Humans have long been masters of dexterity, a skill that can largely be credited to the help of our eyes. Robots, meanwhile, are still catching up. Certainly there's been some progress: for decades ...

Robots are increasingly populating — and in some cases taking over — the workplace, performing tasks that humans aren’t capable of, or making others more efficient. But they can’t do it all just yet.

With the DON system, a robot can perform novel tasks like look at a shoe it has never seen before and successfully grab it by its tongue. (Photo: Tom Buehler/CSAIL) For decades, robots in controlled ...