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1. Revolutionizing Robotics

   https://doi.org/10.1080/19434871.2023.12290283  

   Tran, Thomas; McNeela, Elizabeth; Robinson, Jason; McLean, Jill; Jensen, Karin; Golecki, Holly (May 2023, The Science Teacher)

   Ask your students what they think of when they hear the word robotics. Most students likely imagine a large, clunky machine used in a manufacturing plant or construction site. Other students may mention modern humanoid robots that appear in popular culture like C3PO from the Star Wars franchise. No matter the response, there is a good chance that nearly all students will mention a robot made of hard materials like metal. This article describes the introduction of a new field, soft robotics, into high school classrooms to broaden students’ perceptions of how robots can be used and who works on robotics. Soft robots are made from compliant materials, such as rubber or textiles, and have a wide variety of applications in the medical field, space exploration, and food distribution. This field provides an excellent opportunity to expand students’ view of robotics while learning how to think and design like an engineer. 

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2. Colloidal robotics

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01589-y  

   Liu, Albert Tianxiang; Hempel, Marek; Yang, Jing Fan; Brooks, Allan M.; Pervan, Ana; Koman, Volodymyr B.; Zhang, Ge; Kozawa, Daichi; Yang, Sungyun; Goldman, Daniel I.; et al (August 2023, Nature Materials)

   Robots have components that work together to accomplish a task. Colloids are particles, usually less than 100 µm, that are small enough that they do not settle out of solution. Colloidal robots are particles capable of functions such as sensing, computation, communication, locomotion and energy management that are all controlled by the particle itself. Their design and synthesis is an emerging area of interdisciplinary research drawing from materials science, colloid science, self-assembly, robophysics and control theory. Many colloidal robot systems approach synthetic versions of biological cells in autonomy and may find ultimate utility in bringing these specialized functions to previously inaccessible locations. This Perspective examines the emerging literature and highlights certain design principles and strategies towards the realization of colloidal robots. 

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3. Tensegrity Robotics

   https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2020.0170  

   Shah, Dylan S.; Booth, Joran W.; Baines, Robert L.; Wang, Kun; Vespignani, Massimo; Bekris, Kostas; Kramer-Bottiglio, Rebecca (October 2021, Soft Robotics)

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4. Tensegrity Robotics

   Shah, Dylan S; Booth, Joran W; Baines, Robert L; Wang, Kun; Vespignani, Massimo; Bekris, Kostas E; Kramer-Bottiglio, R (December 2021, Soft robotics)

   Numerous recent advances in robotics have been inspired by the biological principle of tensile integrity — or “tensegrity”— to achieve remarkable feats of dexterity and resilience. Tensegrity robots contain compliant networks of rigid struts and soft cables, allowing them to change their shape by adjusting their internal tension. Local rigidity along the struts provides support to carry electronics and scientific payloads, while global compliance enabled by the flexible interconnections of struts and cables allows a tensegrity to distribute impacts and prevent damage. Numerous techniques have been proposed for designing and simulating tensegrity robots, giving rise to a wide range of locomotion modes including rolling, vibrating, hopping, and crawling. Here, we review progress in the burgeoning field of tensegrity robotics, highlighting several emerging challenges, including automated design, state sensing, and kinodynamic motion planning. 

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5. Spacecraft-Mounted Robotics

   https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-control-062122-082114  

   Tsiotras, Panagiotis; King-Smith, Matthew; Ticozzi, Lorenzo (May 2023, Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems)

   Space-mounted robotics is becoming increasingly mainstream for many space missions. The aim of this article is threefold: first, to give a broad and quick overview of the importance of spacecraft-mounted robotics for future in-orbit servicing missions; second, to review the basic current approaches for modeling and control of spacecraft-mounted robotic systems; and third, to introduce some new developments in terms of modeling and control of spacecraft-mounted robotic manipulators using the language of hypercomplex numbers (dual quaternions). Some outstanding research questions and potential future directions in the field are also discussed. 

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