Robo News From RoboDaily.Com

January 30, 2018

Space station spacewalk postponed until mid-February

Washington (UPI) Jan 29, 2018
What was to be the second of January's two spacewalks was scrubbed Monday and postponed until mid-February. Last week, astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Scott Tingle conducted the first of two planned spacewalks. During their six hours outside the International Space Station, the duo replaced a Latching End Effector on the station's robotic Canadarm2. The effector, the LEE-B, works like the robotic arm's hand. After being replaced with a spare, scientists tested the new hand and discovered a ... read more

Two US spacewalkers replace latching end of robotic arm
Miami (AFP) Jan 23, 2018
Two US astronauts floated outside the International Space Station on Tuesday for a seven-hour, 24-minute spacewalk to repair the orbiting outpost's aging robotic arm, NASA said. ... more

Data doom: 5 steps from Davos to digital dystopia
Davos, Switzerland (AFP) Jan 26, 2018
Intelligent robots and all-knowing online networks threaten to drag humanity into a "totalitarian" nightmare of mind control, mass unemployment and children hooked on smartphones, experts warned at this week's Davos summit. ... more

NIST's superconducting synapse may be missing piece for 'artificial brains'
Boulder CO (SPX) Jan 29, 2018
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built a superconducting switch that "learns" like a biological system and could connect processors and store memories in ... more

Let's make a deal: Could AI compromise better than humans?
Provo, UT (SPX) Jan 23, 2018
Computers can play a pretty mean round of chess and keep up with the best of their human counterparts in other zero-sum games. But teaching them to cooperate and compromise instead of compete? ... more

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'Job-killing' robots, AI under scrutiny in Davos
Davos, Switzerland (AFP) Jan 26, 2018
"Artificial intelligence and robots will kill many jobs." ... more

AI, virtual reality make inroads in tourism sector
Madrid (AFP) Jan 21, 2018
A hotel room automatically adjusting to the tastes of each guest, virtual reality headsets as brochures: the tourism sector is starting to embrace new technologies, hoping to benefit from lucrative personal data. ... more

Dutch robots help make cheese, 'smell' the roses
Delft, Netherlands (AFP) Jan 25, 2018
It might be one small move for a robot, but it could prove an important step for Dutch cheesemakers. Moonlander, invented by students, is here to help take the hard work out of curds and whey. ... more

Feedback enhances brainwave control of a novel hand-exoskeleton
Lausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Jan 25, 2018
An extremely lightweight and portable hand exoskeleton may one day help the physically impaired with daily living. These are the hopes of EPFL scientist Luca Randazzo who is developing the exoskelet ... more

New robot can help treat rare birth defect
Sheffield UK (SPX) Jan 23, 2018
Researchers at the University of Sheffield and Boston's Children Hospital, Harvard Medical School have created a robot that can be implanted into the body to aid the treatment of oesophageal atresia ... more

A miniaturized origami-inspired robot combines micrometer precision with high speed
Boston MA (SPX) Jan 19, 2018
Because of their high precision and speed, Delta robots are deployed in many industrial processes, including pick-and-place assemblies, machining, welding and food packaging. Starting with the first ... more

China spots four oil slicks from sunken tanker
Beijing (AFP) Jan 18, 2018
The spill from a sunken Iranian tanker off China's east coast has spawned four oil slicks as authorities prepared to send robots to the wreckage to assess the environmental damage. ... more

Potential brain-machine interface for hand paralysis

Army scientists improve human-agent teaming by making AI agents more transparent
Adelphi MD (SPX) Jan 15, 2018
U.S. Army Research Laboratory scientists developed ways to improve collaboration between humans and artificially intelligent agents in two projects recently completed for the Autonomy Research Pilot ... more

Stingray soft robot could lead to bio-inspired robotics
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 15, 2018
UCLA bioengineering professor Ali Khademhosseini has led the development of a tissue-based soft robot that mimics the biomechanics of a stingray. The new technology could lead to advances in bio-ins ... more

