Robotics Anonymous: Most Advanced Technologies of 2014

 Robotics  

2014 has been a busy year for robotics development.  Here are a few outstanding robotics research initiatives that have made news this year so far.

With Google setting the trend for robotics-to-go mainstream, with its self-navigating cars, Google Glass eyewear, and more, new robotic inventions using cutting edge technology are now on the rise worldwide in a variety of places. Some of these inventions might even be making it into our daily lives in the near future. Here are a few outstanding developments that have made news in 2014.

Flying Robots

These days flying robots could come to the rescue if you are stuck in the mountains while on your trek! Scientists from the University of Twente are working on creating these robots as part of the SHERPA project to save human lives. These robots work in conjunction with ground rover robots and rescue workers to locate and rescue humans who might have been trapped in difficult situations and are seeking help.

Mind Controlled Prosthetics

In a revolutionary research, scientists from Chalmers University of Technology and Sahlgrenska University Hospital have used osseointegration technique to anchor a prosthetic arm to the bone. The neuromuscular electrodes connect the nerves and muscle, translating the sensory feedback into arm motion. It uses a mixture of materials from Advantage Manufacturing Ltd metal to synthetic plastics. This is the first ever technology that creates a fusion between an artificial limb and neural system, making it promising to help restore the arm and motor control.

Robotic Tree

Robotic technology is even used to grow trees! In a research funded by the European Union, scientists have grown a PLANTOID prototype in which the 3D printed trunk grows based on the sensory information received from the leaves. This research could pave the way for new ways to explore space such as digging themselves up, and sensing the environment in alien worlds under extremely harsh conditions.

Brain Surgery Through Robotics

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In a breakthrough research on brain surgery, Vanderbilt engineers have created a robot to operate the brain that enters through the cheek instead of the skull in an MRI scanner, making the process less invasive, and much safer. The device features tiny needles of the magnitude of 1 mm that can move along a curved path, ideally suitable for brain surgery. To keep the prices low, they have used 3D printing technology.

Disaster Recovery

A team of researchers from the University of Guadalajara in Mexico has developed a robot that uses computer vision and neural network to recognize human patterns such as fingerprints, faces, voice, and DNA matching, which can help to identify humans during disaster situations. The system is capable of self-learning, and can automatically classify different objects and human shapes, so there could be greater uses of this system.

The robotic field undergoing a revolutionary transformation, and one could expect to see a plethora of devices flooding the market in the coming days that could help the mankind. The demand for 3D printers and Aluminum fabrication could also be on the rise to produce robotic devices, which could open up a whole new manufacturing opportunity.

By Brooke Chaplan

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Author Bio - Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and recent graduate of New Mexico University where she studied journalism. She loves to hike, bike, run and explore around her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She also enjoys blogging about health, fitness, fashion and many other topics.