Menu

Blog

Page 18

Dec 6, 2024

Roboticists develop a bird-like robot that can jump into the air to launch itself into flight

Posted by in categories: drones, robotics/AI

A team of roboticists at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, working with a colleague from the University of California, has designed, built and demonstrated a bird-like robot that can launch itself into flight using spring-like legs.

The group describes their in a paper published in the journal Nature. Aimy Wissa, an at Princeton University, has published a News & Views piece in the same journal issue suggesting possible ways the innovation could be used in real-world applications.

Continue reading “Roboticists develop a bird-like robot that can jump into the air to launch itself into flight” »

Dec 6, 2024

New strategy enhances 2D transistor dielectric layers

Posted by in categories: computing, materials

Transistors based on two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and tungsten diselenide (WSe2), could outperform conventional silicon-based transistors, while also being easier to reduce in size. To perform well, these transistors need to be based on high-quality dielectric materials, which can be difficult to prepare.

Researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics recently introduced a new promising strategy to prepare the dielectric materials for these transistors. Their approach, outlined in a paper published in Nature Electronics, was successfully used to deposit an ultrathin and uniform native oxide of Ga2O3 on the surface of MoS2.

“Traditional methods of preparing dielectric layer, such as (ALD), encounter quality problems because of the high-quality surface of 2D semiconductors without sufficient nucleation points, especially at thin thicknesses down to a few nanometers,” Kongyang Yi, first author of the paper, told Tech Xplore.

Dec 5, 2024

How Artificial Intelligence Could Make It Easier to ID Common Corn Pests

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Researchers in China have developed an AI model that can discern species and larval stage of four lepidopteran corn pests with 96 percent accuracy.

Dec 5, 2024

Giant cyborg cockroaches could be the search and rescue workers of the future

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, cyborgs, robotics/AI, transhumanism

Fitzgerald says cyborg search and rescue beetles or cockroaches might be able to help in disaster situations by finding and reporting the location of survivors and delivering lifesaving drugs to them before human rescuers can get there.

But first, the Australian researchers must master the ability to direct the movements of the insects, which could take a while. Fitzgerald says that although the work might seem futuristic now, in a few decades, cyborg insects could be saving lives.

He’s not the only roboticist creating robots from living organisms. Academics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), for example, are implanting electronic pacemakers into jellyfish to control their swimming speed. They hope the bionic jellies could help collect data about the ocean far below the surface.

Dec 5, 2024

Brain Age Models Offer Insights into Early Development Trajectories

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

Summary: A new study highlights how brain age models can track healthy infant development and reveal environmental influences. Using MRI data from over 600 term and preterm infants, researchers trained machine learning models to predict brain age and identify gaps between predicted and actual ages.

These brain age gaps can indicate whether an infant’s development is faster or slower than expected, with maternal age emerging as a significant influencing factor. Advanced brain development was linked to better cognitive abilities but poorer emotional regulation, suggesting that following normative developmental trajectories may be ideal.

Dec 5, 2024

Tiny 15 mm robot from China zips past speed records in robotics

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Chinese researchers have created the BHMbot-B, a 15 mm long microrobot with quick forward and backward movements, which is ideal for navigating small places.

The robot effectively switches between forward and backward movement by aligning the vibratory motions of its magnet, cantilever, and linkages using vibration mode transition control.

The Beihnag University team claims that the device combines a battery, a control circuit for wireless operation, and two electromagnetic actuators for a high load capacity.

Dec 5, 2024

Your Bluesky Posts Are Likely Being Used For AI & ML Training

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Huge datasets containing hundreds of millions of posts were discovered online.

Dec 5, 2024

Getting a grip on quark mixing: Physicists introduce framework to determine amount of mixing between up and down quarks

Posted by in category: particle physics

The quarks that make up the nuclei of all atoms around us are known to “mix”: the different types of quark occasionally change into one another. The amounts in which these processes happen are not very well known, though—and the theoretical values don’t even add up to 100%. UvA-IoP physicist Jordy de Vries and colleagues from Los Alamos, Seattle, and Bern have now published work that takes a step towards solving these mysteries.

All good things come in threes. The Standard Model of particle physics takes this motto to heart: it contains three so-called generations of elementary particles. Take the quarks as an example. In addition to the pair of quark types known as “up” and “down,” which make up the core of atomic nuclei, there exist two additional quark pairs: “charm” and “strange,” as well as “top” and “bottom.” Together, these six types of quarks are known as the six quark flavors.

The Standard Model predicts that one quark flavor can transmute into another, a phenomenon called quark mixing, but the model does not predict how often different transmutations happen. In fact, the current state-of-the-art analysis indicates that something is afoot: the probabilities of all mixings do not add up to 100%. What is going on? Could this be a signal of new physics outside of the Standard Model?

Dec 5, 2024

Scientists exploit photo-induced chirality in thin films to improve authentication tech

Posted by in categories: economics, holograms, security

In today’s world, the fight against counterfeiting is more critical than ever. Counterfeiting affects about 3% of global trade, posing significant risks to the economy and public safety. From fake pharmaceuticals to counterfeit currency, the need for secure and reliable authentication methods is paramount. Authentication labels are commonly used—such as holograms on bank notes and passports—but there is always a need for new unfalsifiable technologies.

This is where research recently published in Applied Sciences comes into play. Led by a team of scientists from Oxford University, the University of Southampton, and Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron, the work focuses on developing a new technology for writing and reading covert information on labels.

This technology leverages the unique properties of Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films, which can change their structure when exposed to specific types of laser light. By using circularly or linearly polarized laser light, the researchers can encode hidden information in these thin films. This information can then be revealed using a simple reading device, making the technology both advanced and accessible.

Dec 5, 2024

Dynamic tracking technique can reduce noise in gravitational-wave detectors to peer deeper into the cosmos

Posted by in categories: cosmology, quantum physics

Researchers have shown that optical spring tracking is a promising way to improve the signal clarity of gravitational-wave detectors. The advance could one day allow scientists to see farther into the universe and provide more information about how black holes and neutron stars behave as they merge.

Large-scale interferometers such as the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (aLIGO) detect subtle distortions in spacetime, known as , generated by distant cosmic events. By allowing scientists to study phenomena that do not emit light, gravitational wave measurements have opened a new window for understanding extreme astrophysical events, the nature of gravity and the origins of the universe.

“Quantum noise has become a limiting noise source when measuring gravitational waves,” said Scott M. Aronson, a member of the research team from Louisiana State University. “By tuning the system to respond at a desired frequency, we show that you can reduce this noise by using an optical spring to track a signal coming from a compact binary system. In the future, this binary system could be two orbiting each other—within our galaxy or beyond.”

Page 18 of 12,127First1516171819202122Last