Monday, March 28, 2022

Robot roundup

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3/28/22

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Coming Soon

National Robotics Week is April 2–10. In honor of this annual event to get students excited about robotics, here are a few of our favorite robots that have been highlighted in Science News for Students stories:

(1) A robot named Jackal moves like R2-D2 but has the manners of C-3PO. It learned human social rules for politely navigating a crowd — keeping right, passing left and respecting other pedestrians’ personal space.

(2) A machine called OroBot was built to reveal how the ancient lizardlike creature Orobates pabsti might have gotten around. OroBot’s gait — based on O. pabsti fossils and footprints — suggests the animal walked, rather than slithered like a salamander.

(3) Not all robots are bulky metal machines. A team at Harvard built one bot that gently captures jellyfish in soft silicone fingers to avoid squishing the fragile creatures.

(4) Some robots might be considered bio-machine hybrids. By attaching electrodes to the leaves of Venus flytraps, researchers created nimble bionic grippers.

(5) One fleet of small robots has mastered the quick change. These bots put on different origami outfits to walk, roll or sail around.

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This year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search brought together high school seniors from across the country who have achieved remarkable feats of science and engineering. Some of the teens invented new tech , including at-home earthquake detectors and mind-controlled prostheses. Others explored the effects of existing technology, such as how social media feeds expose users to unhealthy ads. Read these and other stories in our Competition Science collection.

Find out more about the resources available for using Science News for Students stories for learning. And if you like this newsletter, please share it with a friend or colleague. Did someone share this with you? Subscribe to this newsletter here. If you’ve got questions, suggestions or comments, email us at sns@sciencenews.org. Thank you for reading!