The Alpha Lab at the University of California at Berkeley researches and develops robotics systems for high-precision manufacturing. Specifically, it combines mathematical algorithms and industrial automation to build low-cost, reliable tools for "feeding, fixturing and grasping." The projects section of the lab's Web site describes a number of experiments and model implementations for robotics...

A community of cubic-inch microrobots called "ants" is located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology artificial intelligence laboratory. As part of a larger initiative to develop technologies for planetary exploration, the two main goals of the Ants project are "to push the limit of microrobotics by integrating many sensors and actuators into a small package, and to form a structured...

In a very original study on human-robot interaction, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University conducted a series of experiments to determine if people would be more willing to interact with a robot with human-like features as opposed to one without. The particular "behaviors tested were the ability to convey expression with a humanoid face and the ability to indicate attention by turning towards...