Scientists at a South Australian university are using biology from insects to build robots with a brain – technology that could become a game changer for police, defence and national security. "I'm giving a robot a brain so it can understand its environment," said Flinders University associate professor for autonomous systems, Dr Russell Brinkworth. His biologically-inspired robots have the ability to not just take a picture of the world, but interpret the surrounding environment and adapt accordingly. "Our current robots work well in structured environments that don't change. That sounds complex – but they're all the same," Dr Brinkworth said.

AI and Machine Learning systems have proven a boon to scientific research in a variety of academic fields in recent years. They've assisted scientists in identifying genomic markers ripe for cutting-edge treatments, accelerating the discovery of potent new drugs and therapeutics, and even publishing their own research. Throughout this period, however, AI/ML systems have often been relegated to simply processing large data sets and performing brute force computations, not leading the research themselves. But Dr. Hiroaki Kitano, CEO of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, has plans for a "hybrid form of science that shall bring systems biology and other sciences into the next stage," by creating an AI that's just as capable as today's top scientific minds. To do so, Kitano seeks to launch the Nobel Turing Challenge and develop a AI smart enough to win itself a Nobel Prize by 2050.

What if your walking stick could change itself into a foldable stool while you're out on a wilderness hike? Or if a piece of wrapping paper could fold itself around a package? The idea of shape-shifting active matter has been a staple of sci-fi programming for decades (see: the liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2, or Spidey foe "the Sandman"). But now experiments by teams in Georgia and the Netherlands are finding that the idea of active matter might not be such a stretch. Using agglomerations of worms as a biological model, researchers are designing mechanical devices that one day may be able to form and re-form into different shapes, just like the wrigglers.

The recent lockdown has made times difficult for all, particularly the logistics sector. However, several startups have been quite active and prudent in deducing ways to cope up with the situation. One among them is Unbox Robotics, an early stage startup that has recently unveiled a robotics solution for efficient parcel sortation in warehouses. It is building a logistics automation system that could enable logistics players to automate and improve their operations on-demand with limited footprint and capital. We are trying our best to maintain the productivity of the team to compensate for the loss of work due to the lockdown.

In a test kitchen in a corner building in downtown Pasadena, Flippy the robot grabbed a fryer basket full of chicken fingers, plunged it into hot oil -- its sensors told it exactly how hot -- then lifted, drained and dumped maximally tender tenders into a waiting hopper. A few feet away, another Flippy eyed a beef patty sizzling on a griddle. With its camera eyes feeding pixels to a machine vision brain, it waited until the beef hit the right shade of brown, then smoothly slipped its spatula hand under the burger and plopped it on a tray. The product of decades of research in robotics and machine learning, Flippy represents a synthesis of motors, sensors, chips and processing power that wasn't possible until recently. Now, Flippy's success -- and the success of the company that built it, Miso Robotics -- depends on simple math and a controversial hypothesis of how robots can transform the service economy.

We all must have heard the word "Artificial Intelligence" somewhere before in this rapidly growing technological world. So, according to computer science, artificial intelligence is sometimes called machine intelligence established by different machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans' skill set. According to NASA scientists, the machines are becoming capable of doing any sort of work and humans are becoming lazy at the same time. Artificial Intelligence was first introduced back in 1956 by the scientists of America and since then, AI has experienced several changes from having thought of not doing anything to have thought of doing anything. The solar storm is the next thing on which NASA scientists are working with the help of Artificial Intelligence. It is a flash of increased brightness on the sun, observed near the Earth's surface due to which the layer ozone is depleting.

Google's Alphabet is adding yet another chapter to its rollercoaster history of robotics projects. The company's R&D lab, dubbed Alphabet X, is working on a new breed of robots that can learn new tasks, rather than be programmed into performing them. The initiative is called the "Everyday Robot Project" because, as its name implies, it wants to build robots that can assist humans in simple tasks of everyday life. More importantly, the machines could do so even when confronted with our messy, unpredictable environments. The leader of the project, Hans Peter Brondmo, explained that robots currently operate in environments specifically designed and structured for them.

Geek Plus says that this is the largest-ever funding round for a logistics robotics startup. The round, a Series B, was led by Warburg Pincus, with participation from other shareholders including Volcanics Venture and Vertex Ventures. The company is not disclosing its valuation but we have asked and will update as we learn more. Warburg Pincus led the startup's previous round of $60 million in 2017, and Geek Plus has raised around $217 million since being founded in 2015. Part of the reason for this large round is because the company says its on track for a big year, projecting to growth business five-fold, and it wants to capitalise on that growth both inside its own giant home market of Mainland China as well as further afield.

ABB says its goal is to make the Shanghai facility the most advanced robotics factory in the world. It will even feature a Research and Development center to accelerate the firm's work in artificial intelligence. In addition, it will widen the types and variants of robots the company can build for Chinese companies, including automakers and electronics manufacturers. China is ABB's second biggest market after the United States, and the new factory could greatly expand its presence in the market. The company expects to open the 75,000-square-foot facility by late 2020.

Swiss robotics company ABB has revealed that it's spending $150 million to build an advanced robotics factory in Shanghai -- one that will use robots to build robots. The company will rely on its YuMi single-arm robots, which it once used to conduct an orchestra, for small parts assembly. It also plans to make extensive use"of its SafeMove2 software in the facility, which it says will allow its YuMi models and other automated machines to safely work in close proximity with human employees. ABB says its goal is to make the Shanghai facility the most advanced robotics factory in the world. It will even feature a Research and Development center to accelerate the firm's work in artificial intelligence.