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neurobots

·May 7, 2025·5 min read

Robot Gender and Design Influence Customer Choices

New research reveals that service robots’ gendered characteristics can shape customer decisions in the hospitality industry. Robots with male-associated traits were more persuasive with women who had a lower sense of personal power, while customers with higher power felt less influenced.

This shows a robot holding a cup and watching a video.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 22, 2025·5 min read

AI Teaches Robots Tasks from a Single How-To Video

Researchers have developed RHyME, an AI-powered system that enables robots to learn complex tasks by watching a single human demonstration video. Traditional robots struggle with unpredictable scenarios and require extensive training data, but RHyME allows robots to adapt by drawing on previous video knowledge.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 6, 2025·5 min read

AI-Powered Brain Implant Lets Paralyzed Man Control Robotic Arm

A new brain-computer interface (BCI) has enabled a paralyzed man to control a robotic arm by simply imagining movements. Unlike previous BCIs, which lasted only a few days, this AI-enhanced device worked reliably for seven months.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 23, 2025·7 min read

AI Mimics Toddler-Like Learning to Unlock Human Cognition

A new AI model, based on the PV-RNN framework, learns to generalize language and actions in a manner similar to toddlers by integrating vision, proprioception, and language instructions. Unlike large language models (LLMs) that rely on vast datasets, this system uses embodied interactions to achieve compositionality while requiring less data and computational power.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 9, 2024·3 min read

What Makes Robots Feel Human? A New Scale Reveals the Secret

Researchers have developed a new scale to measure how human-like robots appear, identifying four key qualities: appearance, emotional capacity, social intelligence, and self-understanding. Robots lacking any of these traits risk being perceived as cold or unsettling, limiting their usefulness in customer service.

This shows the researcher holding the robot.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 2, 2024·6 min read

Tiny Walking Robots Advance Micro-Optics and Biological Research

Researchers have developed the smallest walking robots, measuring just 2 to 5 microns, capable of interacting with visible light for imaging and force measurement. These magnetically controlled robots can inch forward or swim through fluids while serving as diffraction elements, enabling super-resolution microscopy at scales previously unattainable.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 18, 2024·5 min read

Robots Help Unlock the Mystery of Human Sense of Self

A new study explores how robots can model and test aspects of the human sense of self, offering new insights into this complex phenomenon. Robots can simulate processes like body ownership and agency, or be used in experiments to study how humans perceive robots as social entities.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 12, 2024·4 min read

Robots Trained by Video: A Leap Toward Autonomous Surgery

For the first time, a robot has been trained to perform surgical procedures by watching videos of expert surgeons, marking a leap forward in robotic surgery. This breakthrough in "imitation learning" means that robots can learn complex tasks without needing to be programmed for every individual movement. By training on surgical footage, the robot replicated procedures with skill comparable to human surgeons, demonstrating its ability to adapt and even correct its actions autonomously.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 6, 2024·6 min read

Robot Deception: Some Lies Accepted, Others Rejected

A new study examined how humans perceive different types of deception by robots, revealing that people accept some lies more than others. Researchers presented nearly 500 participants with scenarios where robots engaged in external, hidden, and superficial deceptions in medical, cleaning, and retail settings. Participants disapproved most of hidden deceptions, such as a cleaning robot secretly filming, while external lies, like sparing a patient from emotional pain, were viewed more favorably.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 14, 2024·7 min read

AI-Powered Robot Navigates Home Using Language

esearchers have developed an AI system that guides robots using language-based instructions, improving navigation tasks without relying on extensive visual data. This method converts visual observations into text captions, allowing a language model to direct the robot's movements. While not outperforming vision-based systems, it excels in data-limited scenarios and combines well with visual inputs for better performance.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 13, 2024·5 min read

AI-Trained Exoskeletons Improve Movement and Save Energy

A new study details how AI and computer simulations train robotic exoskeletons to help users conserve energy while walking, running, and climbing stairs. This method eliminates the need for lengthy human-involved experiments and can be applied to various assistive devices.

This shows emoji faces and a person's hand.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·June 12, 2024·4 min read

Tactile Emoticons Boost Social Media Communication

Incorporating tactile emoticons into social media interactions enhances feelings of support and approval. Participants using a mock platform preferred receiving feedback through both visual and tactile cues over visual-only feedback. Tactile feedback, such as a stroke on the forearm, conveyed additional emotional context. The findings suggest touch can improve digital communication, informing future technology developments.