🦿 Dancing droids: Scientists teach humanoid robot sweet moves, China's deep-sea tank sets new record, Scientists find biology hack to 4x electric aircraft battery life

Researchers at the University of California have trained a humanoid robot to perform a variety of expressive actions. This robot can now dance, wave, high-five, and hug, all while maintaining a steady stride on different surfaces.

The robot’s upper body is trained for gestures, while the lower body maintains balance, allowing the robot to perform fluid, realistic actions.

Currently the robot’s movements are controlled by a gaming controller operated by a human, dictating speed and direction. For more on this development, check out today’s Must-Read.

🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on jobs.interestingengineering.com:

> Experienced Software Engineer - Scaled Access
> Embedded Firmware Design

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MUST READ

🦿 Dancing droids: Scientists teach humanoid robot sweet moves, high-fives, hugs 

According to the team, the humanoid robot’s agility and enhanced expressiveness will improve human-robot interactions in scenarios including factory assembly lines, hospitals, and homes.

The researchers used large-scale human motion capture data in a reinforcement learning framework to train the robot. Additionally, they leveraged ExBody (Expressive Whole-Body Control) to allow the robot’s legs follow a given speed while the upper body imitates human motions.

“The main goal here is to show the ability of the robot to do different things while it’s walking from place to place without falling,” said Xiaolong Wang, a professor at UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

🤿 China’s deep-sea tank dives record 13,460 feet, mines 441 pounds of minerals

China has made a splash with its new deep-sea mining vehicle, Kaituo 2. Developed by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, this tank-like machine has set a national depth record in the western Pacific Ocean.

The 14-ton Kaituo 2 can navigate steep underwater mountains, cut through seabed minerals and collect valuable resources. What’s even more remarkable is that the underwater robot can do these at depths of up to 6,000 meters.

During its trials, the Kaituo 2 gathered over 200 kilograms of minerals containing copper, cobalt, nickel, and manganese.

🔋 Scientists find biology hack to quadruple electric aircraft battery life

Researchers are using modern biology methods to improve battery performance for electric aircraft. While current batteries work well for road transport, flying demands a battery that can provide both intense power for takeoff and sustained power for flight duration.

The team focused on lithium-ion batteries and discovered that the issue lies with the cathode rather than the anode. They created a protective coating around the cathode by mixing certain salts in the electrolyte. Besides enhancing its performance, this electrolyte technology also makes it resistant to corrosion.

The team is now working to build a new battery of 100 kWh specifically for electric aircraft to carry out a test flight as early as 2025.

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