Joe Marler discussed his recent comments about the Haka, which sparked backlash.

There has been another shock at the Grand Slam of Darts.

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.

IROS 2024: 14–18 October 2024, ABU DHABI, UAE

ICSR 2024: 23–26 October 2024, ODENSE, DENMARK

Cybathlon 2024: 25–27 October 2024, ZURICH

Humanoids 2024: 22–24 November 2024, NANCY, FRANCE

Enjoy today’s videos!

Not even ladders can keep you safe from quadruped robots anymore.

[ ETH Zürich Robot Systems Lab ]

Introducing Azi (right), the new desktop robot from Engineered Arts Ltd. Azi and Ameca are having a little chat, demonstrating their wide range of expressive capabilities. Engineered Arts desktop robots feature 32 actuators, 27 for facial control alone, and 5 for the neck. They include AI conversational ability including GPT-4o support which makes them great robotic companions.

[ Engineered Arts ]

Quadruped robots that individual researchers can build by themselves are crucial for expanding the scope of research due to their high scalability and customizability. In this study, we develop a metal quadruped robot MEVIUS, that can be constructed and assembled using only materials ordered through e-commerce. We have considered the minimum set of components required for a quadruped robot, employing metal machining, sheet metal welding, and off-the-shelf components only.

[ MEVIUS from JSK Robotics Laboratory ]

Thanks Kento!

Avian perching maneuvers are one of the most frequent and agile flight scenarios, where highly optimized flight trajectories, produced by rapid wing and tail morphing that generate high angular rates and accelerations, reduce kinetic energy at impact. Here, we use optimal control methods on an avian-inspired drone with morphing wing and tail to test a recent hypothesis derived from perching maneuver experiments of Harris’ hawks that birds minimize the distance flown at high angles of attack to dissipate kinetic energy before impact.

[ EPFL Laboratory of Intelligent Systems ]

The earliest signs of bearing failures are inaudible to you, but not to Spot . Introducing acoustic vibration sensing—Automate ultrasonic inspections of rotating equipment to keep your factory humming.

The only thing I want to know is whether Spot is programmed to actually do that cute little tilt when using its acoustic sensors.

[ Boston Dynamics ]

Hear from Jonathan Hurst, our co-founder and Chief Robot Officer, why legs are ideally suited for Digit’s work.

[ Agility Robotics ]

I don’t think “IP67” really does this justice.

[ ANYbotics ]

This paper presents a teleportation system with floating robotic arms that traverse parallel cables to perform long-distance manipulation. The system benefits from the cable-based infrastructure, which is easy to set up and cost-effective with expandable workspace range.

[ EPFL ]

It seems to be just renderings for now, but here’s the next version of Fourier’s humanoid.

[ Fourier ]

Happy Oktoberfest from Dino Robotics!

[ Dino Robotics ]

This paper introduces a learning-based low-level controller for quadcopters, which adaptively controls quadcopters with significant variations in mass, size, and actuator capabilities. Our approach leverages a combination of imitation learning and reinforcement learning, creating a fast-adapting and general control framework for quadcopters that eliminates the need for precise model estimation or manual tuning.

[ HiPeR Lab ]

Parkour poses a significant challenge for legged robots, requiring navigation through complex environments with agility and precision based on limited sensory inputs. In this work, we introduce a novel method for training end-to-end visual policies, from depth pixels to robot control commands, to achieve agile and safe quadruped locomotion.

[ SoloParkour ]

The Biden administration passed $3 trillion of legislation aimed at revitalizing the American economy and fostering green, equitable, "middle-out" growth.

The most impressive aspect of Donald Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris last week was the uniformity of his gains across the electoral landscape.

November and December will nominally be about confirming judges and kicking the can on must-pass bills. More ambitious efforts probably aren't happening.

From Goats to airplanes, Xbox Game Pass has another bumper month in store for subscribers. Here's everything you need to know about what is heading to PC and console this November 2024

EA FC 25 players have a whole new Team of the Week to grind for, and there are some fantastic cards among them, including Sporting CP's hotshot striker Viktor Gyokeres.

Aside from offering a more powerful console, the PS5 Pro also packs a sneaky theme for PlayStation fans to uncover - something Sony hadn't previously discussed.

Death Stranding, originally launched in 2019, has finally come to Xbox consoles five years after its initial debut as a Director's Cut version from Hideo Kojima.

