Video Friday: Robots for Extreme Environments (19459000)
IEEE Spectrum ( ]robotics]has a weekly selection of amazing robotics videos. We also publish a weekly calendar with upcoming robotics events. Please submit your events to be included.
ICUAS 2025 (19459191) : 14-17 may 2025, CHARLOTTE N.C.
ICRA 2025 (19459191) : 19-23 MAY 2025, ATLANTA (19659006)
London Humanoids Summit: 29-30 May 20,25, LONDON (19659007)
IEEE RCAR 2025: 1-6 June 2025, TOYAMA, JAPAN
2025 Energy Drone & Robotics Summit (19459191) : 16-18 Jun 2025, HOUSTON (19659009)
RSS 2025– 21-25 June 2025 LOS ANGELES (19659010)
ETH Robotics Summer School: 21-27 June 2025, GENEVA
IAS 2025 (19459191) : 30 June-4 Jul 2025, GENOA ITALY (19659012)
ICRES 2025 () : 3-4 Jul 2025, PORTO PORTUGAL (19659013)
IEEE World Haptics (19459191) : 8-11 Jul 2025, SUWON SOUTH KOREAN
IFAC Symposium on Robotics (19459191) : 15-18 Jul 2025, PARIS (19659015)
RoboCup 2020– 15-21 July 2025 BAHIA, BRAZIL (
RO-MAN 2025 (19459191) : 25-29 Aug 2025, EINDHOVEN THE NETHERLANDS (19659017)
CLAWAR 2025 (19459191) : 5-7 Sept 2025, SHENZHEN (19659018)
CoRL 2025: 27-30 September 20,25, Seoul
IEEE Humanoids: 30 September-2 Octobre 2025, Seoul
World Robot Summit: 10-12 October 20,25, OSAKA JAPAN
Enjoy today’s videos with IROS 2025!
LYNX M20 is the first wheeled-legged industrial robot designed for hazardous environments and challenging terrains. Its lightweight design and extreme-environment durability allows it to conquer rugged mountain trails, muddy swamps and debris-strewn ruinous areas. It is a pioneering embodiment of intelligence in power inspections, emergency response, logistical exploration, and scientific exploration.
The latest OK Go video features a lot of robots.
Here’s more about how it was done. It was mostly done with arms from Universal Robots.
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OK Go
In spite of the significant interest in humanoid robots and their advancements, the majority of commercially available hardware is still high-cost, proprietary, and opaque within robotics communities. This lack of customization and accessibility hinders the development of humanoid technology and the growth of this field. Berkeley Humanoid Lite is an open-source robot that is designed to be customizable and accessible for the entire community.
This is the first time that I’ve seen an Atlas mounted on a pedestal.
Boston Dynamics.
[
NVIDIA
We adopt domestic robots (
Roombais an example of a robot that can help with mundane household chores. These robots are usually idle and only spend a short time performing their task. Our work explores the untapped potential of domestic robotics in ubiquitous computing. We focus on how they can support and improve modern lifestyles.
When I see a robot that is soft, I always ask myself, “Okay but how soft is it?” And there’s usually a hidden pump or other device off-camera. It’s always interesting to see soft robotics actuators like these, which use phase-changing water.
[
Nature Communicationsvia
Thank you, Pedro! Collaborative Robotics Laboratory at the University of Coimbra ()
The practice of pruning is essential for orchards. Robot manipulators were developed to automate this repetitive task that requires seasonal labor and specialized skills. Our work addresses a behavior planning challenge for robotic pruning systems, which involves a multilevel problem in environments with collisions. In this article, the authors formulate the problem of a high-dimensional robot arm in a scenario of pruning, investigate the inherent redundancies within the system, and propose an integrated pruning workflow that integrates perception and modeling with holistic planning.
[
Paper ]via[
IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine ( )
Thank you, Bram!
Watch the video
Waymo Driver reacts quickly to potential hazards, avoiding collisions with other road-users and making streets safer where it operates.
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Waymo]
In this video, we show some of the first testing footage of HARRI. This next-generation proprioceptive robot manipulator was developed at the Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory at University of California Los Angeles. HARRI is designed for dynamic and force critical tasks. It uses quasi-direct drive actuators with advanced control strategies, such as real-time model-predictive control (MPC), to achieve high-speed and precise manipulation in unstructured and human-centric environments.
[
Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory ( ]]
Building upon reinforcement learning for natural gait we’ve increased the challenge for Adam. We’ve introduced complex terrain in training so that he can adapt to real-world surfaces. Adam can handle steep slopes and start-stop inclines with ease.
