Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto. Once ...

Part of the versatility of the human hand’s ability to pick up almost anything comes from being able to apply a gentle touch for frail or oddly-shaped objects. That’s something robots struggle with, ...

Researchers in the UK have created a robot tentacle small enough to reach deep into the lungs, where it could detect the first signs of cancer and terminate its cells - effectively treating patients ...

Robotic hand and claw-like grippers haven’t been able to achieve anything close to a human-like dexterity, making them a clumsy choice to pick up delicate or oddly shaped objects. Now, researchers at ...

A new underwater robot designed with a soft, tentacle-like arm could change the way offshore infrastructure is inspected and maintained. The 3.3-foot-long (one meter) robot was developed by the UK’s ...

If you’ve ever played the claw game, you probably never thought about the scientific applications of that arcade game designed to take your money. But engineers at Harvard University must have. A team ...

The gripper designed by engineers from Harvard side-steps the challenge of recreating the human hand by throwing a bunch of tentacles at the problem The gripper designed by engineers from Harvard side ...

Watching an octopus seize its prey has inspired researchers to develop a soft robotic tentacle, complete with suckers, that can be operated remotely with a ‘glove’ that fits over one finger 1. With ...