Purpose This paper aims to provide details of underwater robot technology and its applications. Design/methodology/approach Following an introduction, this article first discusses remotely operated vehicle (ROV) technology and applications and then considers their use in the emerging field of...

Purpose This paper aims to provide details of recent commercial and academic developments in flexible and soft grippers and considers their impact on emerging robotic markets. Design/methodology/approach Following an introduction, this paper first considers commercially available anthropomorphic...

Purpose This paper aims to illustrate the growing importance of surgical robots by providing a short historical background and details of a selection of today’s products and their applications. Design/methodology/approach Following a short introduction, this first provides an historical...

Purpose This paper aims to provide details of European research projects and product developments involving robots that can assist the ageing population. Design/methodology/approach Following an introduction, the role of assistive robots and research into the nature of the human–robot...

Purpose This paper aims to provide details of the use of sensing skins by robots through reference to commercial products and recent research. Design/methodology/approach Following an introduction, this paper first summarises the commercial status of robotic sensing skins. It then provides...

Purpose – This article aims to provide details of recent developments in robots that can change shape and self-reconfigure. Design/methodology/approach – Following an introduction, this article first describes some recent developments in shape-changing materials and then considers a...

Purpose This paper aims to provide details of the safety considerations, technologies and standards associated with robots that interact with, or operate in proximity to, humans. Design/methodology/approach Following an introduction, this paper first considers collaborative robots and discusses...

Purpose This paper aims to illustrate the growing role of robots in the electronics industries. Design/methodology/approach Following a short introduction, this paper discusses robotic applications and products in three sectors of the electronics industry: semiconductor processing, printed...

Purpose This paper aims to provide technical details of humanoid robot developments from the 1970s to the present day and to consider their potential applications and prospects. Design/methodology/approach Following an introduction, this first identifies the motivations for developing humanoid...

Purpose This paper aims to show how robotic technology is being used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Following a short introduction, this discusses the role of robots in the following COVID-related applications: disinfection, checking human temperature, monitoring...