There have been so many fascinating advances in robotics this year; this presentation focuses on just a few of them.

1. Robotics Innovations
of 2016
BY NICK YATES

2. Leka
Leka is a rolling robot currently being
developed for children in the Autism spectrum
and with other developmental disorders.
Leka interacts with the child by playing games
and communicating with the child, in hopes of
helping to build confidence, a sense of safety,
and improved motor skills.
http://leka.io/

3. Foldable Droid
Inspired by Japanese origami, these foldable robots are
meant to be ingested by patients that need stomach
surgery. This outside of this minimally invasive
innovation is made from pig intestines, so it will easily
dissolve in the patient's stomach. The tiny robot would
be able to conduct small surgical procedures in the
stomach once ingested.
This is still being developed and will need several years
of trials before it ever shows up at your local hospital,
but it could revolutionize how surgery is conducted in
the health care industry.
http://www.livescience.com/54851­ingestible­robot­could­mend­stomachs.html

4. Rubik's Cube Record
Most people can't even solve a Rubik's Cube, even
though most of the time it only takes 20 movements for
it to be solved. The Sub1 Movement robot recently
solved the Rubik's cube at the fastest time: 0.637
seconds.
This is 10 times faster than any human could solve it. The
robot's sensors detected the colors and moved them
into place with its 6 arms.
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2016/11/has­this­robot­just­set­a­new­
rubik%E2%80%99s­cube­world­record­450477

5. Robotic "Mermaid"
Scuba diving is an exciting sport, but when it
comes to exploring underwater wrecks, it can be
downright dangerous for a human. OceanOne is
an underwater robot that is controlled by
scientists that are safely above the water.
OceanOne recently explored an underwater
wreck in the Mediterranean Sea that could not
physically be visited by a human diver.
http://cs.stanford.edu/group/manips/ocean­one.html

6. World's Tiniest Engine
Last, but not least, scientists have created an
engine so tiny that it could one day power
microscopic robots. The engine is about the
size of a complex molecule, or one
nanometer across. A single nanometer is one
billionth of a meter.
These engines are still a work in progress as
scientists say they move at a very slow
pace.
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/little­ants­researchers­build­the­worlds­tiniest­engine

7. This year was filled with
many history­making
robotics innovations and
record­breaking moments in
the technology of robots.
Scientists and engineers
around the world are
involved in these incredible
feats of science.