What is a robot? - New Scientist
The word “robot” was coined by the Czech writer Karel Čapek in a 1920 play called Rossum’s Universal Robots, and is derived from the Czech robota, meaning “drudgery” or “servitude”.
The 25 best fictional robots – according to New Scientist
Jul 23, 2025 · Comment The 25 best fictional robots – according to New Scientist From R2D2 to the Terminator via Bender and Johnny-5, we choose our favourite robots from books, films and television …
Humanoid robot learns to waltz by mirroring people's movements
Jan 16, 2025 · An AI that helps humanoid robots mirror a person’s movement could allow robots to walk, dance and fight in more convincingly human ways. The most agile and fluid robotic movements, such …
This robot can build anything you ask for out of blocks
Nov 12, 2024 · A robot that can create simple objects from reusable building blocks based on spoken commands could one day be used to quickly build furniture. Artificial intelligence programs can …
Surgical robots take step towards fully autonomous operations
Jul 9, 2025 · Technology Surgical robots take step towards fully autonomous operations An AI system trained on videos of operations successfully guided a robot to carry out gall bladder surgery on a …
Robotic pigeon reveals how birds fly without a vertical tail fin
Nov 20, 2024 · A pigeon-inspired robot has solved the mystery of how birds fly without the vertical tail fins that human-designed aircraft rely on. Its makers say the prototype could eventually lead to …
Fictional female robots have a long history, and it's often quite dark
Jul 23, 2025 · Comment Fictional female robots have a long history, and it's often quite dark Sierra Greer's novel about a female robot, Annie Bot, just won a prestigious sci-fi prize, the Arthur C Clarke …
Robot made from pig gelatin biodegrades when no longer needed
Feb 7, 2025 · An origami-inspired robot arm made with material from cotton plants and pigs biodegrades when no longer needed. Such a soft robot could be further developed to carry out medical …
The ten best sci-fi films about AI according to an expert: Wall-E, Her ...
Dec 7, 2023 · Technology The top ten films about artificial intelligence according to an expert From Wall-E to Short Circuit via I, Robot, these are the best films out there about AI, says Alan Turing Institute ...
Tiny insect-like robot can flip, loop and hover for up to 15 minutes
Jan 17, 2025 · An insect-inspired robot that only weighs as much as a raisin can perform acrobatics and fly for much longer than any previous insect-sized drone without falling apart. For tiny flying robots to ...