Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion.
ICRA 2025: 19–23 May 2025, ATLANTA, GA
Enjoy today’s videos!
One year after mass production kicked off, Unitree’s B2-W Industrial Wheel has been upgraded with more exciting capabilities. Please always use robots safely and friendly.
Yours for US $100,000.
[ Unitree ]
Yes I know we’re sharing some of these holiday videos are a little late, but I deserve a little bit of time off, don’t I? No, you’re right, and I feel shame. But please enjoy these extra holiday videos anyway, starting with Santa’s Little Helper from ETHZ RSL.
Okay but seriously where do I get one of those little plush Anymals!
[ RSL ]
Merry Christmas from the Kepler humanoid robot!
[ Kepler Robotics ]
This year, Rizon has joined the festive fun by decorating the Flexiv office with holiday cheer!
[ Flexiv ]
The Eva exoskeleton, developed by IHMC, takes its first steps out of the lab and through a number of new modes in October 2024. For more than a decade, IHMC has designed and developed wearable robotic exoskeletons to rehabilitate those with spinal cord injuries. With lessons learned from these past developments, our focus has shifted to augmenting the performance of able-bodied workers in hazardous environments. We are working to advance these technologies to the real world with hope of making real differences in peoples’ lives.
[ IHMC ]
Thanks, Robert!
TIAGo Pro – a revolutionary robot with Series Elastic Actuators arms and enhanced non-verbal communication. This enhances the manipulation capabilities and enables state-of-the-art Human-Robot Interaction. Designed for agile manufacturing and future healthcare applications.
[ PAL Robotics ]
Did you know that cameras today struggle to accurately measure distance? This is because current systems rely on limited data. DARPA’s CIDAR Challenge explores combining spatial, spectral, and temporal imaging data to unlock unprecedented accuracy. Advances made through the CIDAR challenge could revolutionize everything from battlefield awareness, to robotics, to environmental research.
[ DARPA ]
Innate is developing innately intelligent teachable general-purpose robots. Our platforms are simple, accessible, so as to lower the barrier to entry into robotics for everyone.
[ Innate ]
Drone-level autonomy, now underwater! In The last couple of years, we have invested in the concept of making a unified autonomy solution that can operate virtually universally across robot configurations. As a first major step to that end was to demonstrate that as long as confined or cluttered environments are concerned, we can have aerial robot-level autonomy underwater that is a) exclusively driven by vision in terms of perception (e.g., no sonars), and b) utilizes “generalist” solution for path planning and safety (essentially identical to those in our research for flying robots!).
[ Norwegian University of Science and Technology post on LinkedIn ]
Thanks, Kostas!
ERA-42 is the world’s first truly end-to-end native robot large model matched to a five-finger dexterous hand, capable of performing over 100 intricate tasks using various tools. These include tightening screws with a screwdriver, hammering nails, righting overturned cups, and pouring water—tasks that highlight its remarkable adaptability and precision.
[ Robot Era ]
Thanks, Ni Tao!
Even if an android’s appearance is so realistic that it could be mistaken for a human in a photograph, watching it move in person can feel a bit unsettling. It can smile, frown, or display other various, familiar expressions, but finding a consistent emotional state behind those expressions can be difficult, leaving you unsure of what it is truly feeling and creating a sense of unease. In this study, lead author Hisashi Ishihara and his research group developed a dynamic facial expression synthesis technology using “waveform movements,” which represents various gestures that constitute facial movements, such as “breathing,” “blinking,” and “yawning,” as individual waves. These waves are propagated to the related facial areas and are overlaid to generate complex facial movements in real time.
[ Osaka University ]
Suzumori Endo Lab, Science Tokyo has developed a self-excited vibration robot that can adapt its environment. This robot can move straight ahead and self-steer around a corner without a control system.
[ Paper via IEEE Robotics and Automation magazine in IEEE Xplore ]
PlayBot is an unofficial, experimental accessory for Panic Inc.’s Playdate handheld console, which transforms your console into a lovely little desktop robot.
[ Guillaume Loquin ] via [ Engadget ]
This is a big deal.
[ Ekso Bionics ]
Sanctuary AI introduces new tactile sensors for general purpose robots.
[ Sanctuary AI ]
Developed by the Pudu X-Lab, the PUDU D9 is designed with a human-centric philosophy that embodies the principle of “Born to Serve”. Its fully anthropomorphic design closely mirrors human capabilities, allowing it to offer practical assistance across a wide range of applications.
[ Pudu Robotics ]
EngineAI proudly unveils the PM01, our next-gen lightweight, high-dynamic, open-source humanoid robotic platform. With its interactive display, agile motion, and robust support for secondary development, PM01 is designed to be the most versatile tool for developers worldwide. PM01 is now available for purchase! We invite developers, researchers, and businesses to explore the future of robotics with PM01. Let’s push the boundaries of what robotics can achieve across different industries and use cases.
[ EngineAI ]
The third edition of CYBATHLON is now part of history. Held from October 25–27, 2024, at the SWISS Arena in Zürich, the event brought together 67 teams from 24 nations to compete in eight disciplines, showcasing state-of-the-art assistive technologies designed to help complete everyday tasks.While the winning teams celebrated their well-deserved victories, the event’s true spotlight was on the technological breakthroughs and their potential to transform lives. Equally remarkable was CYBATHLON’s emphasis on fostering social inclusion and empowering people with disabilities to overcome challenges through innovation.
[ Cybathlon ]
[ Aibo ]
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