An oddity about the gangs of robot labourers that are supposedly about to take our jobs, leaving humanity to watch daytime TV and survive off a universal basic income, is that people who make robots for a living tend to talk them down. Junji Tsuda
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.