In this new release of our series showcasing the plenary and keynote talks from the IEEE/RSJ IROS2020 (International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems) you'll meet Steve LaValle (University of Oulu) talking about the area of perception, action and control, and Sarah Bergbreiter (Carnegie Mellon University) talking about bio-inspired microrobotics. Bio: Steve LaValle is Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, in Particular Robotics and Virtual Reality, at the University of Oulu. From 2001 to 2018, he was a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois. He has also held positions at Stanford University and Iowa State University. His research interests include robotics, virtual and augmented reality, sensing, planning algorithms, computational geometry, and control theory.

When it comes to things that are ultrafast and lightweight, robots can't hold a candle to the fastest-jumping insects and other small-but-powerful creatures. New research published in the journal Science could help explain why nature still beats robots--and describes how machines might take the lead. The multi-institutional team of authors includes Associate Professor Sarah Bergbreiter, who studies microrobotics at the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering. Take the smashing mantis shrimp, a small crustacean not much bigger than a thumb. Its hammer-like mouthparts can repeatedly deliver 69-mile-per-hour wallops more than 100 times faster than the blink of an eye to break open hard snail shells.

Soon, when restaurant-goers hear "May I take your order?" those words may be coming from a robot. Some restaurants have started experimenting with human-like robots instead of human cashiers, allowing consumers to pay for their meals without interacting with another person. Although many restaurants have allowed digital ordering, either online, by kiosk or on tablets at the table, the practice of using humanoid, or human-like robots, is still in its earliest stages, and it's primarily happening in Asia so far. Experts say the robots could benefit restaurants and lead to wider adoption -- if diners aren't too freaked out by them. Pizza Hut YUM, 1.74% is the latest company to try a robot cashier, in a partnership with robotics company SoftBank Robotics and MasterCard MA, 0.76%, which has created the payment app. The application works only with MasterCard's MasterPass, a digital wallet that allows payment by MasterCard cards, as well as credit, debit or prepaid cards from Maestro, American Express AXP, 2.84%, Diner's Club, Discover DFS, 3.36% and Visa V, 2.46% .