Robots
Eager punters offer to bankroll sex robot production 

Eager punters offer to bankroll sex robot production
And other stories from the stranger side of life
23 Jun 2021
Snake robots, farm protests and pet food

Snake robots, farm protests and pet food
What can we learn from the skin of sidewinders? Why are farmers descending on Delhi? And would your cat eat lab-grown mouse protein?
5 Feb 2021
Parks, mindful robots and selfish vaccines

Parks, mindful robots and selfish vaccines
Will offices give way to green spaces? Are robots on the verge of mastering empathy? And what’s gone wrong with the EU’s vaccine plan?
15 Jan 2021
Could squid teeth hold the secret to ‘self-healing’ robots?

Could squid teeth hold the secret to ‘self-healing’ robots?
Military scientists hope cephalopods could also be the secret to building ‘self-fixing’ uniforms
31 Jul 2020
£20m robotic dolphin could replace captive animals

£20m robotic dolphin could replace captive animals
Chinese ban on exotic creatures could see robot revolution
24 Jul 2020
Amazon creates ‘anti-robot vests’ to protect workers 

Amazon creates ‘anti-robot vests’ to protect workers
Hi-tech system is introduced a month after 24 workers are injured at one of the firm’s warehouses in the US
22 Jan 2019
Japanese robot hotel pulls plug on droid staff

Japanese robot hotel pulls plug on droid staff
More than half of the automated workforce has been fired following complaints
16 Jan 2019

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CES 2019 tech round-up: Intel, Apple, Samsung and more

CES 2019 tech round-up: Intel, Apple, Samsung and more
From 8K smart TVs to robots – the highlights from this year’s tech show
8 Jan 2019
Robots and ‘enhanced’ humans to fight future wars

Robots and ‘enhanced’ humans to fight future wars
Defence secretary warns of growing threat to UK posed by new technology
16 Oct 2018
Russian military testing ‘super-soldier’ exoskeleton

Russian military testing ‘super-soldier’ exoskeleton
Motorised body armour ‘lets soldier fire a machine gun one-handed’
28 Aug 2018
How a bionic penis works

How a bionic penis works
British man born without ‘manhood’ gets £50,000 penile implant
27 Jun 2018
Robot traffic cones ‘will cut roadworks queues’

Robot traffic cones ‘will cut roadworks queues’
Creators say remote-controlled bollards can move off motorways in less than a minute
8 Jun 2018
Can an AI programme become ‘psychopathic’? 

Can an AI programme become ‘psychopathic’?
The so-called Norman algorithm has a dark outlook on life thanks to Reddit
7 Jun 2018
Laser-powered flying robot insect takes flight

Laser-powered flying robot insect takes flight
Tiny bug-like droid could be used to help rescue people in disaster zones
16 May 2018
Robots assemble Ikea chair in under ten minutes

Robots assemble Ikea chair in under ten minutes
Loathe building flat-pack furniture? Androids are here to help
20 Apr 2018
Video: the robotic dog that can open doors

Video: the robotic dog that can open doors
Boston Dynamics’ updated SpotMini is smarter than ever
13 Feb 2018
Robots to replace one in five workers by 2030

Robots to replace one in five workers by 2030
Study reveals which UK constituencies have most at-risk jobs
17 Oct 2017
Could universal basic services stop ‘rise of robots’?

Could universal basic services stop ‘rise of robots’?
Experts at UCL say free services ‘more effective and politically attainable’ that redistributive payments
12 Oct 2017
Workplace robots can bring down pension age, says TUC

Workplace robots can bring down pension age, says TUC
Economic gains from technological revolution could help tackle the challenge of an ageing population
5 Sep 2017
Facebook shuts down experiment after AI invents own language

Facebook shuts down experiment after AI invents own language
Researchers close project after machines develop own way of communicating unintelligible to humans
1 Aug 2017
Twitter reacts to 'suicidal' security robot

Twitter reacts to 'suicidal' security robot
Support pours in for a Washington-based security droid that drowned itself
19 Jul 2017
Call for ban on child sex robots

Call for ban on child sex robots
Paedophiles could exploit robotic 'dolls', professor warns
5 Jul 2017
The Week Unwrapped podcast 13: Robots, eggs and Serbia

The Week Unwrapped podcast 13: Robots, eggs and Serbia
What if people vote to end democracy? Could you love a robot? Who won the war on Easter?
7 Apr 2017
Week in pictures: 15-21 October

Week in pictures: 15-21 October
From Rodrigo Duterte's China visit to Tracy Brabin's by-election win, these are the images of the last seven days
23 Oct 2016
UK 'unprepared for robot threat to jobs', say MPs

UK 'unprepared for robot threat to jobs', say MPs
Artificial intelligence is the future, says parliamentary committee, but we are still a long way from Star Wars
12 Oct 2016
AI teenage schoolgirl slips into deep depression

AI teenage schoolgirl slips into deep depression
Japanese engineers work to help suicidal bot blogger - and other tall tales
7 Oct 2016
Cow survives helicopter crash inferno

Cow survives helicopter crash inferno
Aircraft becomes entangled in animal's horns before catching fire - and other tall tales
20 Sep 2016
Robots 'will commit more crime than humans by 2040'

Robots 'will commit more crime than humans by 2040'
Expert warns droids could prompt 'sharp rise' in terror attacks
9 Sep 2016
Ministers to consider risk of robots taking over UK jobs

Ministers to consider risk of robots taking over UK jobs
Could the rapid growth in Artificial Intelligence put skilled jobs in jeopardy?
2 Sep 2015
The Pentagon's biggest challenge: teaching computers jazz

The Pentagon's biggest challenge: teaching computers jazz
US defence researchers are playing jazz to an AI project in the hope that it will learn how to improvise
11 Aug 2015
Synthetic muscle built from gold-plated onion skin

Synthetic muscle built from gold-plated onion skin
New discovery could be a 'valuable tool' for healthcare as well as the 'emerging world of soft robotics'
6 May 2015
Robocops brought in to direct the traffic in Kinshasa

Robocops brought in to direct the traffic in Kinshasa
'People don't respect the traffic police,' said one Congolese taxi driver. 'We should respect the robot'
5 Mar 2015
Korean housewife 'attacked' by robot vacuum cleaner

Korean housewife 'attacked' by robot vacuum cleaner
Paramedics called to rescue woman whose hair was eaten by household gadget as she slept
9 Feb 2015