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Humans help robots learn tasks![]() Stanford CA (SPX) Oct 29, 2018 In the basement of the Gates Computer Science Building at Stanford University, a screen attached to a red robotic arm lights up. A pair of cartoon eyes blinks. "Meet Bender," says Ajay Mandlekar, PhD student in electrical engineering. Bender is one of the robot arms that a team of Stanford researchers is using to test two frameworks that, together, could make it faster and easier to teach robots basic skills. The RoboTurk framework allows people to direct the robot arms in real time with a s ... read more |
Third ASPIRE test confirms Mars 2020 parachute a goWallops Island, VA (SPX) Oct 29, 2018 In the early hours of Sept. 7, NASA broke a world record. Less than 2 minutes after the launch of a 58-foot-tall (17.7-meter) Black Brant IX sounding rocket, a payload separated and began its dive b ... more
Desert test drive for Mars rover controlled from 1,000 miles awayLondon, UK (SPX) Oct 29, 2018 A UK-built Mars rover was taken for a test drive in Spain's Tabernas Desert this week, under remote control from the Harwell Space Cluster in Oxfordshire - 1,000 miles away. The ExoFiT Mars ro ... more
Apple Watch supplier under fire over China student labourWashington (AFP) Oct 30, 2018 Apple is investigating a factory in southwest China after a labour rights group said the tech giant's supplier forced student workers to work "like robots" to assemble its popular Apple Watch. ... more
Small flying robots haul heavy loadsStanford CA (SPX) Oct 25, 2018 A closed door is just one of many obstacles that poses no barrier to a new type of flying, micro, tugging robot called a FlyCroTug. Outfitted with advanced gripping technologies and the ability to m ... more |
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NASA calls for instruments, technologies for delivery to the MoonWashington DC (SPX) Oct 22, 2018 NASA has announced a call for Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payloads that will fly to the Moon on commercial lunar landers as early as next year or 2020. The agency is working with U.S. in ... more
NASA seeks information for gateway cargo delivery servicesWashington DC (SPX) Oct 24, 2018 NASA will lead the development of the Gateway, a permanent spaceship orbiting the Moon, to serve as a home base for human and robotic missions to the surface of the Moon and ultimately, Mars. The fi ... more
Postman, shopper, builder: In Japan, there's a robot for thatTokyo (AFP) Oct 18, 2018 Forget the flashy humanoids with their gymnastics skills: at the World Robot Summit in Tokyo, the focus was on down-to-earth robots that can deliver post, do the shopping and build a house. ... more
The claw game on Mars: NASA InSight plays to winPasadena CA (JPL) Oct 19, 2018 If you've ever played the claw machine at an arcade, you know how hard it can be to maneuver the metal "hand" to pick up a prize. Imagine trying to play that game when the claw is on Mars, the objec ... more
Sound, vibration recognition boost context-aware computingPittsburgh PA (SPX) Oct 18, 2018 Smart devices can seem dumb if they don't understand where they are or what people around them are doing. Carnegie Mellon University researchers say this environmental awareness can be enhanced by c ... more |
![]() Invention of ionic decision-maker capable of self-learning
New infrared telescope first to monitor entire northern skyCanberra, Australia (SPX) Oct 18, 2018 A new infrared telescope designed and built by astronomers at The Australian National University (ANU) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the US will be the first of its kind to ... more |
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Teaching machines common sense reasoningWashington DC (SPX) Oct 15, 2018 Today's machine learning systems are more advanced than ever, capable of automating increasingly complex tasks and serving as a critical tool for human operators. Despite recent advances, however, a ... more
Scientists to debate landing site for next Mars roverPasadena CA (JPL) Oct 16, 2018 Hundreds of scientists and Mars-exploration enthusiasts will convene in a hotel ballroom just north of Los Angeles later this week to present, discuss and deliberate the future landing site for NASA ... more
MASCOT completes first scientific 'stroll' across asteroid RyuguWashington (UPI) Oct 12, 2018 The German lander MASCOT has completed its first scientific "stroll" across the asteroid Ryugu. ... more
MIT unveils new $1 bn college for artificial intelligenceWashington (AFP) Oct 15, 2018 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced plans Monday to create a new college of artificial intelligence with an initial $1 billion commitment for the program focusing on "responsible and ethical" uses of the technology. ... more
Army researchers' technique locates robots, soldiers in GPS-challenged areasAdelphi MD (SPX) Oct 10, 2018 Scientists at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have developed a novel algorithm that enables localization of humans and robots in areas where GPS is unavailable. According to ARL researchers ... more |
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Armed drones, iris scanners: China's high-tech security gadgets Beijing (AFP) Oct 26, 2018
From virtual reality police training programmes to gun-toting drones and iris scanners, a public security expo in China showed the range of increasingly high-tech tools available to the country's police.
The exhibition, which ran Tuesday to Friday in Beijing, emphasised surveillance and monitoring technology just as the Communist government's domestic security spending has skyrocketed.
F ... more |
New composite material that can cool itself down under extreme temperatures Nottingham UK (SPX) Oct 29, 2018
A cutting-edge material, inspired by nature, that can regulate its own temperature and could equally be used to treat burns and help space capsules withstand atmospheric forces is under development at the University of Nottingham.
