Robot laws: 5 new rules that could save human lives (at least on TV)
From Battlestar Galactica to The Terminator, on-screen robots have never been above a little rule-breaking. Could our new laws of robotics keep them in line?
Workplace robots have had little impact on jobs in Germany
We’re often told that robots are after our jobs, but an analysis of 20 years of automation in Germany has found that robots can’t be blamed for job losses
Flying and rolling drone will map underground mines on its own
Underground spaces can be tricky and dangerous for humans to explore, but a new drone is up to the task
Shape-shifting origami robot swaps bodies to roll, swim or walk
A transforming robot can fold a suite of different exoskeletons around itself to roll, glide or walk to its destinations
Robot made from a DNA strand could deliver cargo in your blood
Micromachine with two feet and two arms could pick up and deliver drugs in the bloodstream or build chemical compounds, one tiny step at a time
Lizard-bot spins its coiled tail to move easily through sand
Moving through sand or snow can be tricky for robots. A new one inspired by both bacteria and seeds can wiggle straight through without trouble
Gecko-inspired robot has grippers that could clean up space junk
Hundreds of thousands of pieces of debris orbit our planet. A device that sticks to space junk like a gecko’s toes might be able to help clear them up
Can we count on utopian dreamers to change the world?
Offsetting social problems posed by financial overheating and tech disruption puts utopian ideas such as basic income centre stage, argue two new books
Synthetic iris could let cameras react to light like our eyes do
The iris in our eyes shrinks the pupil in bright light and enlarges it in the dark, and now an artificial version could do the same for both eyes and cameras
Robots will be more useful if they are made to lack confidence
Making computers less certain of their abilities might stop them filling Facebook with fake news and make machines safer to be around