Robohub.org
NASA’s shape shifting origami robot squeezes where others can’t | WIRED
NASA MAY HAVE equipped its Mars Curiosity rover with an impressive array of scientific instruments, but the robot attaché’s size and $2.5-billion price tag give its operators ample reason to steer clear of terrain that could jeopardize its mission. Which is a shame, because much of Mars’ craggy, cave-ridden, boulder-strewn landscape is so treacherous (planetary geologists literally call it chaos terrain), that big, expensive robots like Curiosity can’t risk accessing it. That’s why NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory built Puffer.
Alex Kirkpatrick
is a passionate writer and science communicator...
Alex Kirkpatrick
is a passionate writer and science communicator...
AUAI is supported by:
Related posts :
Robotics roadmaps from around the world spotlight of the month: United States of America
IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS)
09 Sep 2026
US robotics researchers and industry are looking for a cohesive national robotics strategy.
Could robots help tackle loneliness? BBC’s Ann Droid raises questions about the future of care
The Conversation
07 Sep 2026
While the series exaggerates what robots can currently do, some of the technology it depicts is already being tested.
Exploring the Moon will require rovers that can think for themselves – an upcoming NASA mission will test whether they can
The Conversation
04 Sep 2026
NASA is planning to send three small rovers to the Moon to autonomously compute how to best explore a patch of ground.
Surviving the paper deluge: Notes from an ICRA panel on publishing, LLMs, and the future of peer review
IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS)
02 Sep 2026
Experts discuss peer-review challenges and possibilities for reshaping the process.
When expressive humanoid robots are awkward, people become wary – new brain study
The Conversation
31 Aug 2026
People become more suspicious of a humanoid robot that makes errors, especially when the robot is an expressive conversation partner.
First 11 vs 11 humanoid soccer game played at RoboCup 2026
Lucy Smith
28 Aug 2026
Watch highlights from this historic match.
How green is your robot? And other awkward questions
IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS)
26 Aug 2026
Robots clean rivers and sort waste, monitor ecosystems, and inspect renewable-energy infrastructure. But even the greenest robot has an environmental footprint.
These tiny drones are powered by sound
EPFL
24 Aug 2026
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.