NASA team first to demonstrate x-ray navigation in space
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 15, 2018
In a technology first, a team of NASA engineers has demonstrated fully autonomous X-ray navigation in space - a capability that could revolutionize NASA's ability in the future to pilot robotic spac ... more

Old dog, new tricks: Sony unleashes 'intelligent' robot pet
Tokyo (AFP) Jan 11, 2018
As Japan celebrates the year of the dog, electronics giant Sony on Thursday unleashed its new robot canine companion, packed with artificial intelligence and internet connectivity. ... more

Robotic weeders: to a farm near you?
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 11, 2018
The future of weeding is here, and it comes in the form of a robot. The growing popularity of robotic weeders for specialty crops has grown partly out of necessity, says Steven Fennimore, an extensi ... more

Artificial muscles power up with new gel-based robotics
Matsumoto, Japan (SPX) Jan 11, 2018
Scientists are one step closer to artificial muscles. Orthotics have come a long way since their initial wood and strap designs, yet innovation lapsed when it came to compensating for muscle power-- ... more

New 'emotional' robots aim to read human feelings
Las Vegas (AFP) Jan 11, 2018
The robot called Forpheus does more than play a mean game of table tennis. It can read body language to gauge its opponent's ability, and offer advice and encouragement. ... more

Digital assistants duel for dominance at major electronics show
Las Vegas (AFP) Jan 9, 2018
Virtual aides battled to rule "smart homes" on the eve of the official opening of the Consumer Electronics show gadget gala here. ... more

Opportunity Takes Images Over the Holiday Period
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 09, 2018
Opportunity is continuing her winter exploration of "Perseverance Valley" on the west rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover is positioned upstream of a fork in the flow channels. Over the holiday ... more

Dragon space truck set for departure from Space Station
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 09, 2018
After delivering more than 4,800 pounds of science and supplies to the International Space Station, a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft will depart the orbiting laboratory on Saturday, Jan. 13. NASA wi ... more

Gadgets for kids still big at tech show despite concerns

Virtual aide market a "wildfire" at CES gadget show
Las Vegas (AFP) Jan 8, 2018
Voice-commanded virtual assistants packed into speakers and other devices will be a "game-changing" trend this year, Consumer Electronics Show researchers said Sunday. ... more

Scientists teach robots how to respect personal space
Beijing, China (SPX) Jan 02, 2018
Robots have a lot to learn about humans, including how to respect their personal space. Scientists at the Institute of Automatics of the National University of San Juan in Argentina are giving mobil ... more

Machine learning will change jobs
Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Jan 02, 2018
Machine learning computer systems, which get better with experience, are poised to transform the economy much as steam engines and electricity have in the past. They can outperform people in a numbe ... more

Robots and humans: How to improve physical interaction
Beijing, China (SPX) Jan 02, 2018
Popular entertainment often portrays robots as the perfect best friend, from Bender in the cartoon Futurama to the mighty Transformers. These close friendships don't exist off-screen yet, but humans ... more

Drones learn to navigate autonomously by imitating cars and bicycles
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Jan 24, 2018

All today's commercial drones use GPS, which works fine above building roofs and in high alti-tudes. But what, when the drones have to navigate autonomously at low altitude among tall buildings or in the dense, unstructured city streets with cars, cyclists or pedestrians suddenly crossing their way? Until now, commercial drones are not able to quickly react to such unforeseen events. Resea ... more

+ Northrop Grumman tapped to service Army's Hunter drones

+ Australia lifesaving drone makes first rescue

+ Boeing unveils UAV prototype for cargo, logistics use

+ Russia's army warns of 'terrorist' drones after attacks

+ Air Force to upgrade Reaper drone fleet as the Predator begins retirement

+ DARPA working on collaborative autonomy for UAVs and Drones

+ Drone attack on Russian bases in Syria, no casualties: Moscow

Updates on recovery attempts for NASA IMAGE mission
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 30, 2018

