Microsoft unveils Barrelfish multi-core optimized OS
With current operating systems, as the number of cores increases efficiency decreases. Microsoft Research has just announced an experimental OS, called Barrelfish, that they're developing in...
View ArticleCyborg flies jack into Lego robots semi-Avatar-style
See that? It's a picture of a fly that thinks it's flying around, but it's really navigating a Lego car around a small obstacle course. Researchers at ETH Zurich's Institute of Robotics and...
View ArticleResearch shocker! Keyless car entry systems can be hacked easily, elegantly
We know you are vigilant enough not to trust your car's security to a wireless system, but plenty of other folks like the convenience of putting away the metallic keys and getting into their vehicles...
View ArticleRobot uses glue gun to make tools, hopes to ace Survival Skills 101
Looking through Engadget's annals of robotic achievements, we see droids juggling, dabbling in competitive sailing and even manning prisons. Cool as they are, those functions aren't going to mean a...
View ArticleIBM creates consistent electron spin inside semiconductors, takes spintronics...
A fundamental challenge of developing spintronics, or computing where the rotation of electrons carries instructions and other data rather than the charge, has been getting the electrons to spin for...
View ArticleHeroes in a half shell: autonomous robot sea turtles in development
Sure you could have a robot assist you around the home, or even one that'll make factories friendlier, but we'll opt for a robot sea turtle any day of the week. The Swiss folks over at ETH Zurich are...
View ArticleQuadrocopter drone recovers from failures without skipping a beat (video)
Quadrocopter drones are capable of some incredible acrobatics, but they seldom handle failure all that gracefully. ETH Zurich's Mark Mueller is tackling this problem through a new failsafe algorithm...
View ArticleThieves beware: future ATMs will spray foam that helps track stolen cash
ATM thieves are increasingly focused on digital heists, but many of these robbers still prefer old-fashioned currency. They may want to think twice about stealing cash in the future, though, as ETH...
View ArticleDisney uses adorable little robots to illustrate big ideas
Disney Research has had some neat ideas in the past (capacitive touch feedback for plants, as an example), but the lab's amped up the cute factor lately. Its newest project? Getting tiny, LED-adorned...
View ArticleCheap, tiny robots serve as terrain scouts for expensive ones (video)
Big robots like Cheetah and Big Dog cost a lot to make, so it would be such a shame if they get put out of commission after slipping on, say, a patch of ice. To prevent that from happening, UC...
View ArticleDisney Research uses trippy camerawork to tell a tale of immortality
Disney Research has done an awful lot of neat stuff in the past, but it hasn't really approached Walt's bread and butter before: video. Instead of going with animation, though, the team is using some...
View ArticleCirque du Soleil turns drones into dancing lampshades
Before quadrocopters become the four-winged horsemen of the robopocalypse, we're quite happy making 'em dance for our entertainment. A new artistic collaboration between the ETH Zurich university and...
View ArticleYour smartphone is changing the way your fingers work
Your smartphone is changing more than just your habits -- it's changing the way your hands work, too. Swiss researchers have discovered that activity in the brain's cortex associated with index...
View ArticleWatch a four-finned robot fish swim in any direction
There's now at least a few robots that swim like fish, but they have their limits: they still take time to turn around, and they're not exactly precision instruments. Researchers at ETH Zurich are...
View ArticleWatch these drones build a rope bridge
One of the big selling points of drones is that they can get to areas that aren't exactly safe or accessible by humans. That's why watching quadrocopters assembling a rope bridge that's sturdy enough...
View ArticleICYMI: Drone architects, radar attachment for phones & more
Today on In Case You Missed It: Scientists programmed quadcopters to autonomously construct a basic rope bridge that could support the weight of a person, all part of an effort to use drones when...
View ArticleFour-legged bot uses drone sidekick to avoid rough terrain
Even with a sure-stepping robot like DARPA's Big Dog, there is still plenty of terrain that today's robo-mules simply can't handle. That's why a team of researchers from ETH Zurich's Autonomous...
View ArticleScientists create gold nuggets that are 98 percent air
Researchers at ETH Zurich have accomplished a bit of modern-day alchemy, transforming 20 carat gold into a lightweight foam. Well, technically it's an aerogel: an exceedingly light and porous matrix...
View ArticleTiny microscope lets you see the smallest-ever inkjet prints
No, that's not an up-close look at a monitor. That's the world's tiniest color inkjet image made large, and you may not need it blown up to see it in the future -- if you're willing to lay down some...
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