Manipulation and dexterity
AI milestones in manipulation and dexterity, part of robotics and autonomy.
16 milestones
Cornell University researchers demonstrate electrically actuated microscale origami robots with onboard CMOS control
On 17 March 2021, researchers at Cornell University published a demonstration of self-folding microscale robots, roughly 100–250 microns in size, driven by platinum-based shape-memory actuators and controlled by onboard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits, enabling untethered, electrically commanded origami-style locomotion at the micron scale.
Cavatappi Artificial Muscles from Drawing, Twisting, and Coiling Polymer Tubes
In 2021, researchers led by Tzu-Ching Shyu at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign published findings in Science Robotics describing cavatappi artificial muscles, twisted polymer actuators made from polyethylene-based tubes, capable of contracting up to 45% of their length, lifting approximately 300 times their weight per unit volume, and actuating within 23 milliseconds per 1% length change.
Pneumatic-logic soft robot without electronic components, University of California San Diego, 2021
In 2021, Michael T. Tolley and colleagues at the University of California San Diego published a soft walking robot controlled entirely by pneumatic logic circuits embedded in its body, with no electronic components, demonstrating autonomous gait and environmental responsiveness through fluidic computation alone.
Soft Robotic Gripper Modelled on Pole Bean Tendrils Developed at University of Georgia
In December 2020, researchers at the University of Georgia developed a soft robotic gripper modelled on the twining behaviour of pole bean tendrils. The 3-inch device uses a single pneumatic actuator and an embedded fibre-optic sensor to grasp objects as small as 1 millimetre in diameter and characterise surface properties during contact.
BWIBots: A Platform for Robots Operating in Human-Inhabited Buildings
In February 2017, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin's Building-Wide Intelligence project published a description of the BWIBots platform in the International Journal of Robotics Research, detailing mobile robots designed to operate autonomously in office buildings, accept natural-language commands, and learn cooperative tasks through human interaction.
Octobot: First Autonomous Soft Robot Using Microfluidic Logic
On 24 August 2016, researchers at Harvard University published the design of Octobot, the first autonomous, entirely soft robot. Powered by a chemical reaction and controlled by microfluidic logic, it required no electronics, batteries, or rigid components.
Moley Robotics Demonstrates Robotic Kitchen System at Hannover Messe
In April 2015, London-based Moley Robotics unveiled a prototype robotic kitchen system at Hannover Messe, comprising a pair of dexterous robotic arms capable of replicating recorded human cooking movements, integrated with an oven, hob, and dishwasher in a fitted kitchen unit.
Dasarobot Genibo QD Consumer Pet Robot
In April 2006, South Korean company Dasarobot unveiled the Genibo QD, a consumer pet robot modelled on a dog and equipped with cameras, infrared sensors, and voice-recognition software designed to simulate emotional responses to its owner.
Self-Replicating Modular Robot Demonstrated by Cornell University Researchers
In May 2005, Hod Lipson and Jordan Pollack's group at Cornell University, led by Viktor Zykov and colleagues, published in Nature a demonstration of a modular robot capable of physically replicating its own structure from a supplied stack of identical cubes, showing that kinematic self-replication is achievable in engineered machines.
Pocket Delta: Miniaturised Parallel Delta Robot for High-Speed Micro-Assembly
In 2004, researchers at the Laboratoire de Robotique de Versailles demonstrated the Pocket Delta, a miniaturised parallel delta-structure robot capable of high-speed, sub-millimetre precision movements for micro-assembly tasks, advancing the application of parallel kinematic mechanisms to small-scale automated manufacturing.
Autographer: Autonomous Robot Photographer Deployed at AAAI/IAAI 2003
In 2003, Selene Mota and Rosalind Picard at the MIT Media Lab deployed an autonomous mobile robot called Autographer at IAAI 2003. Over five days it navigated a conference environment, interacted with roughly 5,000 people, and captured more than 3,000 photographs, 35% of which recipients requested by email.
RB5X Personal Robot Introduced by RB Robot Corporation
In 1982, RB Robot Corporation, founded by Joseph Bosworth, introduced the RB5X, a dome-shaped autonomous personal robot programmable in TinyBASIC or the proprietary Savvy language, equipped with sonar, photodiode, and bumper sensors for navigating domestic environments without direct human guidance.
FREDDY II Robot, University of Edinburgh Department of Machine Intelligence and Perception
By 1973, researchers at the University of Edinburgh's Department of Machine Intelligence and Perception had developed FREDDY II, a robot arm system that used computer vision and tactile feedback to identify and assemble simple objects from a pile of scattered parts, demonstrating integrated perception and manipulation in a single robotic system.
MIT Arm: Six-Axis Robotic Manipulator by Victor Scheinman
In 1973, Victor Scheinman at MIT completed the MIT Arm, a six-degree-of-freedom all-revolute robotic manipulator with DARPA funding. Its wrist-intersecting joint geometry simplified kinematic analysis and influenced the design of research and surgical robot arms for decades.
Stanford Arm Developed by Victor Scheinman at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
In 1969, Victor Scheinman, a mechanical engineering student at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL), designed the Stanford Arm, an all-electric six-degree-of-freedom robotic manipulator whose kinematic configuration made it well-suited to computer control and geometric path planning.
SRI International Begins Development of Shakey the Robot
From 1966, researchers at the Stanford Research Institute (led by Charles Rosen and including Nils Nilsson, Bertram Raphael, and Peter Hart) developed Shakey, a mobile robot that combined computer vision, natural language input, and automated planning to navigate and manipulate objects in a real environment.