Robots are good at making identical repetitive movements, such as a simple task on an assembly line. But they lack the ability to perceive objects as they move through an environment. A recent study ...

Taking a cue from biological cells, researchers from MIT, Columbia University, and elsewhere have developed computationally simple robots that connect in large groups to move around, transport objects ...

Particle robots are made of identical particles that interact weakly via magnets. These particles do not have individual locomotion abilities but can only expand and contract. Collectively, the robot ...

In physics, particles are small localized objects with physical characteristics like mass or volume. From those humble ingredients, our virtually limitless universe is built. The concept, presented in ...

Jackson Ryan was CNET's science editor, and a multiple award-winning one at that. Earlier, he'd been a scientist, but he realized he wasn't very happy sitting at a lab bench all day. Science writing, ...