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The sense of sight is arguably the most complex of the five senses. Take a few moments to consider, what if one day the world as you know it went black…   The ability to see is one of the most intricate processes of the human body. Unfortunately every day thousands of people suffer eye injury or are diagnosed with eye disease, taking away this priceless function.In this video Rob Spence, self-named “Eyeborg”, suffered a debilitating eye injury that left him with only one eye. Spence teamed up with engineers and was fitted with at prosthetic eye containing a wireless video camera. This sparked Spence’s interest in bionic implants and how close current technology is to reaching what once seemed like science fiction. For more information on emerging technology in retinal implants click here.

GimBall is another robot from EPFL’s Laboratory of Intelligent Systems that’s designed to withstand crashes. Powered by twin propellers and steered using fins, it uses a gyroscopic stabilization system to keep its balance. A spherical cage protects its inner workings from collisions, which means it can operate in cluttered environments without needing fragile detection sensors. The aim is to produce a robot that can operate in locations like a collapsed building, where it can ricochet through the rubble, relaying images to rescue workers via an onboard camera. Shop a variety of onboard cameras at oemcameras.com

A year ago, Boston Dynamics uploaded a video of their quadruped robot, Cheetah, hitting speeds of 29 mph on a treadmill. Cheetah couldn’t live up to its name, but certainly faster than a human. Back then, it was plugged in and supported by a boom. Not anymore. Cheetah’s off the treadmill and out on the streets. Equipped with a roll cage, an on board engine, and a new name—meet Cheetah’s robotic cousin, WildCat! WildCat is an early model for field testing. It sports a noisy combustion on board engine, not unlike early field tests on pack robot, AlphaDog. And though its roll cage looks robust and capable of taking a fall (as it does in the video), WildCat’s handlers are keeping a leash on it. The robot’s top speed, so far, is 16 mph. But it certainly doesn’t look slow. Enabled by an articulated spine and bio-mimetic stride, its two gaits—galloping and bounding—are smooth, as is its ability to turn is quite impressive. Eventually, WildCat’s speed and maneuverability will be put to use in “emergency response, humanitarian missions, or other useful military applications.” What other kinds of applications do you see WildCat being used for? For more information about WildCat visit their website at www.BostonDynamics.com or see more awesome robot videos here.

Wow! What’s more impressive than one very agile drone? How about a multitude of drones flying in different formations together! This video shows experiments performed with a team of nano quadrotors at the GRASP Lab, University of Pennsylvania. Vehicles developed by KMel Robotics. See more awesome nano quadrotor videos here

A research group from Tokyo’s Institute of Technology have created an amphibious snake robot, that moves by twisting its individual body segments like a snake. It moves on land and glides through water with built-in wheels and paddles to propel its weight. And its flexible joints allow for easy twisting and turning, while keeping dirt and water out. This impressive robot has a multitude of uses as it can easily move through any terrain, making it an excellent search and rescue or surveillance tool. Just don’t bring it into a public pool as you might cause widespread panic lol.

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Say hello to the impressive IRIS camera control system, combining the precision of modern robotics with the reach and flexibility needed to capture not just one technical shot, but all of them. It’s the ultimate camera control system for the professional filmmaker, put the camera where you want it, when you want it, over and over again. FLEXIBLE CONFIGURATION – Multiple robot models, remote heads, linear axes, floor and ceiling mounts PRECISION AND REPEATABILITY – +/- .06 mm at maximum speed, maximum reach, maximum payload SYNCHRONIZED MOTION AND CUES – Coordinate multiple robots and external hardware to the millisecond LENS AUTOMATION – Follow focus control and nodal point calibration routines Check out Bot & Dolly for more information on the IRIS system and its smaller cousin, the SCOUT.