When you think of robotics, you likely think of something rigid, heavy, and built for a specific purpose. New 'Robotic Skins' technology flips that notion on its head, allowing users to animate the ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Living beings and inanimate phenomena may have more in common than previously thought. At least that is the view of Duke University engineer Adrian Bejan and Penn State biologist James ...

Typically, robots are built to perform a single task. To make them more adaptable, researchers from Yale University have developed a kind of “robotic skin” that transforms ordinary objects into ...

Inanimate objects coming to life — the stuff of nightmares? Not so when you can control the objects thanks to “robotic skin.” Then it’s just really, really cool. You don’t have to take our word for it ...

Living systems exhibit remarkable self-organization and dynamics at all length scales and requires matter that is both active and adaptable. Within a cell, biomolecules actively convert energy to ...

TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online ...