GLASGOW university boffins have created an electronic skin for robots that allows them to detect pain, heat and light.
The research team hope their advances in the flexible coating will help the new generation machines both on Earth and in space exploration.
It’s just the latest giant leap forward in robotics which continue to be used in increasing numbers around the globe.
Chief Features Writer MATT BENDORIS looks at the rise of the machines in today’s world.
CUDDLY bots have already been trialled in Boston schools to encourage primary kids to do better in the classroom.
A furry blue machine called Tega will tell students how it “believes in them” while they can also hug and talk to teddy bear-sized robot and give it hugs.
Researchers found the children developed a “special kind of affinity” with Tega who it’s predicted could one day be programmed to teach a class by itself - although then it really will need eyes in the back of its heads.
MANY complain that modern day athletes and players are already a bunch of robots - but they could now be joined in the field of play by real machines.
A RoboCup is already held anually featuring a squad of fake footballers while Toyota engineers even built a basketball player with a 100 per cent passing accuracy.
And last year researchers at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University developed an £18,000 training droid called Pepper aimed at improving the technique of squash players.
THE Automatic Brick Laying Robot has been hailed as a major breakthrough in modernising house building.
Designed by a Yorkshire-based company the ABLR runs on a track and can build external walls by laying bricks, blocks and mortar.
It is designed to increase productivity, improve on-site health and safety and guarantee build quality as well as helping with skills shortages. It’s possible that they could even be programmed to wolf-whistle.
MOVIES like Robocop have already given us a terrifying glimpse into a dystopian future with android officers - but bots are frequently being used by police forces around the world.
Bomb disposal machines have been in operation for years while autonomous robots are also used in homes which can move around when they detect any suspicious activity, like a potential break-in.
As for the unfortunate burglar who is captured by an android, just remember you have 30 seconds to comply.
IN these dangerous covid times it’s understandable why a virus zapping robot would be essential.
But the US airforce has been using a ‘droid called Saul since 2014 to help kill the deadly Ebola bug while treating evacuated health workers at their bases. It has since been introduced to mainstream hospitals.
It works by emitting pulses of high-intensity ultraviolet rays - 25,000 times brighter than florescent lights - which split open bacterial cells and kill dangerous pathogens. So if you want a clean hospital, Better Call Saul.
SURGICAL robots have been growing in numbers since the 1990s - with some now becoming mainstays at top medical facilities.
The world renowned Mayo Clinic in the States uses the machines to assist surgeons carry out delicate heart operations and even complicated spinal procedures.
They insist this leads to less infection, pain and blood loss along with smaller, less noticeable scars.
You also don’t need a nurse to wipe sweat from its brow.
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