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Category: robotics/AI – Page 132

Everyone in AI is talking about Manus. We put it to the test

Since the general AI agent Manus was launched last week, it has spread online like wildfire. And not just in China, where it was developed by the Wuhan-based startup Butterfly Effect. It’s made its way into the global conversation, with influential voices in tech, including Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey and Hugging Face product lead Victor Mustar, praising its performance. Some have even dubbed it “the second DeepSeek,” comparing it to the earlier AI model that took the industry by surprise for its unexpected capabilities as well as its origin.

S first general AI agent, using multiple AI models (such as Anthropic.

The new general AI agent from China had some system crashes and server overload—but it’s highly intuitive and shows real promise for the future of AI helpers.

Good luck sleeping after you watch this humanoid robot ‘rise from the dead’

A new video demonstrates the Unitree G1 Humanoid Robot using the HoST framework to stand up from seemingly impossible positions. Whether lying flat on its back, slumped against a wall, reclining in a chair, or sprawled out on a sofa, the robot methodically adjusts itself before rising with unsettling precision. It’s very reminiscent of someone rising from the dead, a comparison I’m not really that excited to make when it comes to robots.

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A new computational method for super-large-scale atomic structures

New theoretical physics research introduces a simulation method of machine-learning-based effective Hamiltonian for super-large-scale atomic structures. This effective Hamiltonian method could simulate much larger structures than the methods based on quantum mechanisms and classical mechanics.

The findings are published in npj Computational Materials under the title, “Active learning of effective Hamiltonian for super-large-scale .” The paper was authored by an international team of physicists, including the University of Arkansas, Nanjing University, and the University of Luxembourg.

In ferroelectrics and dielectrics, there is one kind of structure—mesoscopic structure, which usually has atoms more than millions.

Ransomware gang creates tool to automate VPN brute-force attacks

The Black Basta ransomware operation created an automated brute-forcing framework dubbed ‘BRUTED’ to breach edge networking devices like firewalls and VPNs.

The framework has enabled BlackBasta to streamline initial network access and scale ransomware attacks on vulnerable internet-exposed endpoints.

The discovery of BRUTED comes from EclecticIQ researcher Arda Büyükkaya following an in-depth examination of the ransomware gang’s leaked internal chat logs.

AI ring tracks spelled words in American Sign Language

A Cornell-led research team has developed an artificial intelligence-powered ring equipped with micro-sonar technology that can continuously—and in real time—track fingerspelling in American Sign Language (ASL).

In its current form, SpellRing could be used to enter text into computers or smartphones via fingerspelling, which is used in ASL to spell out words without corresponding signs, such as proper nouns, names and technical terms. With further development, the device—believed to be the first of its kind—could revolutionize ASL translation by continuously tracking entire signed words and sentences.

The research is published on the arXiv preprint server.

Artificial muscle flexes in multiple directions, offering a path to soft, wiggly robots

We move thanks to coordination among many skeletal muscle fibers, all twitching and pulling in sync. While some muscles align in one direction, others form intricate patterns, helping parts of the body move in multiple ways.

In recent years, scientists and engineers have looked to muscles as potential actuators for “biohybrid” robots—machines powered by soft, artificially grown . Such bio-bots could squirm and wiggle through spaces where traditional machines cannot. For the most part, however, researchers have only been able to fabricate artificial muscle that pulls in one direction, limiting any robot’s range of motion.

Now MIT engineers have developed a method to grow artificial muscle tissue that twitches and flexes in multiple coordinated directions. As a demonstration, they grew an artificial, muscle-powered structure that pulls both concentrically and radially, much like how the iris in the human eye acts to dilate and constrict the pupil.

Light-powered artificial neurons mimic brain-like oscillations

International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) researchers have developed a neuromorphic photonic semiconductor neuron capable of processing optical information through self-sustained oscillations. Exploring the use of light to control negative differential resistance (NDR) in a micropillar quantum resonant tunneling diode (RTD), the research indicates that this approach could lead to highly efficient light-driven neuromorphic computing systems.

Neuromorphic computing seeks to replicate the information-processing capabilities of biological neural networks. Neurons in rely on rhythmic burst firing for sensory encoding, , and network synchronization, functions that depend on oscillatory activity for signal transmission and processing.

Existing neuromorphic approaches replicate these processes using electrical, mechanical, or thermal stimuli, but optical-based systems offer advantages in speed, energy efficiency, and miniaturization. While previous research has demonstrated photonic synapses and artificial afferent nerves, these implementations require additional circuits that increase power consumption and complexity.

AI recognizes the mass of the most energetic particles of cosmic radiation

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) scares many people as neural networks, modeled after the human brain, are so complex that even experts do not understand them. However, the risk to society of applying opaque algorithms varies depending on the application.

While AI can cause great damage in democratic elections through the manipulation of social media, in astrophysics it at worst leads to an incorrect view of the cosmos, says Dr. Jonas Glombitza from the Erlangen Center for Astroparticle Physics (ECAP) at Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU).

The astrophysicist uses AI to accelerate the analysis of data from an observatory that researches cosmic radiation.

Machine learning enables customized plastics that could reduce environmental impact

About 100 million metric tons of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), one of the world’s most commonly used plastics, are produced annually, using more than 15 times the energy needed to power New York City for a year and adding enormous amounts of plastic waste to landfills and oceans.

Cornell chemistry researchers have found ways to reduce the environmental impact of this ubiquitous —found in milk jugs, shampoo bottles, playground equipment and many other things—by developing a machine-learning model that enables manufacturers to customize and improve HDPE materials, decreasing the amount of material needed for various applications. It can also be used to boost the quality of recycled HDPE to rival new, making recycling a more practical process.

“Implementation of this approach will facilitate the design of next-generation commodity materials and enable more efficient polymer recycling, lowering the overall impact of HDPE on the environment,” said Robert DiStasio Jr., associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S).

China startup’s new humanoid robot can perform continuous backflips

Scientists from the Beijing-based NOETIX Robotics have developed a new meter-tall humanoid robot that is capable of performing near-perfect continuous backflips. Called the NOETIX N2, this 4.2 foot tall robot features innovative hardware to ensure stability while performing the feat.

According to Jiang Zheyuan, technical leader of the development team, performing a backflip is harder compared to a frontflip as human feet are longer in the front. To enable the robot’s backflip action faultlessly, the team came up with innovative hardware designs to ensure the robot’s stability. For example, the heavy joints of the humanoid’s limbs are placed closer to its crotch to make it easier to rotate in the air.