Science Robotics

Social robots that use expressive gestures increase human engagement but reduce trust if they make errors during conversations, according to new human-robot interaction research. Learn more in Science #Robotics: scim.ag/4h4OCRF

“Future research can pave the way for #bioinspired #multimodal robots that not only parallel but also surpass the agility, efficiency, and adaptability of biological counterparts,” Ziyu Ren and colleagues write in a new Science #Robotics Review. scim.ag/3ThDOFW

A new Science #Robotics study highlights a framework that enables human-like manipulation, enabling a robot to serve customers at a mall juice for 7 hours continuously without failure. scim.ag/4pJ21Bg

A new Science #Robotics Review proposes a set of performance metrics that could improve the design of #bioinspired #multimodal robots, or systems that can switch between distinct modes of movement. @robotician @BIOROB_EPFL scim.ag/3ThDOFW

“Imitation is not the end of learning but the beginning of it,” Johannes Stork writes in a Focus that highlights RL-100, a manipulation framework that combines reinforcement learning and imitation learning. Learn more in Science #Robotics: scim.ag/4frKf0G

A new approach combines imitation learning and reinforcement learning, facilitating robot manipulation tasks such as folding a towel even when facing obstacles or variations. Learn more in Science #Robotics: scim.ag/4bAs2g4

A new Science #Robotics study highlights how allocentric control, or a top-down view during multirobot teleoperation, can facilitate collaborative tasks and speed up robot manipulation. scim.ag/4fGyaF5

A new Science #Robotics study showcases a quadrupedal robot that can jump over fallen logs, traverse forested or paved regions, and navigate stepping stones using a new controller and only onboard computation. scim.ag/4wJfLhs

Teleoperating multiple robots simultaneously is easier when users can switch between individual embodied perspectives and a bird’s eye view that allows for puppet-like manipulation. Learn more in Science #Robotics: scim.ag/4fGyaF5

A new, reinforcement learning-based framework enables robots to select the appropriate motor skills and gait autonomously to navigate uneven terrain and clear obstacles at high speeds. Learn more in Science #Robotics: scim.ag/4wJfLhs

The July 2026 issue of Science #Robotics is out! This month's cover features a robot that can switch between different motor skills to jump over logs and navigate varied terrain using a new control framework. Learn about this research and more: scim.ag/4w3FYHT

A recent Science #Robotics study highlights an open-source, computationally light policy that can adapt to control unfamiliar quadrotors and stabilize against external perturbations like strong winds. scim.ag/4wrIQih

A recent Science #Robotics study demonstrates that robots with dynamic symmetry, or the ability to generate force uniformly in all directions, are multifunctional, can adapt to challenging terrain, and are robust to hardware failures. scim.ag/4dCGPHe

A recent Science #Robotics study highlights an autonomous approach that can characterize coral reef #biodiversity, enabling an underwater robot to home in on snapping shrimp or follow a barracuda through #JoelsShoal. scim.ag/4ust71b

A DNA origami–based switch can snap-through between two stable states within milliseconds under an electric field, demonstrating enduring performance over several hours. Learn more in Science #Robotics: scim.ag/44pWxkO

“HRI advances by explaining differences between studies, not by eliminating them,” Shelly Levy-Tzedek writes in a new Focus that explores the importance of replicating methods, and not results, in human-robot interaction research. scim.ag/4xv4zGq

A new Science #Robotics study highlights #exoskeletons that allow physical therapists and patients recovering from stroke to “feel” each other’s movements as they walk on separate treadmills, enabling nuanced gait correction. scim.ag/4aN0Xpt

A new framework enables a quadrotor to fly through a series of narrow windows, moving targets, and gaps of different shapes. Learn more in Science #Robotics: scim.ag/3S0Qctu

A new Science #Robotics study describes how a centimeter-scale transformable #rover navigated the #Moon’s surface autonomously and captured images of the SLIM lander and its surroundings. scim.ag/4vyltCi

A new Science #Robotics study highlights an electrically driven DNA switch that can be modified to modulate light polarization and control biochemical binding reactions, showing promise for future nanoscale applications. scim.ag/44pWxkO