China’s Midea Group made its formal offer to take over Germany’s Kuka in the face of criticism by some of the robot maker’s investors and German politicians that management hasn’t done enough to find another suitor.
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.