Who knew that the Roomba was such a talented little robot? Having conquered floors around the world and become the choice of transport for babies, the humble little robotic vacuum is moving on to bigger, more artsy aspirations: LED light painting.

Cleaning is a task many of us would rather avoid, but it becomes much easier if robotics can take over most of the action. The Roomba relieved us from the chore of vacuuming the living room, but like most vacuums,...

iRobot, well-known for the Roomba, and researchers at the University of Chicago are showing off their chemical robot, or chembot, which they are calling "the first demonstration of a completely soft, mobile robot using jamming as an enabling technology." What's...