(Natural News) Jobs in the hospitality industry will be the hardest hit as businesses increasingly turn to automation in the face of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The prediction came from a study by the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). Researchers from the London-based think tank found that the ongoing pandemic is increasing […]

(Natural News) No one wants to think about losing a job, especially if you’re supporting a family. But interesting research has revealed what people think about their coworkers getting replaced or losing their own jobs to robots. In a paper published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, scientists from the Technical University of Munich in Germany and Erasmus University […]

(Natural News) Just in time for the global enforcement of so-called “social distancing,” engineering and robotics firm Boston Dynamics has unveiled a new robot “dog” that it says can herd sheep without the need for an actual human shepherd. Known as “Spot,” the yellow and black tech marvel can traverse pastures and herd sheep remotely […]

(Natural News) A recent breakthrough in engineering and robotics just might blur the line between man and machine. Researchers from Linköping University in Sweden have successfully developed and created artificial muscles that run on glucose and oxygen — just like their organic counterparts. According to the researchers, they wanted to develop artificial muscles, which, instead of […]

(Natural News) Three different – and independent – groups of researchers have designed extremely powerful artificial muscles. They claim that the muscles can lift 1,000 times their own weight. The synthetic muscles are designed around either coiled or coiling fibers that can, much like natural muscles, stretch and contract. These artificial muscles could be used […]

(Natural News) The military could deploy autonomous “corona-killing” robots that use ultraviolet (UV) light to disinfect closed spaces. The four-wheeled robots are said to be able to perform tasks in a matter of hours that would take human workers days to complete. Turning robot targets into virus killers To develop the disinfecting robots, a company called Marathon […]

(Natural News) As healthcare and emergency personnel work to stop the spread of the coronavirus, they also put themselves at risk of catching the disease themselves. Now, scientists are arguing that robots could be used to do some of the “dull, dirty and dangerous” jobs that these people currently have to do, helping reduce the risks that […]

(Natural News) Experts have repeatedly told us that the best way to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus is to avoid physical distance with sick people. But that’s pretty difficult to achieve in modern society, where more than half the world’s population lives in urban areas, using public transport, eating in the same restaurants, […]

(Natural News) While using machines to harvest crops isn’t a new concept, using a robot that does so through machine learning is. A team of engineers from the University of Cambridge developed a vegetable-picking robot that uses machine learning to harvest a commonplace, but challenging, agricultural crop: lettuce. The team, led by Cambridge’s Dr. Fumiya Iida, initially […]

(Natural News) A California company is marketing a robotic dog they’re developing to be a best friend that can comfort people who are living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The makers said that this robot dog will be able to provide companionship for people by responding to human voice and touch with “life-like motions.” Entrepreneur Tom […]