Toggle light / dark theme

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the automaker is soon going to release new software updates with an upgraded rain-sensing neural net and several Easter Eggs.

With the Autopilot 2.0 system, Tesla decided not to go with a normal rain sensor to activate its automatic windshield wiper system and instead relies on a neural net system to detect rain with its camera.

They started releasing a beta version earlier this year.

Read more

Hydrogels are physical and chemical polymer networks capable of retaining large quantities of liquid in aqueous conditions without losing their dimensional stability. They are used in a whole host of applications, and in combination with other components and they acquire specific properties such as electrical conductivity. The Materials + Technology research group in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environment of the UPV/EHU’s Faculty of Engineering selected a biopolymer that had not previously been used for applications of this type: starch. “One of our lines of research focuses on starch, and we regard it as having biological, physical and chemical properties suitable for producing hydrogels,” said Kizkitza Gonzalez-Munduate, a member of the group.

Read more

New research reveals why the “supermaterial” graphene has not transformed electronics as promised, and shows how to double its performance and finally harness its extraordinary potential.

Graphene is the strongest material ever tested. It’s also flexible, transparent and conducts heat and electricity 10 times better than copper.

After graphene research won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010 it was hailed as a transformative material for flexible electronics, more powerful computer chips and solar panels, water filters and bio-sensors. But performance has been mixed and industry adoption slow.

Read more

Recently, I came across a video featuring Jimmy Fallon interacting with the world’s first robot citizen, Sophia, and a new edition to the robot world, her little sister, Little Sophia. If you have not come across Sophia and Hanson Robotics then check out Zara‘s article to find out more. In short, Sophia is a human-like robot created by Hanson Robotics, an artificial intelligence company located in Hong Kong.

Read more