ABB Robotics has launched a new restaurant concept in Los Gatos called BurgerBots. The automated kitchen is designed to deliver perfectly-cooked, made-to order burgers, every time. It uses ABB???s IRB 360 FlexiblePicker.
YuMi collaborative robotic system to assemble meals quickly and accurately, while accurately monitoring stock and freeing up staff to focus on the customer experience.
This little guy is so bouncy!
General purpose humanoid robotics are expected interact intuitively with people, enabling seamless integration in daily life. Natural language is the most accessible medium to achieve this goal. This work presents a language-directed, end-to-end policy for real-world humanoid body control.
It’s not clear if this is a robot or not, but it’s a pretty cool cable car, powered by infrared.
[
North Carolina State University
Robert Playter (CEO of Boston Dynamics) discusses the future robotics in light of increasing competition and advances in artificial Intelligence.
AI has become a major force in the world of technology and is reshaping creative thinking, ownership and social interactions. In episode 7 Penn Engineering’s Innovation & Impact Podcast, Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering, and professor of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics, speaks to Meta’s chief AI Scientist and Turing Award Winner Yann LeCun, about the journey of AI and how we define intelligence.
LYNX M20 is the first wheeled-legged industrial robot designed for hazardous environments and challenging terrains. Its lightweight design and extreme-environment durability allows it to conquer rugged mountain trails, muddy swamps and debris-strewn ruinous areas. It is a pioneering embodiment of intelligence in power inspections, emergency response, logistical exploration, and scientific exploration.
OK Go
In spite of the significant interest in humanoid robots and their advancements, the majority of commercially available hardware is still high-cost, proprietary, and opaque within robotics communities. This lack of customization and accessibility hinders the development of humanoid technology and the growth of this field. Berkeley Humanoid Lite is an open-source robot that is designed to be customizable and accessible for the entire community.
Boston Dynamics.
NVIDIA
We adopt domestic robots (
Roombais an example of a robot that can help with mundane household chores. These robots are usually idle and only spend a short time performing their task. Our work explores the untapped potential of domestic robotics in ubiquitous computing. We focus on how they can support and improve modern lifestyles.
Nature Communicationsvia
Thank you, Pedro! Collaborative Robotics Laboratory at the University of Coimbra ()
The practice of pruning is essential for orchards. Robot manipulators were developed to automate this repetitive task that requires seasonal labor and specialized skills. Our work addresses a behavior planning challenge for robotic pruning systems, which involves a multilevel problem in environments with collisions. In this article, the authors formulate the problem of a high-dimensional robot arm in a scenario of pruning, investigate the inherent redundancies within the system, and propose an integrated pruning workflow that integrates perception and modeling with holistic planning.
Paper ]via[
IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine ( )
Watch the video
Waymo Driver reacts quickly to potential hazards, avoiding collisions with other road-users and making streets safer where it operates.
Waymo]
In this video, we show some of the first testing footage of HARRI. This next-generation proprioceptive robot manipulator was developed at the Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory at University of California Los Angeles. HARRI is designed for dynamic and force critical tasks. It uses quasi-direct drive actuators with advanced control strategies, such as real-time model-predictive control (MPC), to achieve high-speed and precise manipulation in unstructured and human-centric environments.
Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory ( ]]
Building upon reinforcement learning for natural gait we’ve increased the challenge for Adam. We’ve introduced complex terrain in training so that he can adapt to real-world surfaces. Adam can handle steep slopes and start-stop inclines with ease.
ABB Robotics has launched a new restaurant concept in Los Gatos called BurgerBots. The automated kitchen is designed to deliver perfectly-cooked, made-to order burgers, every time. It uses ABB???s IRB 360 FlexiblePicker.
YuMi collaborative robotic system to assemble meals quickly and accurately, while accurately monitoring stock and freeing up staff to focus on the customer experience.
General purpose humanoid robotics are expected interact intuitively with people, enabling seamless integration in daily life. Natural language is the most accessible medium to achieve this goal. This work presents a language-directed, end-to-end policy for real-world humanoid body control.
North Carolina State University
Robert Playter (CEO of Boston Dynamics) discusses the future robotics in light of increasing competition and advances in artificial Intelligence.
AI has become a major force in the world of technology and is reshaping creative thinking, ownership and social interactions. In episode 7 Penn Engineering’s Innovation & Impact Podcast, Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering, and professor of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics, speaks to Meta’s chief AI Scientist and Turing Award Winner Yann LeCun, about the journey of AI and how we define intelligence.
