Lifeboat Foundation

Robots for artists. 😃

What if you could instruct a swarm of robots to paint a picture? The concept may sound far-fetched, but a recent study in open-access journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI has shown that it is possible. The robots in question move about a canvas leaving color trails in their wake, and in a first for robot-created art, an artist can select areas of the canvas to be painted a certain color and the robot team will oblige in real time. The technique illustrates the potential of robotics in creating art, and could be an interesting tool for artists.

Creating art can be labor-intensive and an epic struggle. Just ask Michelangelo about the Sistine Chapel ceiling. For a world increasingly dominated by technology and automation, creating physical art has remained a largely manual pursuit, with paint brushes and chisels still in common use. There’s nothing wrong with this, but what if robotics could lend a helping hand or even expand our creative repertoire?

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Robots are now assisting in advancing developmental biology.

The study of developmental biology is getting a robotic helping hand.

Scientists are using a custom robot to survey how mutations in regulatory regions of the genome affect animal development. These regions aren’t genes, but rather stretches of DNA called enhancers that determine how genes are turned on and off during development. The team describes the findings—and the robot itself—on October 14 in the journal Nature.

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Circa 2016

Scientists have developed a novel system that recovers energy normally lost in industrial processes.

Each year, energy that equates to billions of barrels of oil is wasted as heat lost from machines and industrial processes. Recovering this energy could reduce energy costs. Scientists from Australia and Malaysia have developed a novel system that is designed to maximize such recovery.

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MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems developed and tested a high-temperature superconductor technology (HTS) cable that can be engineered into the high-performance magnets for tokamaks like SPARC.

Meteorite impacts may be a good thing — but only sometimes.

Craters could create habitable conditions on many planets and moons.

Partnership will use diagnostic imaging tools to explore health issues associated with microgravity, and apply this knowledge to patients on Earth.

The French Society of Radiology (SFR) and the country’s national centre for space exploration (CNES) have signed a partnership, details of which were streamed live at the Journées Francophones de Radiologie (JFR) congress on 4 October. The aim is to develop imaging solutions to be sent on space flights and to collaborate on image collection and optimization, teleradiology and training of astronauts.

France has the largest space program in Europe and the third oldest institutional space programme in history, along with Russia and the US. CNES, which has a long track record in space exploration, recognizes the great potential of diagnostic imaging for monitoring astronauts’ health while on missions, according to general director Lionel Suchet.

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Summary: By fusing a cytokine to a blood protein, researchers have developed a new therapy to help treat multiple sclerosis.

Source: University of Chicago

Multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that affects millions worldwide, can cause debilitating symptoms for those who suffer from it.

Gadfin, or “wings” in Aramaic—its flagship aircraft hovers like a UAV and folds out wings to fly like a plane—is hoping to connect Israeli hospitals with drone supply networks and has its sights set on providing essential services in remote Third World locations.

Elons fears are real about AI.

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Continue reading “From Essays to Coding, This New A.I. Can Write Anything” »