News & Events
Current News
Patterning Precision with Floating Magnetic Microrobots
03/10/2019
To help meet the growing demand for miniature tools like micro-catheters and micro-tweezers, scientists at the Hamlyn Centre led by Professor Guang-Zhong Yang have devised a new, more precise system for creating micro-tools that may be used in minimally invasive surgery. Their most recent paper on “Floating magnetic micro-robots for fiber functionalization” is published in the latest issue of Science Robotics this week.
02/10/2019
AI used for first time in job interviews in UK to find best applicants
Artificial intelligence (AI) and facial expression technology is being used for the first time in job interviews in the UK to identify the best candidates. Unilever, the consumer goods giant, is among companies using AI technology to analyse the language, tone and facial expressions of candidates when they are asked a set of identical job questions which they film on their mobile phone or laptop.
02/10/2019
Novartis and Microsoft join forces to develop drugs using AI
Novartis and Microsoft are joining forces to apply artificial intelligence to some of the most intractable problems in healthcare, in one of the most expansive tie-ups so far between big pharma and big tech. Under one part of the five-year agreement, which will be reviewed annually, Microsoft will work on new tools intended to make it easier to apply AI to all areas of the Swiss pharmaceutical company’s business, from finance to manufacturing.
20/09/2019
Robotic arm named after Luke Skywalker enables amputee to touch and feel again
A robotic arm which is controlled by thought has enabled an amputee to touch and feel again. It is so sensitive that recipient Keven Walgamott plucked grapes without crushing them, peeled a banana and was even able to send texts.
20/09/2019
“Flying fish” robot uses surrounding water for fuel
Flying robots hold all kinds of promise when operating over dry land, but what could ones that use bodies of water as a base bring to the table? With an eye on water sampling and environmental monitoring, scientists at Imperial College London have developed a robot inspired by the flying fish, in that it can generate enough power to launch itself out of the water and glide through the air as a way of overcoming obstacles in its path.
20/09/2019
Hyundai’s Vest Exoskeleton eases the burden of overhead tasks
While automated technologies have certainly lightened the load in car factories around the world, hard labor and long hours on the part of human workers is still a big part of the manufacturing mix. Hyundai has been developing different types of assistive exoskeletons to give its factory workers a helping hand, the latest of which focuses on those tending to overhead tasks.
20/09/2019
UK economy has ‘too few robots’, warn MPs
The UK is lagging behind the world’s other advanced economies in the shift to robots and automation in the workplace – putting jobs, businesses and the prosperity of whole regions at risk, according to an influential group of MPs. MPs on the business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee said UK firms were losing out to competitors in the rest of the G7 after the government cut support for companies and failed to encourage investment.