The word “robot” was coined by the Czech writer Karel Čapek in a 1920 play called Rossum’s Universal Robots, and is derived from the Czech robota, meaning “drudgery” or “servitude”.

Feb 10, 2026 · A new approach developed at MIT could help a search-and-rescue robot navigate an unpredictable environment by rapidly generating an accurate map of its surroundings.

May 13, 2025 · The robot consists of a heavy, 220-pound base whose dimensions and structure were optimized to support the weight of an average human without tipping or slipping. …

Jul 24, 2025 · A vision-based control system called Neural Jacobian Fields enables soft and rigid robots to learn self-supervised motion control using only a monocular camera. The system, …

Apr 24, 2025 · MIT roboticists developed a way to cut through data noise and help robots focus on the features in a scene that are most relevant for assisting humans. The system could be …

Jul 23, 2025 · From R2D2 to the Terminator via Bender and Johnny-5, we choose our favourite robots from books, films and television series

Apr 9, 2025 · A hopping, insect-sized robot can jump over gaps or obstacles, traverse rough, slippery, or slanted surfaces, and perform aerial acrobatic maneuvers, while using a fraction of …

Jul 10, 2025 · Robots are helping humans in a growing number of places – from archaeological sites to disaster zones and sewers. The most recent robotic inventions can entertain people in …

Dec 3, 2025 · MIT researchers developed an aerial microrobot that can fly with speed and agility comparable to real insects. The research opens the door to future bug-sized robots that could …

Jul 17, 2025 · A new training interface allows a robot to learn a task in several different ways. This increased training flexibility could help more people interact with and teach robots — and may …