After an amateur astronomer recorded observations of a satellite in high Earth orbit on Jan. 20, 2018, his initial research suggested it was the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) - a NASA mission launched into orbit around Earth on March 25, 2000. Seeking to ascertain whether the signal indeed came from IMAGE, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Mary ... more

+ Scientists achieve high power with new smaller laser

+ Sierra Nevada's STPSat-5 satellite completes ground compatibility testing

+ New method for synthesizing novel magnetic material

+ Micius satellite enables intercontinental quantum communications

+ UK to launch new radar against 'severe' Russian threat

+ Researchers find first evidence of sub-Saharan Africa glassmaking

+ Better than a hologram: Research produces 3-D images floating in 'thin air'

Artificial agent designs quantum experiments
Innsbruck, Austria (SPX) Jan 29, 2018

We carry smartphones in our pockets, the streets are dotted with semi-autonomous cars, but in the research laboratory experiments are still being designed by people. However, this could change soon. In the group of Innsbruck physicist Hans Briegel, researchers broach the question to what extent machines can carry out research autonomously. For this purpose, they use the projective simulati ... more

+ Quantum race accelerates development of silicon quantum chip

+ Cheap metallic nanostructures enable efficient quantum dot LEDs

+ TU Wien develops new semiconductor processing technology

+ New metal-semiconductor interface for brain-inspired computing

+ Intel gets lift from earnings, investors look past chip flaw

+ Fundamental limitation in the key material for solid-state lighting

+ US electronics innovation leaps forward via joint university microelectronics program

Thorium reactors may dispose of enormous amounts of weapons-grade plutonium
Tomsk, Russia (SPX) Jan 23, 2018

Scientists from the School of Nuclear Science and Engineering of Tomsk Polytechnic University are developing a technology enabling the creation of high-temperature gas-cool low-power reactors with thorium fuel. TPU scientists propose to burn weapons-grade plutonium in these units, converting it into power and thermal energy. Thermal energy generated at thorium reactors may be used in hydro ... more

+ USA: Framatome to acquire Instrumentation and Control nuclear business of Schneider Electric

+ Framatome continues ramping up production at its Le Creusot site

+ Framatome nuclear fuel contract with CNNC

+ Framatome pursues the industrial and technological adventure of the nuclear energy business

+ Struggling Westinghouse Electric sold to Brookfield for $4.6 bn

+ Russia to build nuclear power plant in Sudan

+ Dominion Energy to buy troubled SCANA and shuttered nuclear projects

Trump says almost 100% of territory regained from IS
Davos, Switzerland (AFP) Jan 26, 2018

US President Donald Trump said Friday that US-backed coalition forces had won back almost 100 percent of territory occupied by the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. "The coalition to defeat ISIS (IS) has retaken almost 100 percent of the territory once held by these killers in Iraq and Syria," Trump said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "There is still ... more

+ Now defeated, Iraq's most feared jihadists await their fate

+ US-led strikes kill up to 150 IS fighters in Syria: coalition

+ Iraq condemns German woman to death for belonging to IS

+ Facebook, Twitter, YouTube pressed over terror content

+ Four Shabaab militants killed in Somalia; Boko Haram attack kills 7 in Niger

+ Macron sees IS military defeat in Syria, Iraq within 'weeks'

+ Armenia recognises genocide of Yazidis in Iraq

State utilities called to pass U.S. tax benefits to consumers
Washington (UPI) Jan 24, 2018

U.S. consumers should be the ones sharing in the corporate tax breaks for utility companies outlined in the federal code reform, state energy agencies said. President Donald Trump signed into law a sweeping overhaul of the federal tax code in late December, extending temporary relief to American taxpayers and permanent breaks for corporations, with oil, gas and utility companies sharing ... more

