Opteran

Nature continues to offer solutions to autonomy and robotics challenges 🐜 Professor Barbara Webb, a member of Opteran's Academic Advisory Board and a pioneer in insect-inspired robotics, has co-led research on a prototype ‘hairy robotic gripper’ inspired by ant mandibles. By mimicking the way ants mechanically stabilize their grasp using internal jaw hairs, the prototype improved handling performance. “In tests with 30 household objects, the addition of ‘hairs’ increased the gripper’s grasp success rate from 64% to 90%.” The research, with Mohamed Sorour, is part of the project 'An Insect-inspired Approach to Robotic Grasping' at the The University of Edinburgh. #NaturalIntelligence #Robotics #Research #Ants

Great to see my work being shared by the likes of Boston Dynamics! I always dreamed of building a humanoid around this technology - a similar motion profile to a legged solution at a fraction of the cost and complexity. Given the recent humanoid boom perhaps this invention's time has now come!

European Robotics Forum 2025 in Stuttgart is now open. I'll be here for the full conference and looking to speak to any companies, investors, researchers about applying natural intelligence to solve problems in AGVs, AMRs, and autonomy in general. I'll be speaking at a panel in the workshop: - WS#60 Bioinspired Robotics for Bridging Natural and Artificial Intelligence. - Wednesday 16:00 - Room 14-16 Please get in touch or attend the session if you want to hear more about Opteran and our novel approach to autonomy #Opteran #ERF #robotics #naturalintelligence

Opteran CEO & Co-Founder David Rajan had the pleasure of delivering the industry keynote at the CAM innovators Day 2025, discussing the innovation shaping the UK’s connected and automated mobility ecosystem. The UK Government's AI Opportunities Action Plan sets an ambitious goal: to be AI makers, not takers. But what kind of intelligence should we be making? David challenged the assumption that autonomy must rely on data-driven AI - highlighting how the UK can lead by developing robust, efficient, natural intelligence for autonomous machines. A huge thank you to Zenzic, Paul Newman, and all the organisers for an inspiring day. #WhereCAMHappens #AI #Autonomy #NaturalIntelligence #AIOpportunitiesActionPlan

🐜 What can desert ants teach kidnapped robots? Desert ants navigate vast, featureless landscapes with pinpoint accuracy, despite having tiny brains and low-resolution vision. In Seville, Spain, Opteran’s Dr Michael Mangan studied how these insects solve the 'kidnapped robot problem'—a challenge in robotics where a machine must reorient after being displaced. In a world increasingly reliant on more data and greater resources, the natural world continues to show that autonomy can be both low-power and remarkably robust. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dp9y3jii #NaturalIntelligence #Autonomy #AI #Mobilerobots #Robots #Ants

🐜 What can desert ants teach kidnapped robots? Desert ants navigate vast, featureless landscapes with pinpoint accuracy, despite having tiny brains and low-resolution vision. In Seville, Spain, Opteran’s Dr Michael Mangan studied how these insects solve the 'kidnapped robot problem'—a challenge in robotics where a machine must reorient after being displaced. In a world increasingly reliant on more data and greater resources, the natural world continues to show that autonomy can be both low-power and remarkably robust. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dp9y3jii #NaturalIntelligence #Autonomy #AI #Mobilerobots #Robots #Ants

Does intelligence need to be artificial? Opteran’s Founder Science Officer, Professor James Marshall, will be speaking at the AI for Good Global Summit 2025. Today’s AI relies on vast data, endless training, and power-hungry data centres—at a significant environmental cost. But there’s another way. James will share how Natural Intelligence offers a radically different path—one that’s efficient, lightweight, and evolved for the real world. See the full speaker line-up here https://lnkd.in/dJfwsXpB #AIforGood #NaturalIntelligence #AI #Autonomy

What's ahead for mobile robots in 2025? From overcoming complexity to rethinking AI’s role in autonomy - here are the trends, challenges and opportunities we expect to see this year. #MobileRobots #Automation #AMR #AGV #AI #SLAM

Are insect brains the secret to energy efficient AI and robotics? Opteran, a company spun out from the The University of Sheffield, has reverse-engineered the insect brain to create algorithms that give robots, drones and even a Mars rover the ‘innate’ ability to navigate without the need for conventional computer hardware. Researchers at the University of Hertfordshire have created an animal-inspired algorithm that enables robots to decide future actions without direct instructions or human input. Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands is using neuromorphic AI, which mimics the energy-efficient way animal brains process information, to create tiny agile drones. “If drones are to operate autonomously, they need to be able to fly as long as possible without having to return to recharge, which is where this technology is going to really make a difference,” says Guido De Croon, professor in bio-inspired drones at TU Delft https://lnkd.in/ehRF7wF2 Image: Shutterstock