UK astronaut Tim Peake is preparing to drive a robot on Earth from the space station, simulating how humans could one day remotely command vehicles on other worlds.
Robots clean rivers and sort waste, monitor ecosystems, and inspect renewable-energy infrastructure. But even the greenest robot has an environmental footprint.
EPFL engineers have designed acoustic cavities that convert sound waves into thrust, propelling small robots and ultralight aerial vehicles without on-board actuators or electronics.