One of Britain’s biggest companies is to ask its workers whether their jobs could be better done by a robot. The insurance giant Aviva says employees who answer “yes” will be retrained for another role at the firm.
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.