Communities

Remember the cute robot from the 2008 Pixar film WALL-E? The reality of a robot companion with emotional expression might not be such a far-off fantasy, after researchers at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the Honda Research Institute (HRI) collaborated to design a personal robot with the explicit intention of ‘bringing joy’.

The NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act (ALRA) was passed in 1983 and in the three decades since then Aboriginal Land Councils have accumulated more than 80,000 hectares of land valued at over $2 billion. Now, for the first time, a study led by Professor Heidi Norman is looking at how the Aboriginal community perceive the benefits of land repossession under the Act.

Australian researchers are investigating whether 3D-printing technology could help make food both safe and appetising for people with swallowing disorders or ‘dysphagia’.