Content by Rachel Gordon
Robotic Palm Mimics Human TouchAdvanced sensors improve dexterity
Wed, 05/29/2024 - 12:02
‘I’ll have you eating out of the palm of my hand” is an unlikely utterance you’ll hear from a robot. Why? Most of them don’t have palms. If you have kept up with the protean field, gripping and grasping more like humans has been an ongoing,…
An Automated Way to Assemble Thousands of ObjectsNew algorithm is accurate, efficient, and adaptable for complex, real-world assemblies
Thu, 01/12/2023 - 12:02
The manufacturing industry (largely) welcomed artificial intelligence with open arms. Less of the dull, dirty, and dangerous? Say no more. Planning for mechanical assemblies still requires more than scratching out some sketches, of course—it’s a…
Soft Robots That Grip With the Right ForceResearchers created a system that enables robots to effectively use grasped tools

Mon, 10/17/2022 - 12:00
(MIT CSAIL: Cambridge, MA) -- Tool use has long been a hallmark of human intelligence, as well as a practical problem to solve for a vast array of robotic applications. But machines are still wonky at exerting just the right amount of force to…
Dexterous Robotic Hands Manipulate Thousands of Objects With EaseThis deft ‘handiwork’ could be an asset in speeding up logistics and manufacturing
Tue, 11/30/2021 - 12:02
First published Nov. 5, 2021, on MIT CSAIL News.  At just 1 year old, a baby is more dexterous than a robot. Sure, machines can do more than just pick up and put down objects, but we’re not quite there as far as replicating a natural pull toward…
Building Machines That Better Understand Human GoalsMachines that infer our goals need to account for our mistaken actions and plans
Thu, 01/07/2021 - 12:03
First published Dec. 7, 2020, on MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) news. In a classic experiment on human social intelligence by Warneken and Tomasello, an 18-month-old toddler watches a man carry a stack of books toward…