from microrobots interacting with human cells to wearable skeletons which let you sustain enormous amount of weight. throughout the year we reported on a number of technological inventions which affected any field of our life; we have seen how an AI-powered android is trying to cope with japan’s labor shortage, or how an underwater autonomous vehicle is facilitating deepsea mining.

we continue our annual round up of the year’s BIG stories with a look at the TOP 10 robotic and artificial intelligence stories featured on designboom in 2021.

LIFELIKE ROBOT NURSE ‘GRACE’ WILL BRING EMOTIONAL CARE TO ISOLATED PATIENTS

‘built to care,’ grace the robot nurse wants everyone she meets to feel relaxed and comfortable. grace was built by hanson robotics to assist doctors and nurses while expressing an illusion of life. the team introduces her as a new sister to sophia — perhaps the world’s most famous android who, in saudi arabia, was the first robot to be granted citizenship in a country. born in 2021 following the coronavirus pandemic, grace will lend a caring hand for the elderly and those isolated with COVID-19.

SHAPE-CHANGING MICROROBOTS DELIVER CHEMO DRUGS DIRECTLY TO CANCER CELLS

the fish microrobot has an adjustable mouth that opened and closed

researchers have developed a way of transporting chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells via microrobots. at present, most patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment receive the cancer-killing drugs either intravenously or orally, both of which cause a range of unpleasant side effects. this new technology, tested by jiawen li, li zhang, dong wu and colleagues, could revolutionize cancer treatment by delivering drugs only where they’re needed.

HAVE MORE PHYSICAL FREEDOM BY WEARING ROBOTS!

currently under development by panasonic subsidiary atoun, a japan-based company specialized in wearable robots, koma 1.5 is an innovative machine designed for heavy labor. this android is a step toward overcoming human physical limits. even though the available videos do not yet show impressive weight lifting, it is intended to help carrying hefty objects. featuring two modes – buggy and two-legged – this strength and movement enhancing robot can operate in many different conditions.

TOYOTA SHOWED ITS AI-EQUIPPED BASKETBALL ROBOT AT THE TOKYO OLYMPICS 2020

back in 2018, the toyota engineering society created a robot equipped with artificial intelligence and an ability to shoot hoops that put professional basketball players to shame. named CUE, the robot can shoot with nearly 100-percent accuracy at short distances.

WATCH THE WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED HUMANOID ATLAS ROBOT BY BOSTON DYNAMICS IN ACTION AND FALLING

boston dynamics revealed two impressive behind-the-scenes videos, capturing their altas robot in action. they demonstrate how it maneuvers, leaps, somersaults, and backflips, as well as falls over and crushes the ground. pushing the humanoid robot to its limits, the company’s engineers developed new movements animated by human behaviors, exploring the next generation of mobility, perception, and athletic skills. through the parkour action, we see atlas robots completing the complex obstacle course almost flawlessly.

BIG + THE METALS COMPANY DEVELOP UNDERWATER ROBOTS FOR NEXT-GENERATION DEEPSEA MINING

all images courtesy of the metals company.

bjarke ingels group (BIG) has partnered with the metals company, a vancouver-based seafloor polymetallic nodules exploration firm, to develop a new generation of both onshore and offshore facilities, underwater robotic vehicles, and other waterborne vessels that will help facilitate deepsea mining. the newly proposed designs will help reshape conventional battery production and push it towards a net-zero-carbon future, by extracting metals from the seafloor.

WORLD’S FIRST-EVER REMOTE TATTOO NEEDLED BY ROBOT ARM VIA 5G NETWORK

in order to promote the speed, reliability and low latency of its new 5G network, t-mobile netherlands has developed ‘the impossible tattoo‘: world’s first-ever remote tattoo, drawn by a 5G-powered robot. the tattoo was needled into the skin of actress stijn fransen, by a robot arm being controlled by tattoo artist wes thomas in another location. the process was recorded and showcased in an impressive three-minute documentary-style film.

AUTOMATIC HARVESTING ROBOT SEEKS TO SOLVE JAPAN’S LABOR SHORTAGE PROBLEM

robot camera recognizes agricultural products | image courtesy of AGRIST

japanese company AGRIST is developing a farm robot that seeks to solve the problem of labor shortage in agricultural harvesting. developed in collaboration with the farmers of shintomi town, miyazaki prefecture, where agriculture is flourishing, the automatic bell pepper harvesting robot L weights 16kg and can operate continuously for four hours with one battery charge. contrary to most existing robots in the sector, which run on the ground, L moves on a wire that is installed inside the greenhouse. this eliminates the need for a rail on the ground, and allows for a simplified construction and easier overall operation.

CHINESE RESEARCHERS DEVELOP A RIDERLESS AUTONOMOUS BICYCLE

a team of researchers from tsinghua university in china has developed an autonomous bike that can balance itself, swerve to avoid obstacles, detect and follow targets, and respond to voice commands. the riderless bicycle works using an electronic chip called the tianjic chip, which integrates two approaches to artificial general intelligence (AGI): computer-science-oriented and neuroscience-oriented.

INTERVIEW WITH THE CREATOR OF AI-DA, THE LIFE-SIZE HUMANOID ROBOT ARTIST MAKING SELF-PORTRAITS WITHOUT A SELF

Ai-Da, the world’s first ultra-realistic robot artist, can draw, paint, engage as a performance artist and participate in lively discussion. as a machine with AI capabilities, Ai-Da — named after ada lovelace, the pioneering female scientist and mathematician — is a composite persona comprising a wide range of different computer programs, robotics, silicone, and human influences. she has been devised by gallery director aidan meller, and features a realistic silicone face designed by researcher lucy seal, digital artist alex kafousssias and 3D designer tim milward to make her appear alive with expression, enthusiasm, and even imagination. meanwhile, a robotic arm developed by university of leeds school of electronic and electrical engineering students salah al abd and ziad abass, enables her to hold a pencil. the duo implemented smart algorithms that used computer vision to analyze who Ai-Da sees, then developed a control system that produced a path for her arm to follow based on her interpretation.