+ Magnetic liquids improve energy efficiency of buildings

+ US energy watchdog rejects plan to subsidize coal, nuclear sectors

+ U.S. utility regulator ponders grid reliability

+ U.S. blizzard to test gas, electric markets

+ 'Virtual gold' may glitter, but mining it can be really dirty

+ Science for a resilient EU power grid

+ Alaskan microgrids offer energy resilience and independence

Making fuel cells for a fraction of the cost
Riverside CA (SPX) Jan 29, 2018

Fuel cells have the potential to be a clean and efficient way to run cars, computers, and power stations, but the cost of producing them is limiting their use. That's because a key component of the most common fuel cells is a catalyst made from the precious metal platinum. In a paper published in Small, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, describe the development of an ... more

+ 20 percent more trees in megacities would mean cleaner air and water, lower carbon and energy use

+ Coupling experiments to theory to build a better battery

+ Hazardous contamination found around lead battery recycling plants in 7 African countries

+ Graphene girders doubles life of lithium batteries

+ A new approach to rechargeable batteries

+ Siberian chemists have improved hydrogen sensors

+ Using electricity to switch magnetism

China's first successful lunar laser ranging accomplished
Beijing (XNA) Jan 29, 2018

China has accomplished its first successful Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR), with a 1.2-meter telescope laser ranging system. Based on the signals of laser pulses reflected by the lunar retro-reflector planted by the U.S. manned mission Apollo 15, the applied astronomy group from the Yunnan Observatories measured the distance between the Apollo 15 retro-reflector and the Yunnan Observatories gro ... more

+ Space agency to pick those with the right stuff

+ China to select astronauts for its space station

+ No space for China's stay-at-home taikonauts

+ China Focus: The making of heroes - the women and men of China's space program

+ Yang Liwei looks back at China's first manned space mission

+ Backgrounder: China's six manned space missions

+ China to launch first student satellite for scientific education

Microbes may help astronauts transform human waste into food
University Park PA (SPX) Jan 29, 2018

Human waste may one day be a valuable resource for astronauts on deep-space missions. Now, a Penn State research team has shown that it is possible to rapidly break down solid and liquid waste to grow food with a series of microbial reactors, while simultaneously minimizing pathogen growth. "We envisioned and tested the concept of simultaneously treating astronauts' waste with microbes whi ... more

+ Two US spacewalkers replace latching end of robotic arm

+ NASA-JAXA Joint Statement on Space Exploration

+ Space, the final frontier -- for nightclubs

+ Space station spacewalk postponed until mid-February

+ Orion Spacecraft Recovery Rehearsal Underway

+ Italy's First Female Astronaut: 'No Room for Conflicts in Space'

+ Looking up a century ago, a vision of the future of space exploration

European-Russian space mission steps up the search for life on Mars
Moscowm Russia (SPX) Jan 25, 2018

In 2013, the European Space Agency and Roscosmos - the Russian governmental body responsible for space research - agreed to cooperate on ExoMars, the first joint interplanetary mission between ESA and Russia. This project now involves scientists from 29 research organizations, including MIPT and the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which is the leading contributor of ... more

+ Opportunity prepares software update as Sol 5000 approaches

+ Mystery Solved for Mega-Avalanches in Tibet - and Perhaps on Mars

+ Opportunity gets dust cleaning and passes 45 kilometers of driving

+ NASA's Next Mars Lander Spreads its Solar Wings

+ NASA tests power system to support manned missions to Mars

+ Dust storms linked to gas escape from Mars atmosphere

+ Crater Neukum named after Mars Express founder

Irish first as Elfordstown tracks and monitors Rocket Lab satellite deployment
Elfordstown, Ireland (SPX) Jan 24, 2018

US space launch provider Rocket Lab successfully reached orbit this weekend with the test flight of its second Electron orbital launch vehicle 'Still Testing' deploying 3 client satellites safely into space. The separation of the payload from the rocket was remotely tracked and monitored from Elfordstown Earthstation in Cork. This is the first time a satellite orbital insertion has been monitore ... more

+ SpaceX CEO Sets Date for First Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch

