Research
Frontier robotics research: arXiv cs.RO papers, embodied AI, VLA models, manipulation, navigation and learning systems.
Frontier robotics research: arXiv cs.RO papers, embodied AI, VLA models, manipulation, navigation and learning systems.
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Robot Talk Episode 151 – Robots to study the ocean, with Simona Aracri
Claire chatted to Simona Aracri from National Research Council of Italy about innovative robot designs for oceanography and environmental monitoring. Simona Ara…
Gradient-based planning for world models at longer horizons
GRASP is a new gradient-based planner for learned dynamics (a “world model”) that makes long-horizon planning practical by (1) lifting the trajectory into virtu…
Robot Talk Episode 154 – Visual navigation in insects and robots, with Andrew Philippides
Claire chatted to Andrew Philippides from the University of Sussex about what we can learn from ants and bees to improve robot navigation. Andrew Philippides is…
New understanding of insect flight points way to stable flapping-wing robots
By David Nutt The way bugs and birds flap their wings may look effortless, but the dynamics that keep them aloft are dizzyingly complex and difficult to quantif…
Robot Talk Episode 155 – Making aerial robots smarter, with Melissa Greeff
Claire chatted to Melissa Greeff from Queen’s University about autonomous navigation and learning for drones. Melissa Greeff is an Assistant Professor in …
RoboChem Flex: democratisation of the autonomous synthesis robot
Image credit: HIMS / Nature Synthesis. In a paper published in Nature Synthesis, researchers led by Professor Timothy Noël of the University of Amsterdam’s Van …
Global robotics technology roadmap
Deborah Lupton / Pop Chips / Licenced by CC-BY 4.0. Henrik I Christensen, Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at University of California San Diego…
Robot Talk Episode 159 – Robot sensing and manipulation, with Maria Koskinopoulou
Claire chatted to Maria Koskinopoulou from Heriot-Watt University about autonomous robotic manipulators for surgery, industry, and beyond. Maria Koskinopoulou i…
Congratulations to the #AAMAS2026 best paper award winners
The AAMAS 2026 best paper awards were presented at the 25th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, which took place from 25-29 Ma…
Daimon Robotics and Galbot jointly launches RobOmni for benchmarking tactile perception and dexterous manipulation
Embodied AI is evolving from vision-centric perception toward Physical AI. The post Daimon Robotics and Galbot jointly launches RobOmni for benchmarking tactile…
Effort to establish a National Commission on Robotics advances in Congress
As the proposed National Commission on Robotics advances, industry leaders continue to call for more unified U.S. policy. The post Effort to establish a Nationa…
CAST: Counterfactual Labels Improve Instruction Following in Vision-Language-Action Models
arXiv:2508.13446v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Generalist robots should be able to understand and follow user instructions. Despite providing a powerful ar…
HandCept: A Visual-Inertial Fusion Framework for Accurate Proprioception in Dexterous Hands
arXiv:2505.08213v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: As robotics progresses toward general manipulation, dexterous hands are becoming increasingly critical. Howe…
A Survey of Robotic Navigation and Manipulation with Physics Simulators in the Era of Embodied AI
arXiv:2505.01458v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Navigation and manipulation are core capabilities in Embodied AI, but training agents to perform them direct…
Geometric Formulation of Unified Force-Impedance Control on SE(3) for Robotic Manipulators
arXiv:2504.17080v3 Announce Type: replace Abstract: In this paper, we present an impedance control framework on the SE(3) manifold, which enables force tracking…
Rod models in continuum and soft robot control: a review
arXiv:2407.05886v3 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Continuum and soft robots can transform automation tasks requiring compliant interaction in constrained or u…
RAPTOR: Rapid Aerial Pickup and Transport of Objects by Robots
arXiv:2203.03018v3 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Rapid aerial grasping through robots can lead to many applications that utilize fast and dynamic picking and…
On-sky demonstration of reinforcement learning for adaptive optics control
arXiv:2606.10771v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Reinforcement learning (RL)-based algorithms have recently emerged as a promising approach for adaptive optics…
Baseline-Free Policy Optimization for Neural Combinatorial Optimization
arXiv:2606.10321v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Neural combinatorial optimization (NCO) trains autoregressive policies to solve routing problems. The standard…
SHAPO: Sharpness-Aware Policy Optimization for Safe Exploration
arXiv:2606.10228v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Safe exploration is a prerequisite for deploying reinforcement learning (RL) agents in safety-critical domains…
Generalized-CVO: Fast and Correspondence-Free Local Point Cloud Registration with Second Order Riemannian Optimization
arXiv:2606.10019v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: We propose a fast and correspondence-free local point cloud registration method that leverages geometric surfa…
Co-GLANCE: Uncertainty-Aware Active Perception for Heterogeneous Robot Teaming
arXiv:2606.09919v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Perceptual uncertainty is a central challenge for heterogeneous robot teams operating in unstructured outdoor …
Equanimity in HRI: Applying Calm Technology Principles to Human-Robot Interaction
arXiv:2606.09836v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: This paper explores how {\textit{Calm Technology}} can be integrated into Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), with …
SAFE-Pruner: Semantic Attention-Guided Future-Aware Token Pruning for Efficient Vision-Language-Action Manipulation
arXiv:2605.29662v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Real-time inference of vision-language-action (VLA) models is essential for robotic control. While visual toke…
TacForeSight: Force-Guided Tactile World Model for Contact-Rich Manipulation
arXiv:2606.11184v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Contact-rich manipulation requires robots to continuously perceive and regulate evolving physical interactions u…
JOIN: Anchor-Grasp-Conditioned Joining via Opposition, Inference, and Navigation for Bimanual Assistive Manipulation
arXiv:2606.11151v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Assistive mobility and manipulation platforms have received increasing attention as a means of restoring indepen…
RoboNaldo: Accurate, Stable and Powerful Humanoid Soccer Shooting via Motion-Guided Curriculum Reinforcement Learning
arXiv:2606.11092v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Elite humanoid soccer shooting requires whole-body stability, high-impulse whole-body interactions, and accuracy…
A Distributed Multi-UGV Exploration Framework With Loop-Aware Planning and Descriptor-Aided Localization in Resource-Limited Environments
arXiv:2606.11088v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Robust and efficient cooperative exploration with multiple unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) in unknown, GPSdenied…
Generation of Diverse and Functional Robot Designs using Superquadrics Parametrisation and Quality-Diversity
arXiv:2606.11037v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Generative design of robots requires navigating a vast search-space, encompassing physical configurations and be…
A Spiking Neural Architecture for Coordinating Arm and Locomotor Control
arXiv:2606.11034v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) coupled with neuromorphic hardware offer energy-efficient solutions for humanoid …