Chinese companies over the past five years have ramped up robotics in the face of labor woes, such as worker shortages and rising wages, and to cut their production costs, reports Caixin Online.
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.