Lifeboat Foundation

Creating robots to safely aid disaster victims is one challenge; executing flexible robot control that takes advantage of the material’s softness is another. The use of pliable soft materials to collaborate with humans and work in disaster areas has drawn much recent attention. However, controlling soft dynamics for practical applications has remained a significant challenge.

In collaboration with the University of Tokyo and Bridgestone Corporation, Kyoto University has now developed a method to control pneumatic artificial muscles, which are soft robotic actuators. Rich dynamics of these drive components can be exploited as a computational resource.

Artificial muscles control rich soft component dynamics by using them as a computational resource. (Image: MEDICAL FIG.)

Blood test detects stroke quickly:

The Testing for Identification of Markers of Stroke trial shows the accuracy of a new blood test for identifying stroke.

A team of scientists has developed a new test by combining blood-based biomarkers with a clinical score. The main goal was to identify patients experiencing large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke.

Continue reading “New rapid blood test can detect stroke in 6 hours, save lives” »

Our approach to analyzing and mitigating future risks posed by advanced AI models.

Google DeepMind has consistently pushed the boundaries of AI, developing models that have transformed our understanding of what’s possible. We believe that AI technology on the horizon will provide society with invaluable tools to help tackle critical global challenges, such as climate change, drug discovery, and economic productivity. At the same time, we recognize that as we continue to advance the frontier of AI capabilities, these breakthroughs may eventually come with new risks beyond those posed by present-day models.

Today, we are introducing our Frontier Safety Framework — a set of protocols for proactively identifying future AI capabilities that could cause severe harm and putting in place mechanisms to detect and mitigate them. Our Framework focuses on severe risks resulting from powerful capabilities at the model level, such as exceptional agency or sophisticated cyber capabilities. It is designed to complement our alignment research, which trains models to act in accordance with human values and societal goals, and Google’s existing suite of AI responsibility and safety practices.

Many more places with Life are likely to exist outside the so-called Habitable Zone (HZ) and they are getting more and more… New post on BigThink, direct link to it at.

Posted on Big Think.

OpenAI’s Superalignment team was promised 20% of the company’s compute resources, according to a person from that team.

A source reveals that OpenAI’s Superalignment team, which was created to develop was to control ‘superintelligent’ AI, wasn’t set up for success.

In organisms, fluid is what binds the organs, the blood vessels and the musculoskeletal system as a whole. For example, hemolymph, a blood-like fluid in a spider’s body, enables muscle activation and exoskeleton flexibility. It was the cucumber spider inhabiting Estonia that inspired scientists to create a complex soft robot, where soft and rigid parts are made to work together and are connected by a liquid.

According to Indrek Must, Associate Professor of Soft Robotics, the designed soft robot is based on real reason. “Broadly speaking, our goal is to build systems from both natural and artificial materials that are as effective as in wildlife. The robotic leg could touch delicate objects and move in the same complex environments as a living spider,” he explains.

In a research paper published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, the researchers show how a robotic foot touches a primrose stamen, spider web, and pollen grain. This demonstrates the soft robot’s ability to interact with very small and delicate structures without damaging them.

Intel’s upcoming CPUs for thin-and-light laptops will be its first with on-package memory.

A team of scientists led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has found an unconventional way to improve catalysts made of more than one material. The solution demonstrates a path to designing catalysts with greater activity, selectivity and stability.

Although the Tesla Cybertruck has only been available for about six months, it is already making a major splash in the electric pickup scene.

According to data from S&P Global Mobility, Tesla’s first all-electric pickup had more registrations in March than one of its most notable foes, the Rivian R1T.

March was the fourth month the Tesla Cybertruck was available for purchase. Production is still ramping, and after Tesla built 1,000 units in a single week during Q1, it is evident the company is starting to get the hang of things.