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Students can now build their own rover model![]() Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 02, 2018 Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a machine like NASA's Curiosity rover, part of the Mars Science Laboratory project? Now students, hobbyists and enthusiasts can get a taste of what it is like to construct a scaled-down version of a rover using plans and instructions from JPL's Open Source Rover Project. With the successful past and current rovers, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California built a mini-rover ("ROV-E") to engage the public.This rover is brought into class ... read more |
Chip labour: Robots replace waiters in China restaurantShanghai (AFP) Aug 5, 2018 The little robotic waiter wheels up to the table, raises its glass lid to reveal a steaming plate of local Shanghai-style crayfish and announces in low, mechanical tones, "Enjoy your meal." ... more
Research identifies key weakness in modern computer vision systemsProvidence RI (SPX) Aug 03, 2018 Computer vision algorithms have come a long way in the past decade. They've been shown to be as good or better than people at tasks like categorizing dog or cat breeds, and they have the remarkable ... more
Optical fibers that can feel the materials around themLausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Aug 02, 2018 In recent years optical fibers have served as sensors to detect changes in temperature, like a thermometer, and pressure, like an artificial nerve. This technique is particularly useful in structure ... more
An insect-inspired drone deforms upon impactLausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Jul 26, 2018 In recent years, robotics experts have taken a page from the traditional Japanese practice of origami and come up with light and flexible - and highly innovative - robots and drones. Two types of or ... more |
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Russia Mulls Sending Two of Its FEDOR Humanoid Robots Into Space Next YearMoscow (Sputnik) Jul 23, 2018 The ambitious FEDOR project has received a number of upgrades in recent years, with plans to make the robots self-learning and even to use them to create colonies on the moon and fly solo space miss ... more
Microbots capable of sensing environs could explore intestines, pipelinesWashington (UPI) Jul 23, 2018 Engineers at MIT have designed tiny, new robots capable of sensing their surroundings. The microbots, roughly the size of a human egg cell, could be used to explore hard-to-reach passageways, like the human intestines or a gas pipeline. ... more
New creepy, crawly search and rescue robot developed at Ben-GurionNew York NY (SPX) Jul 23, 2018 A new highly maneuverable search and rescue robot that can creep, crawl and climb over rough terrain and through tight spaces has been developed by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researche ... more
Developing Microrobotics for Disaster Recovery and High-Risk EnvironmentsWashington DC (SPX) Jul 19, 2018 Imagine a natural disaster scenario, such as an earthquake, that inflicts widespread damage to buildings and structures, critical utilities and infrastructure, and threatens human safety. Having the ... more
Emotional robot lets you feel how it's 'feeling'Ithaca NY (SPX) Jul 19, 2018 Cornell University researchers have developed a prototype of a robot that can express "emotions" through changes in its outer surface. The robot's skin covers a grid of texture units whose shapes ch ... more |
![]() In China, yellow robots deliver snacks to your home
Maxar Technologies' MDA Announces Acquisition of Neptec Design GroupBrampton, Canada (SPX) Jul 18, 2018 MDA reports it has acquired Neptec Design Group Ltd. (Neptec), the leading electro-optical and electro-mechanical systems and high-performance intelligent Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) company ... more |
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Training artificial intelligence with artificial X-raysToronto, Canada (SPX) Jul 17, 2018 Artificial intelligence (AI) holds real potential for improving both the speed and accuracy of medical diagnostics. But before clinicians can harness the power of AI to identify conditions in images ... more
Reducing the Data Demands of Smart MachinesWashington DC (SPX) Jul 13, 2018 Machine learning (ML) systems today learn by example, ingesting tons of data that has been individually labeled by human analysts to generate a desired output. As these systems have progressed, deep ... more
Dutch city to unveil world's first 3D-printed housing complexThe Hague (AFP) July 11, 2018 The southern Dutch city of Eindhoven plans to unveil the world's first 3D-printed housing complex next year, which its inventors believe could revolutionise the building industry by speeding up and customising construction. ... more
Illinois' crop-counting robot earns top recognition at leading robotics conferenceUrbana IL (SPX) Jul 06, 2018 Today's crop breeders are trying to boost yields while also preparing crops to withstand severe weather and changing climates. To succeed, they must locate genes for high-yielding, hardy traits in c ... more
MIT's Cheetah 3 robot avoids obstacles without the help of visionWashington (UPI) Jul 5, 2018 Cheetah 3, a robot designed by engineers at MIT, can run, jump and climb across complex terrain, avoiding obstacles along the way - all without the benefit of sight. ... more |
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An insect-inspired drone deforms upon impact Lausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Jul 26, 2018
In recent years, robotics experts have taken a page from the traditional Japanese practice of origami and come up with light and flexible - and highly innovative - robots and drones. Two types of origami-inspired structures have emerged: rigid structures that have a certain weight-bearing capacity but that break if that capacity is exceeded, and flexible yet resilient structures that cannot carr ... more |
New photodetector camera to deploy during Robotic Servicing Demonstration Mission Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 03, 2018
Testing tools and technologies for refueling and repairing satellites in orbit won't be the only demonstration taking place aboard the International Space Station during NASA's next Robotic Refueling Mission 3, or RRM3.
Like its QWIP predecessor, SLS is a large-format detector. The arrays are fabricated on a semiconductor wafer. The wafer's surface consists of hundreds of alternating, very ... more |
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World-first quantum computer simulation of chemical bonds using trapped ions Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
An international group of researchers has achieved the world's first multi-qubit demonstration of a quantum chemistry calculation performed on a system of trapped ions, one of the leading hardware platforms in the race to develop a universal quantum computer.