+ Rocket Lab successfully circularizes orbit with new Electron kick stage

+ Ariane 5 delivers SES-14 and Al Yah 3 to orbit

+ Ariane 5 satellites in orbit but not in right location yet

+ ASU student payloads selected to fly on Blue Origin space vehicle

+ ULA to market Atlas V commercial launches

+ India seeks to reduce satellite launch cost

Global models offer new insights into Great Lakes mercury pollution
Washington (UPI) Jan 23, 2018

Members of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community living on Michigan's Upper Peninsula have a fairly simple question: when is it safe to eat the fish they catch? To help fish-eaters better estimate their risk of exposure, researchers at Michigan Technological University have developed a model designed to measure the impact of local mitigation efforts, socioeconomic pressures, ecological syst ... more

+ Southwest Iran suffocates under dust cloud

+ China's waste import ban upends global recycling industry

+ Temporary 'bathtub drains' in the ocean concentrate flotsam

+ Hong Kong engulfed in smog as fears grow over air

+ New research to help reduce number of algae blooms that form annually

+ Trashy literature? No such thing for Turkish refuse collectors

+ Microwaves could be as bad for the environment as cars suggests new research

Plug-in vehicles not yet straining U.S. grid
Washington (UPI) Jan 24, 2018

Plug-in electric vehicles aren't yet putting a strain on the national grid, but may require upgrades to infrastructure as demand increases, a U.S. report found. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory looked at how plug-in electrical vehicles impact the grid, particular as more owners charge their vehicles at home. "Previous research into the amount o ... more

+ NREL research determines integration of plug-in electric vehicles

+ German carmakers under fire for diesel tests on humans, monkeys

+ Tesla founder Musk will only be paid if firm meets goals

+ China considers tech center for alternative energy vehicles

+ Hyundai Motor 2017 net profit sinks 20.5%

+ Daimler struggling with European emissions standards

+ At Detroit auto show, future high tech is present

On the rebound as nanoparticles self-heal
Lemont IL (SPX) Jan 29, 2018

Our bodies have a remarkable ability to heal from broken ankles or dislocated wrists. Now, a new study has shown that some nanoparticles can also "self-heal" after experiencing intense strain, once that strain is removed. New research from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and Stanford University has found that palladium nanoparticles can repair atomic dislo ... more

+ Ultra-thin optical fibers offer new way to 3-D print microstructures

+ Nanowrinkles could save billions in shipping and aquaculture

+ Building molecular wires, one atom at a time

+ Nanotube fibers in a jiffy

+ Silver nanoparticles take spectroscopy to new dimension

+ Researchers find simpler way to deposit magnetic iron oxide onto gold nanorods

+ Discovery sets new world standard in nano generators

Updates on recovery attempts for NASA IMAGE mission
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 30, 2018

+ Scientists achieve high power with new smaller laser

+ Sierra Nevada's STPSat-5 satellite completes ground compatibility testing

+ New method for synthesizing novel magnetic material

+ Micius satellite enables intercontinental quantum communications

+ UK to launch new radar against 'severe' Russian threat

+ Researchers find first evidence of sub-Saharan Africa glassmaking

+ Better than a hologram: Research produces 3-D images floating in 'thin air'

Dairy sector trembles at EU powdered milk mountain
Herstal, Belgium (AFP) Jan 25, 2018

Hundreds of thousands of sacks of powdered milk lie stacked on pallets in a warehouse on a nondescript industrial estate in eastern Belgium: part of a vast EU stockpile that is causing dairy producers sleepless nights. The European Union, through its member states, bought up hundreds of millions of tonnes of powder from 2015 onwards in a bid to stabilise milk prices that were in freefall as ... more

+ Researchers reveal how microbes cope in phosphorus-deficient tropical soil

+ Root discovery may lead to crops that need less fertilizer

+ Ancient rice heralds a new future for rice production

+ New 'Buck' naked barley: Food, feed, brew

+ In sweet corn, workhorses win

+ New process could slash energy needs of fertilizer, nitrogen-based chemicals

+ Setback for Romanian farmer's bid to graze sheep near NATO base

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