Robots are more and more becoming part of our everyday lives. If so, then a lot of the credit goes to a 50 year old box on wheels called Shakey – the “world’s first electronic person.”
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.