Intention recognition, or the ability to anticipate the actions of another agent, plays a vital role in the design and development of automated assistants that can support humans in their daily tasks. In particular, industrial settings pose interesting challenges that include potential distractions for a decision-maker as well as noisy or incomplete observations. In such a setting, a robotic assistant tasked with helping and supporting a human worker must interleave information gathering actions with proactive tasks of its own, an approach that has been referred to as active goal recognition. In this paper we describe a partially observable model for online intention recognition, show some preliminary experimental results and discuss some of the challenges present in this family of problems.

Traditional control interfaces for robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery impose a significant cognitive load on surgeons. To improve surgical efficiency, surgeon-robot collaboration capabilities, and reduce surgeon burden, we present a novel voice control interface for surgical robotic assistants. Our system integrates Whisper, state-of-the-art speech recognition, within the ROS framework to enable real-time interpretation and execution of voice commands for surgical manipulator control. The proposed system consists of a speech recognition module, an action mapping module, and a robot control module. Experimental results demonstrate the system's high accuracy and inference speed, and demonstrates its feasibility for surgical applications in a tissue triangulation task. Future work will focus on further improving its robustness and clinical applicability.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, which can significantly impact an individual's daily functioning and quality of life. Occupational therapy plays a crucial role in managing ADHD by fostering the development of skills needed for daily living and enhancing an individual's ability to participate fully in school, home, and social situations. Recent studies highlight the potential of integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Socially Assistive Robots (SAR) to improve psychological treatments. This integration aims to overcome existing limitations in mental health therapy by providing tailored support and adapting to the unique needs of this sensitive group. However, there remains a significant gap in research exploring the combined use of these advanced technologies in ADHD therapy, suggesting an opportunity for novel therapeutic approaches. Thus, we integrated two advanced language models, ChatGPT-4 Turbo and Claude-3 Opus, into a robotic assistant to explore how well each model performs in robot-assisted interactions. Additionally, we have compared their performance in a simulated therapy scenario to gauge their effectiveness against a clinically validated customized model. The results of this study show that ChatGPT-4 Turbo excelled in performance and responsiveness, making it suitable for time-sensitive applications. Claude-3 Opus, on the other hand, showed strengths in understanding, coherence, and ethical considerations, prioritizing safe and engaging interactions. Both models demonstrated innovation and adaptability, but ChatGPT-4 Turbo offered greater ease of integration and broader language support. The selection between them hinges on the specific demands of ADHD therapy.

The thrust for increased rating capacity of wind turbines has resulted into larger generators, longer blades, and taller towers. Presently, up to 16 MW wind turbines are being offered by wind turbines manufacturers which is nearly a 60 percent increase in the design capacity over the last five years. Manufacturing of these turbines involves assembling of gigantic sized components. Due to the frequent design changes and the variety of tasks involved, conventional automation is not possible making it a labor-intensive activity. However the handling and assembling of large components are challenging the human capabilities. The article proposes the use of mobile robotic assistants for partial automation of wind turbines manufacturing. The robotic assistant can result into reducing production costs, and better work conditions. The article presents development of a robot assistant for human operators to effectively perform assembly of wind turbines. The case is from a leading wind turbines manufacturer. The developed system is also applicable to other cases of large component manufacturing involving intensive manual effort.

In addition, the real estate field, like many others, is transitioning to a "data-driven" world and developing artificial intelligence use cases. From consumer exchange of goods and services strategies to investing in large commercial projects, A.I. is making inroads into real estate. On the other hand, the real estate field is still in the early stages of implementing A.I. services in real estate will become more visible as technology advances. This article will look at the buzz around A.I. in the real estate industry. Artificial intelligence is a word that refers to a type of technology that can draw logical conclusions on its own.

Robonaut2 positioned next to an astronaut spacesuit. Robots were once reserved for the pages of paperback pulp, but in recent decades, these bots have transformed from science fiction to everyday reality. Robotic interactions are a common part of the modern human experience as these increasingly nimble machines are designed with new skills and dexterity. During this time, robots have augmented human roles across industries from manufacturing to space exploration. From autonomous pizza delivery and bionic bartending to sports entertainment, here are some of the top tasks humans have offloaded onto our robotic assistants.

Robotics being used in healthcare can be defined as the application and use of robotic technology to diagnose, treat, correct, restore, or modify a body function, body part, or disease. However, there are many other ways we can see robotics in healthcare used for daily operations. In the healthcare sector, robotics can play a role in sanitization, triage, and even performing actual surgeries; but there is a lot of space in between in which robots in this industry do not meet the standard definition listed above. More often than not, science fiction brings about real innovation and creation. Robots were once imagined as something so far outside of human control that they could never truly exist.

ESA's SpaceBok robot is designed to walk, hop, and run in low-gravity environments. From free-flying droids to humanoids, from crawlers to inflatable torsos, space robots of myriad types are now being considered for missions in low Earth orbit, on interplanetary spacecraft, and on other worlds. It might sound like a prop list from a Star Wars movie, but space agencies and their contractors are developing a panoply of robotic assistants with a serious aim in mind: to boost the productivity and safety of astronauts. The idea behind robot assistants is multifaceted: one aim is to offload time-consuming repetitive tasks like space station cleaning and inventory making from crew members to free-flying or humanoid robots. Ground robots controlled from, say, spacecraft orbiting the Moon or Mars could construct human habitats ahead of a landing, or perform reconnaissance ahead of human exploration missions.

One of the technologies we are seeing being trialled and deployed in airports is robotic assistants. The humanoid robots are positioned around the airport terminal assisting passengers with queries and information. By making use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, the robots can process large amounts of data, with real-time updates to enable them to provide the latest information to passengers. This technology is starting to be used in some select airports but for different functions. Munich Airport in Germany is using robotic assistants primarily for information.

Amazon is inching closer to making a wheeled robotic assistant that can be controlled via its Echo smart speakers. In a report from Bloomberg, sources from Amazon say the company has pulled engineers off of other projects to develop the bot -- a show of faith that indicates Amazon may soon look to bring the wheeled-assistant to market. The robot, called'Vesta', is controlled by Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa, and measures about waist-high according to Bloomberg. Amazon is inching closer to making a wheeled robotic assistant that can be controlled via its Echo smart speakers. It's unclear exactly what the intended purpose of the device would be, though speculation is that the bot would be a kind of mobile Echo, bringing the Alexa capabilities with users around their home.