Stephanie Woodman

Abstract Autonomous robots adopt navigation-aided hierarchical reconstruction to visually map the seafloor. SIGN UP FOR THE SCIENCEADVISER NEWSLETTER The latest news, commentary, and research, free to your inbox daily Although large areas of the seafloor remain unexplored, mapping with autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) is challenging. The harsh conditions of the seafloor can lead to positional and tracking errors that affect mapping techniques.

Editor’s summary Restoration of dexterous motor control after an amputation is challenging in the field of prosthetics and often relies on transduction of electrical signals from the brain to control bionic limbs. Gherardini et al. have now developed a myokinetic interface involving the implantation of magnets within muscle groups of the residual limb of a transradial amputee and a prosthesis device controlled wirelessly.

Editor’s summary Commercial and open-source electronic circuit boards are widely used for controlling robots; however, their rigid form makes it difficult to embed them into soft robots. Here, Woodman et al. developed a generalized method for converting multilayered circuits into a soft, stretchable form. Commercial circuits were recreated by patterning biphasic liquid metal onto tacky films, and their continued operation was demonstrated during high-strain cycling.