Purpose – This paper aims to provide a review of the applications of robotic technology in laboratories. Design/methodology/approach – Following a short introduction, this paper discusses a range of key applications for laboratory robots and describes a number of products. Some recent...

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a technical description of the robots that have been deployed in space, primarily on the Moon and Mars. Design/methodology/approach – Following an introduction, this paper describes the robotic devices that have been deployed on the Moon and Mars. It also...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a range of artificial muscle and soft gripping technologies for robotic applications. Design/methodology/approach – Following a short introduction, this paper first discusses the role of air muscles and other pneumatic actuation...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential of robots to contribute to producing food for the growing global population. Design/methodology/approach – Following an introduction which provides an historical background to agricultural production and strategies, this paper...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide details of recent developments in human‐robot interfacing technologies. Design/methodology/approach – This paper considers recently developed or emerging technologies which allow humans to interact with robots in novel ways. It first...

Purpose – This paper aims to provide an insight into the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in robotics. Design/methodology/approach – Following an introduction to AI, this paper provides an overview of the application of AI to robotics. Mobile robots are then discussed, together with the...

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 provide details of commercially available domestic robots and recent product developments and consider whether a significant boost in the robot population is imminent. Design/methodology/approach Following a short introduction, this paper first provides a brief...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into how augmented reality (AR) technologies are being applied to robotics. Design/methodology/approach Following an introduction and a brief historical background to AR, this first provides examples of AR applications in robot...