Robotics

A woman building a small humanoid robot
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Robots are machines built to perform complex tasks that may be too difficult, unsafe or just too tedious for humans. 

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—Who was the first cyborg?  

—Human-like robot creates creepy self-portraits 

Live Science takes you through the latest developments in robotics, from the strangest robots to biohybrids, and questions whether we're really ready for intelligent robots. Whatever your interest in automatons, androids and artificial intelligence, our expert team of writers and editors are here to provide you with the latest robotics news, features and articles. 

Latest about Robotics

The mCLARI miniature shape-shifting robot on a leaf, next to a tiny spider on a nother leaf

Tiny, shape-shifting robot could one day be used to perform surgery from inside the body

By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published

A spider-inspired robot called mCLARI weighs less than a gram and could one day be deployed to aid first responders following a natural disaster or help out in surgery.

Robotics
Study co-author Agnieszka Wykowska pictured with the deceptively "self-aware" robot iCub.

Human-like robot tricks people into thinking it has a mind of its own

By Harry Baker last updated

In a new study, participants became convinced that a human-like robot had achieved self-awareness. But in reality, it was being controlled by researchers.

Robotics
Robot next to a needle

This sideways-scooting robot crab is so tiny it fits through the eye of a needle

By Harry Baker published

Engineers have designed a mini robot crab that can be made to walk sideways using lasers. The tiny eight-legged critter is the world's smallest remote-controlled robot.

Robotics
As Pac-man-shaped Xenobot “parents” move around their environment, they collect loose stem cells in their “mouths” that, over time, aggregate to create “offspring” Xenobots that develop to look just like their creators.

Pac-Man-shaped blobs become world's first self-replicating biological robots

By Stephanie Pappas published

Biological robots made from frog cells can self-replicate like no other organism, by moving around raw materials to build more of themselves.

Robotics
A photo of Kevin Warwick using his cyborg implant to control a robot hand over the internet.

Who was the first cyborg?

By Patrick Pester published

Fictional cyborgs have appeared in science fiction since the 1920s, but who was the first human to fuse with technology and become a real-life cyborg?

Robotics
The robot artist "Ai-Da" stands in front of one of her self-portraits during the opening of her new exhibition at the Design Museum in London on May 18.

Human-like robot creates creepy self-portraits

By Harry Baker published

A robotic artist powered by AI algorithms has created realistic self-portraits that question the limits of artificial intelligence and what it means to be human.

Robotics
Who's a good boy?

Meet Au-Spot, the AI robot dog that's training to explore caves on Mars

By Mindy Weisberger published

Robotic "Mars Dogs" could use artificial intelligence and sensors to investigate the Martian surface and map hidden lava tunnels.

Robotics
See spot stand.

New robot 'explorer' dog will only set you back 63 stimulus checks

By Brandon Specktor published

Boston Dynamics' robot dog 'Spot' is now for sale for a cool $74,500.

Robotics
Researchers at NASA's Langley Research Center are developing soft robot actuators from 3D-printed flexible silicone molds to study how "soft robots" can be used for space exploration.

NASA Is Developing 'Soft Robots' That Look Like Inflatable 'Aliens'

By Elizabeth Howell published

And they could be just the thing to explore worlds beyond Earth.

Robotics
Artist’s rendering of the Europa "tunnelbot."

Scientists Proposed a Nuclear 'Tunnelbot' to Hunt Life in Europa's Hidden Ocean

By Rafi Letzter published

A group of scientists wants to send a nuclear-powered "tunnelbot" to Europa to blaze a path through its thick shell of ice and search for life.

Robotics
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