. The material can sense and record its deformation in real time, a capability that could matter for robotics, wearable devices and soft structures. The news is drawing attention on tech discussion forums, where readers are weighing potential engineering and consumer applications.

MIT engineers have created a robotic swimmer about the size of a stick of gum, powered by a sheet of living mouse muscle less than 15 micrometers thick. Light at 470 nanometers makes the cells contract, bending gel fins that let the robot steer itself through a maze at roughly four body lengths per minute. The work is drawing attention as a striking example of biohybrid robotics, combining living tissue with artificial materials.

An industry article examines the certification requirements for robots intended for hazardous areas, arguing that engineers should review what the certificate register actually shows before specifying equipment. It highlights open questions to settle early in procurement, such as verifying approvals match the intended zone and duty, so that explosive-atmosphere compliance issues do not derail projects at a late stage.

A new article in Nature outlines how biocomputability — the ability of living cells and materials to compute — could be deliberately engineered into biological and synthetic systems. The piece discusses approaches for programming living cells and smart materials to process information, a frontier that could affect medicine, robotics and bioengineering research.

Leva is recruiting a mid to senior mechanical engineer to work at its studio in Turin, Italy. The listing, shared via the creative applications jobs board, points to a role involving CNC machining, additive manufacturing, fabrication and robotics, likely for kinetic installations or research-driven projects. It is drawing attention among people following the intersection of engineering and creative technology.

Engineers have developed a worm-like robot that can travel both on land and in water by shifting fluid inside its own body. By redistributing internal water, the robot changes its shape and weight distribution, allowing it to move across different terrains without external mechanisms. The design draws on how real worms control their body segments, and researchers say it could inspire adaptable machines for environments where wheeled robots struggle, such as coastlines, wetlands and submerged structures.

A new miniature robot called DirectHop, weighing just one gram, has been shown hopping precisely over stairs using motor control. Early demonstrations highlight how far small-scale jumping robots have come, with precise control of each hop allowing the tiny machine to climb obstacles far larger than itself. Robotics watchers are taking note of the engineering achievement.

Several technologies imagined in Star Wars are advancing in real engineering: AI-driven robots, bionic limbs, holograms and directed-energy systems all have credible research paths today. By contrast, hyperspace travel, lightsabers and antigravity remain firmly in fiction, with no known practical route to building them. The comparison highlights how far robotics and energy research have come while showing the limits of current physics.

A new open-source tool has been released that corrects refraction errors in underwater 3D computer vision. Light bends as it passes from water into camera housings, distorting 3D reconstructions and measurements made underwater. The tool aims to fix these hidden distortions, which matters for marine research, underwater robotics, and subsea inspection work that rely on accurate 3D imaging.

A user is reminding people of the future as it was projected in 1998, sharing a playlist that appears to collect materials on futurism, robotics, artificial intelligence, engineering and Lego. The reflection invites comparison between late-1990s predictions about technology and automation and how those expectations have actually played out today.

Robotics startup Matic is reflecting on nine years of development marked by a long trail of discarded prototypes, describing the failed designs as hard-won lessons on the way to a finished product. The company's account of its iterative process is drawing attention as a window into how slow and expensive consumer robotics engineering can be.

A team in Switzerland has developed a minuscule fiber-based motor designed to keep robots soft and flexible while still allowing them to move. The component is aimed at soft robotics, where conventional rigid actuators undermine pliability. Coverage highlights its potential to help squishy robots bend, contract and perform tasks without losing their pliable structure.

Boston Dynamics has shared new details about the redesigned hand for its Atlas humanoid robot, outlining improvements in dexterity and engineering. The update offers a closer look at how the company is refining the gripper as it moves Atlas toward commercial, industrial use. Robotics observers are watching closely, as hand design is considered a key hurdle for humanoids performing real-world tasks.

Moxian, a tactile sensor startup founded by a former DJI engineer, has raised $1.49 million in funding, according to Dealroom data. The company develops sensors that give machines a sense of touch, a technology of growing interest in robotics and manufacturing. The pre-seed or early-stage round signals continued investor appetite for deep-tech hardware spun out of China's drone and robotics ecosystem.

Warehouse robots can already move reliably between locations, but experts point out that true material handling demands more: a system must decide what needs moving, where it should go, and verify that the transfer actually succeeded. In dynamic warehouse environments, where goods and conditions constantly change, these perception and verification tasks remain significant engineering challenges beyond simple point-to-point navigation.

An engineer has written about a hands-on crash course in robotics, arguing that knowing when to get out of the way matters as much as technical skill. The piece reflects on lessons learned building and working with robots, and readers are weighing in with their own experiences and questions about the field.

Robots designed with the help of artificial intelligence are facing off in an arena setting to demonstrate practical, real-world skills rather than lab-only capabilities. The competition highlights how far AI-assisted engineering has come and gives a public look at how these machines handle physical tasks. Interest centers on whether such events can reliably measure which robot designs actually work outside controlled environments.

A new piece on Robohub recounts lessons from a three-day robot-building project, reflecting on the hands-on challenges of robotics work. It highlights how quickly prototypes test assumptions and how much practical experience differs from theory, offering perspective for engineers and hobbyists entering the field.