If you haven’t used a 3-D printer yet, you may be surprised to learn that it isn’t fully automated the way your office’s inkjet is.

MIT researchers have designed a system that can 3-D print the basic structure of an entire building. The system consists of a tracked vehicle that carries a large industrial robotic arm, which has a smaller, precision-motion robotic arm at its end.

In a time of “America First,” the benefits of space travel are clouded by the smoke of hyperbole. In reality, there has been over 2,000 inventions courtesy of NASA that are making our lives better here on Earth. Every day, we benefit as much from the journey as from the destination. These innovations include new medicines developed in zero gravity; faster autonomous transportation technologies; and groundbreaking advances in computing (launched above the clouds).

Philip Yuan, Chinese architect and professor at Tongji University, along with three researchers from his group, visited ETH Zurich and the NCCR Digital Fabrication. In his lecture, Yuan presented his approach to digital fabrication and its relationship to form, space, structure and materiality through a compilation of recent projects by his office, Archi-Union and works by his research group at Tongji University.

NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and entrepreneurs aiming to jump-start human colonisation of space see the 3D printing of large scale objects, including entire habitations, as a major enabling technology for the future of space exploration.

During the 2017 World Economic Forum, ETH Zurich showcased its latest innovations in Game Technology and robotics. The National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication was represented by Prof. Benjamin Dillenburger who explained why digital fabrication can be a game changer for the building industry.

Robotics isn’t gender neutral, it’s gender blind. And that means that there are a lot of hidden opportunities for savvy investors and entrepreneurs. One of the first robotics companies I followed was Restoration Robotics, a Silicon Valley based company that’s raised more than $111 M USD in 6 rounds. Restoration Robotics saw a niche for robotics in treating male baldness.

Open Bionics is to be awarded to £100,000 through SBRI Healthcare, an NHS England initiative, as part of its new challenge to fund innovations that will support children living with disability and long term conditions.

CES 2017 has come and gone. As a first-timer in attendance, I couldn’t help but marvel at the featured robots and all robotics related gadgets, toys, start-ups, wearables, and AI coming to market. I’ll conduct a post-event wrap up shortly, but in the meantime, please enjoy a selection of images seen on the floor.

Students of Delft University of Technology have developed a new add-on for a 3D printer that can cast silicones inside a 3D printed shell during the printing process. This new, and cheap, technique can be used to create new soft-robotic products that were previously impossible to make. The team presented their findings yesterday, at the science fair that marked the end of the minor Advanced Prototyping of the faculty Industrial Design Engineering.

George Fomitchev, CEO and founder of Endurance Robots, compares the effectiveness of five different adhesives for 3D printing applications

“Foundry” tool from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab lets you design a wide range of multi-material 3-D-printed objects.

By “programming” customized soft materials, the CSAIL team can 3-D print safer, nimbler, more durable robots.

3D printing is revolutionizing the way objects are created, from plastic toys to ceramic dental crowns. But the seemingly boundless possibilities of 3D printing technology have one major limitation—the printers themselves, which are large, bulky, and stationary. Addibots is startup developing wheeled additive manufacturing machines that are literally driving circles around traditional 3D printers.

Launched last week on Indiegogo, the Nailbot prints instant custom art onto your fingernails from your phone. Behind the concept is a new kind of company — a movement to inspire confidence in girls and women, and to provide them with the opportunity to engage with technology that is relevant to their lifestyle. Preemadonna teaches them how to start a business, how to build prototypes of their ideas, and how to code.