2022
- Carnegie Mellon University: Open-source software gives a leg up to robot research - Article, also featured in IEEE Spectrum Video Friday, Weekly Robotics, and others
- Carnegie Mellon University: Roboticists Go Off Road To Compile Data That Could Train Self-Driving ATVs - Press Release, also featured in IEEE Spectrum Video Friday
- IEEE Spectrum: A First Small Step Toward a Lego-Size Humanoid Robot - Article and quote, also featured in Weekly Robotics
- Carnegie Mellon University: CMU Research Earns Top Honors at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation - Press Release
2021
- ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Division: ASME DSCD Podcast Series: Guest Prof. Aaron Johnson - Podcast interview
- IEEE Spectrum - Automation: The Cheetah's Fluffy Tail Points the Way for Robots With High-Speed Agility - Also featured in: TechCrunch, Interesting Engineering, and TechXplore
2020
- IEEE Spectrum - Automation: Supporting Black Scholars in Robotics - Article written with Prof. Henny Admoni and Prof. Carlotta Berry
- Venture Beat: How the pandemic is influencing robotics research - Article
- Carnegie Mellon University: Johnson received NSF CAREER Award - Press Release
- IEEE Spectrum - Automation: How Roboticists (and Robots) Have Been Working from Home - Article and quote
- Carnegie Mellon University: Making tracks in the desert - Press Release. Also featured in the NASA Research Park Post
2019
- Carnegie Mellon University: Pushing Robotics Uphill - Press Release
- Future Tech Podcast: Designing Robots That Meet the Challenges of the Real World - Podcast interview
- IEEE Spectrum - Automation: T-RHex Is a Hexapod Robot With Microspines on Its Feet - Article on student class project, also featured in: Hackaday, CNET, Digital Trends, and Tech Xplore.
- Carnegie Mellon University: Johnson wins ARO Young Investigator Award - Press Release
2018
- IEEE Spectrum - Automation: MiniRHex Makes Wiggly-Legged Unstoppability Tiny and Affordable - Article and interview on MiniRHex.
- Hackster.io: You Can Build the Capable and Flippin’ Cute MiniRHex Robot for Just $200 - Article on MiniRHex.
- Ozobot: How Robots and Tech Keep Animals Healthy, Safe, and Happy - Article
- IEEE Spectrum - Automation: Video Friday - featuring the video 24-775 Robot Design and Experimentation: Student Projects and student team videos
- A lot of excitement for the student team I advised for the NASA RASC-AL Mars Ice Challenge:
- Carnegie Mellon University: Students Build Ice-Drilling Robot To Find Water on Mars - Press Release
- TribLIVE: CMU team finalist for NASA's Mars Ice Challenge to drill for water on Mars - Article
- Pittsburgh Business Times: CMU, WVU teams finalists in 2018 Mars Ice Challenge - Article
- NASA 360: NASA's Mars Ice Challenge Day 1, Part 2 - Live video coverage with student interview
- Carnegie Mellon University: Meeting of the Minds a "Quintessential Carnegie Mellon Event" - Press Release featuring student Dhruv Khurana and Minitaur
- Science 360: Robots that can go anywhere in the world - Video and interview
2017
- IEEE Spectrum - Automation: Video Friday - featuring the video Robots That Can Go Anywhere in the World
- ASME Mechanical Engineering Magazine: A leg up on robomechanics - Article and interview
- Recode: Robots copy their coolest moves from animals - Article and interview
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: CMU and Tata Consultancy Services partner for the "4th Industrial Revolution" - Article on TCS groundbreaking that featured XRL delivering a brick to the ceremony and my student, Catherine Pavlov, representing the department. See also: CMU Press Release
2016
- CMU Mechanical Engineering: Robomechanics: Aaron Johnson’s robotic zoo - Press release about the creation of the Robomechanics Lab
- Robotics Tomorrow: Seven Walking Robots - featuring X-RHex
- The Washington Post:
Robots could eventually replace soldiers in warfare. Is that a good thing? - Article written with Vivek Wadhwa.
- The article also appeard in: The Huffington Post, Singularity Hub, and others.
- The article was covered and discussed in many venues including The Armstrong and Getty Show (syndicated radio talkshow), Future Left Podcast, Reddit, and more.
2015
- IEEE Spectrum - Automation: Video Friday - featuring two projects I contributed to: Jerboa leaping and HERB sorting blocks
- Make - Rockstar Robots: Boston Dynamics’ Crazy-Legged RHex - featuring Leaping behaviors and X-RHex
2014
- IEEE Spectrum - Automaton: Video Friday: RHex Pronking, … - featuring XRL pronking, presented at an RSS workshop
- Penn News: Robotics at the University of Pennsylvania - featuring parkour behaviors
- Maxon Precision Motors: Hexapedal Robot - featuring X-RHex
2013
- The Daily Pennsylvanian: We know what you engineered last summer… - featuring XRL
- More excitement about RHex, and in particular the parkour behaviors introduced at ICRA:
- Wall Street Journal News Hub: All-Terrain Robot, or Overexcited Puppy? - Live interview with Aaron Johnson.