The research, led by University of Sydney physicist Dr Cornelius Hempel, explores a promising pathway for developing effective ways ... more |
Extreme makeover: Fukushima nuclear plant tries image overhaul Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Japan (AFP) Aug 3, 2018
Call it an extreme makeover: In Japan's Fukushima, officials are attempting what might seem impossible, an image overhaul at the site of the worst nuclear meltdown in decades.
At the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, there's a flashy new administrative building, debris has been moved and covered, and officials tout the "light" radioactive security measures now possible.
"You see people mo ... more |
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Head of Syrian regime research centre killed: monitor Beirut (AFP) Aug 5, 2018
The head of a Syrian government research centre fabricating weapons has been killed in an explosion targeting his car, a Britain-based monitor said Sunday.
The pro-regime Al-Watan newspaper confirmed the killing.
General Aziz Asbar was killed late Saturday along with his driver in the central province of Hama, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.
Asbar headed the res ... more |
Electricity crisis leaves Iraqis gasping for cool air Baghdad (AFP) Aug 1, 2018
As the stultifying summer heat sends Iraqis in search of cool spots, restaurateur Ali Hussein provides sanctuary - even though it means hooking up to an expensive generator.
"The clients must be comfortable when they eat," said Hussein, who stakes his reputation on ensuring customers are constantly blasted by air conditioning.
Outside, temperatures at this time of year can reach 50 degr ... more |
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Workshop advances plans for coping with disruptions on ITER Plainsboro NJ (SPX) Aug 06, 2018
The sixth Annual Theory and Simulation of Disruptions Workshop at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) made substantial progress toward planning a system for mitigating disruptions on ITER, the international experiment under construction in France to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion power.
Disruptions, the sudden loss of heat in plasma that ... more |
Growing US unease with China's new deep space facility in Argentina Moscow (Sputnik) Aug 01, 2018 |
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Blend of novices, veterans to fly on first private US spaceships Tampa (AFP) Aug 4, 2018
NASA on Friday named the first nine astronauts who will fly to space on Boeing and SpaceX vehicles in 2019 - a mix of novices and veterans who are tasked with restoring America's ability to send humans into orbit.
These pioneering flights to the International Space Station aboard commercially built crew capsules will be the first leaving US soil to put people into orbit since the iconic spa ... more |
Sorry Elon Musk, but it's now clear that colonising Mars is unlikely London, UK (The Conversation) Aug 06, 2018
Space X and Tesla founder Elon Musk has a vision for colonising Mars, based on a big rocket, nuclear explosions and an infrastructure to transport millions of people there. This was seen as highly ambitious but technically challenging in several ways. Planetary protection rules and the difficulties of terraforming (making the planet hospitable by, for example, warming it up) and dealing with the ... more |
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First SLS Core Stage flight hardware complete, ready for joining Huntsville AL (SPX) Aug 01, 2018
The first major piece of core stage hardware for NASA's Space Launch System rocket has been assembled and is ready to be joined with other hardware for Exploration Mission-1, the first integrated flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft. SLS will enable a new era of exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, launching crew and cargo on deep space exploration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
T ... more |
Chile enacts historic ban on plastic bags Santiago (AFP) Aug 3, 2018
Chile made history on Friday when it became the first country in South America to ban the commercial use of plastic bags.
"I want to share with you the joy that as of today we're enacting the law," said President Sebastian Pinera at a public ceremony in the centre of Santiago, after which he handed out cloth bags to passers-by.
Large businesses have six months to phase out the use of pla ... more |
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Tesla says on track for profit despite bigger 2Q loss San Francisco (AFP) Aug 2, 2018 Tesla shares revved on Wednesday on news the electric car maker is on the road to being profitable this year despite losing more money than analysts expected in the recently ended quarter.
Tesla shares raced up more than 9 percent to $328.99 in after-market trades that followed release of earnings figures and a call in which chief executive Elon Musk patiently fielded questions and expressed ... more |
Nanotube 'rebar' makes graphene twice as tough Houston TX (SPX) Aug 06, 2018
Rice University researchers have found that fracture-resistant "rebar graphene" is more than twice as tough as pristine graphene.
Graphene is a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon. On the two-dimensional scale, the material is stronger than steel, but because graphene is so thin, it is still subject to ripping and tearing.
Rebar graphene is the nanoscale analog of rebar (reinforcement bar ... more |
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New photodetector camera to deploy during Robotic Servicing Demonstration Mission Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 03, 2018
Testing tools and technologies for refueling and repairing satellites in orbit won't be the only demonstration taking place aboard the International Space Station during NASA's next Robotic Refueling Mission 3, or RRM3.
Like its QWIP predecessor, SLS is a large-format detector. The arrays are fabricated on a semiconductor wafer. The wafer's surface consists of hundreds of alternating, very ... more |
Deadly heatwaves threaten China's northern breadbasket Paris (AFP) Aug 1, 2018
The North China Plain, home to nearly 400 million people, could become a life-threatening inferno during future heat waves if climate change continues apace, researchers have warned.
Soaring temperatures combined with high humidity - made worse by the region's dense irrigation network - means the China's breadbasket faces "the greatest risk to human life from rising temperatures of any loc ... more |
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