Lifeboat Foundation

Positronium has the potential to revolutionise physics but the elusive substance had been too hot to handle.

Summary: Researchers unveiled a pioneering technology capable of real-time human emotion recognition, promising transformative applications in wearable devices and digital services.

The system, known as the personalized skin-integrated facial interface (PSiFI), combines verbal and non-verbal cues through a self-powered, stretchable sensor, efficiently processing data for wireless communication.

This breakthrough, supported by machine learning, accurately identifies emotions even under mask-wearing conditions and has been applied in a VR “digital concierge” scenario, showcasing its potential to personalize user experiences in smart environments. The development is a significant stride towards enhancing human-machine interactions by integrating complex emotional data.

Since 1931, science fiction has speculated on how microbots might work and how they will change our lives.

People often believe what they want to believe rather than what the evidence implies. Here Melnikoff and Strohminger find that this seemingly irrational tendency may emerge from fully rational Bayesian calculations.

The mind behind DeepMind.

How Does The Neutral Atom Approach Compare

The neutral atom approach is a well-known and extensively investigated approach to quantum computing. The approach offers numerous advantages, especially in terms of scalability, expense, error mitigation, error correction, coherence, and simplicity.

Neutral atom quantum computing utilizes individual atoms, typically alkali atoms like rubidium or cesium, suspended and isolated in a vacuum and manipulated using precisely targeted laser beams. These atoms are not ionized, meaning they retain all their electrons and do not carry an electric charge, which distinguishes them from trapped ion approaches. The quantum states of these neutral atoms, such as their energy levels or the orientation of their spins, serve as the basis for qubits. By employing optical tweezers—focused laser beams that trap and hold the atoms in place—arrays of atoms can be arranged in customizable patterns, allowing for the encoding and manipulation of quantum information.

A team of researchers has found that Neanderthals crafted stone tools using a sophisticated multi-component glue. This discovery, the oldest known example of such an advanced adhesive in Europe, indicates that these early human relatives possessed a greater degree of intellectual and cultural sophistication than was earlier believed.

The work, reported in the journal Science Advances, included researchers from New York University, the University of Tübingen, and the National Museums in Berlin.

There are plenty of life-friendly stellar systems in the Universe today. But at some point in the far future, life’s final extinction will occur.

Soft robots inspired by animals can help to tackle real-world problems in efficient and innovative ways. Roboticists have been working to continuously broaden and improve these robots’ capabilities, as this could open new avenues for the automation of tasks in various settings.

Researchers at Nagoya University and Tokyo Institute of Technology recently introduced a soft robot inspired by inchworms that can carry loads of more than 100 g at a speed of approximately 9 mm per second. This robot, introduced in Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics, could be used to transport objects and place them in precise locations.

“Previous research in the field provided foundational insights but also highlighted limitations, such as the slow transportation speeds and low load capacities of inchworm-inspired robots,” Yanhong Peng told Tech Xplore. “For example, existing models demonstrated capabilities for transporting objects at speeds significantly lower than the 8.54 mm/s achieved in this study, with limited ability to handle loads above 40 grams.”