- The Associated Press: Penn researchers strive for a more athletic robot - Syndicated article.
- The Associated Press: Univ. of Pennsylvania’s Jumping, Climbing Robot - Syndicated video including interview with Aaron Johnson.
- Telegraph: The flipping hexapod robot that can climb stairs and jump obstacles - Alternate version of the AP video.
- CNN.com What’s Next Blog: Met RHex – the curvy-legged, leaping robot
- Technical.ly Philly: Soldier of the Future: this Penn robot can jump and climb
- BuzzFeed: 8 Robots That Will Haunt Your Soul - Compilation video
- Eye Opener: Meet RHex, The Parkour Robot - Syndicated video, including on Huffington Post and AOL
- Red Orbit: All-Terrain ‘Parkour Robot’ RHex Capable Of Jumping, Climbing
- RHex the Parkour Robot video released. Here are some highlighted stories about it:
- UPenn: A Robot That Jumps, Flips, and Does Pull-ups - Official press release
- IEEE Spectrum - Automation: RHex Does Parkour All Over UPenn - Including an interview with Aaron Johnson
- Computerworld: Researchers build jumping, flipping, hand-standing robot - Including an interview with Aaron Johnson
- The Atlantic: Hardcore Parkour (With Robots)
- Slate: “Parkour Robot” Jumps Around, Other Robots Roll Eyes
- Fast Company - Co.EXIST Blog: This Versatile Robot Can Climb Just About Anywhere
- Gizmag: RHex robot shows off Parkour moves - Also covering XRL in general and terrain identification (and featured on Slashdot)
- Kotaku: Super-Cute Robot Performs Adorable Parkour - Along with Gawker Media sites Gizmodo and io9
- Engadget: RHex robot uses leaping ability to do ‘Parkour’
- CNET: Leaping parkour robot is cute and a little creepy
- Boing Boing: Acrobatic robot with parkour moves
- Huffington Post UK : RHex Robot Does Parkour And Looks Weirdly Cute
- Mashable: Jumping, Swimming, Climbing Robot Will Blow You Away — Collection of clips including leaping, reactive behaviors, as well as Boston Dynamics and Aqua versions of RHex.
- At ICRA 2013, several videos of RHex leaping were released:
- IEEE Spectrum - Automaton: This Robot’s Acrobatic Leaps Are the Coolest Thing You’ll See Today
- Gizmodo: Does This Acrobatic Robot Have Olympic Aspirations?
- Engadget: X-RHex Lite robot leaps across gaps in a single bound
- Phys.org:The RHex takes a leap at robotics conference
- Vsauce: Mind Blow #64 - Compilation video
- The Engineer: A series of leaps for robot-kind
- Nikkei: Video
- imgur: This Robot Does Some High Jumps — now turned into a GIF, posted on several sites 1,2.
2012
- The Daily Pennsylvanian: Engineering lab develops bug-like robots - Interview with Aaron Johnson
- The Naked Scientist - Radio interview with Aaron Johnson on tails.
- A new tail for XRL was introduced at CLAWAR 2012, in collaboration with the Poly-PEDAL Lab:
- IEEE Spectrum - Automaton: XRL Hexapod Robot Gets a Tail, Learns to Use It (featured on Slashdot)
- Wired: Robot Uses Its Tail To Land On Its Feet, Just Like A Cat
- Engadget: X-RHex Lite robot grows a tail, always lands on its feet
- Huffington Post - UK: Robots With Tails Can Right Themselves In Mid-Air
- Fast Company: This Week In Bots:Six Legs Plus One Tail
- Phys.org: XRL robot uses tail for easy landing on springy feet
- Geek: X-RHex robot uses a tail to always land on its feet
- Ubergizmo: X-RHex Lite robot has a tail which is not vestigial
2011
- Singularity Hub: This Robot Can Learn To Run Anywhere, Just Try and Stop It! — Article on a variety of RHex robots including X-RHex, Desert RHex, and proprioceptive behavior on EduBot
- X-RHex released, an updated version of RHex developed through a team effort in Kod*lab:
- IEEE Spectrum - Automaton: X-RHex was one of the top 10 videos of the month.
- Fast Company: Meet the Half-Wheeled Military Insect Bot of Your Nightmares: X.RHex
- io9: What is the X-RHex? A bizarre spy robot who conquers the Mojave Desert
2008
- Several articles on the modular snake robot project, developed through a team effort in the Biorobotics Lab, many featuring this video (which includes a robot climbing Aaron's leg):