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The future of healthcare robotics: from home helpers to hospital and surgery assistants

The future of healthcare robotics: from home helpers to hospital and surgery assistants

November 16, 2018

By 2050, the number of people over age 60 will double worldwide. By 2100, it will triple. This population shift will generate dramatically increased demand for caregiving and healthcare services--demand that can’t be met by humans only. In addition, five billion people worldwide lack access to adequate healthcare, especially surgery. These are some of the problems that experts in the field of healthcare robotics from industry and academia came together to tackle during the 2018 Contextual Robotics Institute Forum held Nov. 8 at the University of California San Diego.  Full Story


Healthcare, Homecare and Robotics: Where to from here?

Healthcare, Homecare and Robotics: Where to from here?

October 10, 2018

World-renowned experts working at the intersection of robotics and healthcare will convene at UC San Diego on November 8, 2018 for the annual Contextual Robotics Institute Forum, this year focused on Healthcare Robotics.  Full Story


From stair-climbing robots to motion planning algorithms: UC San Diego at IROS 2018

From stair-climbing robots to motion planning algorithms: UC San Diego at IROS 2018

September 28, 2018

From stair-climbing robots to algorithms that help robots navigate the world, researchers at the University of California San Diego are making a strong showing at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, or IROS 2018, which takes place Oct. 1 to 5 in Madrid, Spain. Full Story


Endless Creativity: Designing Robots at UC San Diego

Endless Creativity: Designing Robots at UC San Diego

June 13, 2018

UC San Diego masters and PhD students designed and built all sorts of different walking robots for the Spring 2018 quarter of MAE 207: Bioinspired mobile roboticsFull Story


Cell-like nanorobots clear bacteria and toxins from blood

Cell-like nanorobots clear bacteria and toxins from blood

May 30, 2018

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed tiny ultrasound-powered robots that can swim through blood, removing harmful bacteria and the toxins they produce. These proof-of-concept nanorobots could one day offer a safe and efficient way to detoxify and decontaminate biological fluids. Full Story


Artificial muscles, robotic grippers, health care robotics

Artificial muscles, robotic grippers, health care robotics

May 14, 2018

From a gripper equipped with gecko-inspired adhesives, to artificial muscles and robotic joints, to talks on human-robot interaction and health care robotics, the University of California San Diego will have a strong presence at the 2018 International Conference on Robotics and Automation, May 21 to 25 in Brisbane, Australia. Full Story


Transparent eel-like soft robot can swim silently underwater

Transparent eel-like soft robot can swim silently underwater

April 25, 2018

An innovative, eel-like robot developed by engineers and marine biologists at the University of California can swim silently in salt water without an electric motor. Instead, the robot uses artificial muscles filled with water to propel itself. The foot-long robot, which is connected to an electronics board that remains on the surface, is also virtually transparent.  The team, which includes researchers from UC San Diego and UC Berkeley, details their work in the April 25 issue of Science Robotics.  Full Story


Turning injectable medicines into inhalable treatments with the help of smart phone components

Turning injectable medicines into inhalable treatments with the help of smart phone components

April 10, 2018

Imagine if all childhood vaccines could get delivered with an inhaler rather than shots; or wiping away tuberculosis bacteria in a patient’s lungs with an inhaler; or disinfecting a hospital room thoroughly with a diffuser. These are the goals of a research team led by Professor James Friend in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California San Diego. Their efforts were recently boosted when Friend received a prestigious $900,000 research grant from the Keck Foundation, whose mission is to support pioneering discoveries in science, engineering and medical research. Full Story


Gecko-inspired adhesives help soft robotic fingers get a better grip

Gecko-inspired adhesives help soft robotic fingers get a better grip

April 6, 2018

A team of California researchers has developed a robotic gripper that combines the adhesive properties of gecko toes and the adaptability of air-powered soft robots to grasp a much wider variety of objects than the state of the art. Researchers will present their findings at the 2018 International Conference on Robotics and Automation May 21 to 25 in Brisbane, Australia. Full Story


Robotics and Autonomy Research at UC San Diego Research Expo on April 19

Robotics and Autonomy Research at UC San Diego Research Expo on April 19

March 26, 2018

Robotics and autonomy research is just one of the many reasons to come to the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering on April 19 for Research Expo. Industry recruiters and technical staff from companies across the region will be talking research with the 200+ engineering and computer science graduate students at their posters. The poster session runs from 2PM until 4:30 PM. Register today for Research Expo. Full Story


We Welcome Our Robot Tour Guides

We Welcome Our Robot Tour Guides

March 21, 2018

Take a walk inside the entrance to UC San Diego's Atkinson Hall and you might be greeted by a robot made of two cardboard boxes stacked one upon the other, complete with a signature smiley face. BoxBot, as the bot is called, works with his counterpart TritonBot, a robot with a fully functional body, in the hopes of one day becoming a lobby receptionist for the building. But the 'bots are also being used for more sophisticated purposes: to collect information about how humans respond to robots.  Full Story


San Diego, Korea team up to tackle transportation

San Diego, Korea team up to tackle transportation

March 21, 2018

UC San Diego is launching an international research collaboration to develop smart and clean transportation systems and infrastructure, with an added goal of commercializing the results. In partnership with the City of San Diego, the City of Ulsan in Korea and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), along with numerous industry partners, the UC San Diego Smart Transportation Innovation Program will develop technological solutions to tomorrow’s transportation challenges. Full Story


UC San Diego Grad Students Build a Robotics Community

UC San Diego Grad Students Build a Robotics Community

March 15, 2018

Nanoengineering Ph.D. student Caleb Christianson and mechanical engineering Ph.D. student Benjamin Shih created the Association for Robotics Graduate Students here at UC San Diego at the end of 2016. Both Shih and Christianson are part of the Bioinspired Robotics and Design Lab led by mechanical engineering professor Mike Tolley. Full Story


Lasers, batteries and autonomy: get the latest updates at Research Expo

Lasers, batteries and autonomy: get the latest updates at Research Expo

March 15, 2018

Breakthrough lasers, better batteries for electric vehicles, and autonomous robots are on the docket for the faculty tech-talks at the 37th annual Jacobs School of Engineering Research Expo at the University of California San Diego.  Full Story


UC San Diego Drone Research Takes Flight

UC San Diego Drone Research Takes Flight

January 25, 2018

UC San Diego inaugurated the first open-air aerodrome for unmanned aerial vehicles here on campus last week. The opening is the first step in what engineers hope will be a new era for drone research on campus. One of the goals is to create a living laboratory for unmanned aerial vehicles by bringing together researchers from across campus, including computer scientists, structural, mechanical, aerospace, electrical and computer engineers and scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Full Story


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