Black Ops 6 is here, and fans have been itching to know what's included in Season 1 - and now we have an answer. Here's what's included, and when you can play

PS5 owners can play some great games this month, including a Bethesda hit and more. Here's what's free for PS Plus subscribers for November, with more to be announced.

Overwatch 2 is bringing 6v6 gameplay back from Overwatch 1 - and fans are overjoyed. Here's all we know so far, including when you can finally play the Classic mode

Just got a PS5 or want to know what to prioritise in your backlog? We've got you covered with the best PlayStation 5 games for your console that you can play right now.

Hackers are exploiting EA FC 25 to nab millions of coins and snipe the world's best football players and EA seems unable to stop it - and this is how it happens

Black Ops 6 is here, and it's Black Ops 2's anniversary, so what better time than to rank the Call of Duty Black Ops titles? Here's our ranking of every mainline version.

Pikachu ex, found in the new Pokemon TCG set Surging Sparks, has seen its value soar with players spending over $500 for the latest card. Here's why.

More than 80 per cent of B.C.'s water basins are experiencing level 4 or 5 drought conditions, with salmon in many parts of the province struggling to make it to their spawning grounds.

Certain strains of E. coli are capable of causing severe disease, by rapidly spreading through the human digestive system, wreaking havoc throughout the bloodstream, and eventually damaging the delicate kidneys. That's the situation right now during a large outbreak in Alberta, with hundreds of children now affected.

NASA said Thursday that the study of UFOs will require new scientific techniques, including advanced satellites as well as a shift in how unexplained sightings are perceived.

As artificial intelligence becomes more common in university classrooms, some professors are weighing the benefits — and downsides — of students using it for research projects.

After a dismal start, the UN is hosting a "halftime summit" about its 15-year plan to meet a series of human-development targets by 2030. Delegates will try to focus on problems like extreme poverty and gender equality while watching for sparks between the representatives of Ukraine and Russia.

The Tablelands in Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most unique landscapes in the world — and its orange peridotite rocks could hold the secret to finding life on Mars.

The Health and Human Services Department employs 294 people whose jobs focus on diversity, and the department maintains seven separate "minority health" offices spread across its various agencies, according to a new report that suggests it will be tough for the incoming Trump administration to unwind it all.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency supervisor who was fired after she told her staff to skip hurricane-damaged homes with Trump signs in their yards says it wasn't an isolated incident and is a "colossal event."

President-elect Donald Trump announced a flurry of appointments Tuesday for key posts in his new administration, including former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA and the expected nomination of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to head the Department of Homeland Security.

According to a report Tuesday, the league deliberately decided not to impose an immediate fine on San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat during a postgame television interview.

Republican Rep. David Valadao has won reelection in California's 22nd Congressional District, defeating Democrat Rudy Salas for the second time.

A Swiss-engineered robot can climb ladders, showing why it's at the cutting edge of autonomous robotic solutions for harsh industrial settings.

The Massimo Modular E9 is a sleek, smart and comfy tiny home in 409 square feet. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson takes a closer look at what the future of housing might look like.

OpenAI recently introduced a new memory feature for ChatGPT that enables it to remember information about people, including age, gender and beliefs.

Amazon's Black Friday sales event starts Friday, Nov. 22. Kurt the CyberGuy offers some tips on how to get the best deals on merchandise.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says there’s been a rise in cybercriminal services using hacked police and government emails to send subpoenas and data requests to U.S. companies.

LIVERPOOL midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum will be pivotal for Jurgen Klopp at Manchester City..

The Italian is reportedly set to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of his contract..

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HARRY KANE is now the clear favourite to win the World Cup Golden Boot after his hat-trick against Panama..

ROGER FEDERER has explained why he gets injured less than rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic..

One Arsenal star is on the list of the top ten Premier League players for increased transfer value in 2019.

Former Chelsea and Arsenal defender Ashley Cole has signed a new one-year contract to remain with the LA Galaxy for a third season in Major League Soccer..

Arsenal and England midfielder Jordan Nobbs will be a columnist for 90min & BBC Sport pundit at the Women's World Cup in France this summer, as Phil Neville's Lionesses' look to secure a maiden World Cup triumph. Two wins from our first two games is obviously what we were all hoping for. The first game of a World Cup, or any other major tournament, is never going to be one where you're playing at your absolute best. But the 2-1 win over was Scotland was great given the pre-match hype, the..

I started work on it around a year ago on a whim because I was reading a lot of game design articles and couldn’t resist the idea of a small platform game. It’s really expanded a lot beyond that though! I’d like to start showing it to and discussing it with more people as I […]