The research paper, Temperature - dependent polymer absorber as a switchable state NIR reactor, is published in the journal Scientific Reports Friday 26 October. ... more |
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Artificial intelligence controls quantum computers Munich, Germany (SPX) Oct 26, 2018
Quantum computers could solve complex tasks that are beyond the capabilities of conventional computers. However, the quantum states are extremely sensitive to constant interference from their environment.
The plan is to combat this using active protection based on quantum error correction. Florian Marquardt, Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and his team have n ... more |
Russia, Uzbekistan hail $11 bn nuclear plant project during Putin visit Tashkent (AFP) Oct 19, 2018
Russia and Uzbekistan on Friday hailed the construction of an $11 billion nuclear power plant that should help solve an energy deficit in the Central Asian country while binding it tighter to Moscow politically.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was paying a first state visit to Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev since Mirziyoyev replaced the late Islam Karimov, who ruled for nearly three d ... more |
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Poison gas: World War I's weapon of terror Paris (AFP) Oct 29, 2018
On April 22, 1915, a greenish fog drifted over the battlefield north of Ypres in Belgium, choking to death some 5,000 French soldiers and heralding a new type of terror on the Western Front.
World War I saw the first widespread combat use of modern chemical weapons, starting with the 168 tons of chlorine released by the Germans over the trenches near Ypres.
Officers hoped the vomiting, s ... more |
Spain's Ibedrola sells hydro, gas-powered assets in U.K. for $929M Washington (UPI) Oct 16, 2018
Spain's Iberdola, an electricity generation company that also operates in the U.K., U.S., Brazil and Mexico, said Tuesday that it was selling to the U.K.-based Drax group $929 million worth of hydro- and gas-powered assets.
Iberdrola's President Ignacio Galan said the company's energy production in the U.K. - where it owns the unit Scottish Power-- is now completely emission free.
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Chilean court authorizes Chinese group's lithium production purchase Santiago (AFP) Oct 25, 2018
Chile's constitutional court gave the green light on Thursday to Chinese group Tianqi's proposed acquisition of a 24 percent stake in Chile's lithium producer SQM for $4.1 billion.
The court rejected an appeal to halt the sale by SQM's controlling shareholder, the Pampa Group, which argued that such a deal would break competition rules as Tianqi also owns a stake in Albermarle, a direct comp ... more |
China's space programs open up to world Beijing (XNA) Oct 24, 2018
When German scientists were conducting micro-gravity experiments on China's recoverable satellite in the 1980s, Chinese space engineer Tang Bochang was busy solving technical problems, while carefully keeping Chinese secrets.
Tang joined the China Academy of Space Technology in 1970, the same year China launched its first satellite. He has participated in the development of returnable sate ... more |
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Thrusters with additively manufactured components qualified to fly humans on Orion spacecraft Redmond WA (SPX) Oct 30, 2018
Aerojet Rocketdyne recently completed qualification testing for the enhanced reaction control thruster system for NASA's Orion crew vehicle, helping to clear the way for the Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft's second test flight, and first mission to cislunar space, called Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1).
The reaction control system, or RCS, is the only means of guiding the Orion crew module a ... more |
Desert test drive for Mars rover controlled from 1,000 miles away London, UK (SPX) Oct 29, 2018
A UK-built Mars rover was taken for a test drive in Spain's Tabernas Desert this week, under remote control from the Harwell Space Cluster in Oxfordshire - 1,000 miles away.
The ExoFiT Mars rover testing team will use a new model called 'Charlie' to test hardware, software and to practise science operations for the future European Space Agency (ESA) ExoMars rover, which will look for life ... more |
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Russia tests nuclear propulsion spacecraft's key element Moscow (Sputnik) Oct 30, 2018
The cooling system, which is the most important element of the Russian space transport and energy unit developed on the basis of megawatt-class nuclear electric propulsion, has been successfully tested in Russia, materials published on the government procurement website on Monday stated.
"The works have been fully completed. The results meet the requirements of the technical specifications ... more |
Report: European air pollution remains at deadly levels Washington (UPI) Oct 29, 2018
While air pollution continues to fall, its levels throughout Europe sit high enough to jeopardize to human health, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency.
Air pollution numbers - particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ground level ozone emissions - remain too high, exceeding limits set by the European Union and the World Health Organization, according to a re ... more |
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After 'historic' quarter, Tesla looks to Europe, China San Francisco (AFP) Oct 25, 2018
Electric car maker Tesla on Wednesday reported an "historic" quarterly profit driven by demand for its mass market Model 3, as the company looks beyond its US home base to Europe and China.
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said he expects the company to stay profitable from this point forward, and appeared to calm fears about his behavior, company debt, and snags ramping up production line e ... more |
Caltech engineers create an optical gyroscope smaller than a grain of rice Washington DC (SPX) Oct 26, 2018
Gyroscopes are devices that help vehicles, drones, and wearable and handheld electronic devices know their orientation in three-dimensional space. They are commonplace in just about every bit of technology we rely on every day. Originally, gyroscopes were sets of nested wheels, each spinning on a different axis.
But open up a cell phone today, and you will find a microelectromechanical sen ... more |
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New composite material that can cool itself down under extreme temperatures Nottingham UK (SPX) Oct 29, 2018
A cutting-edge material, inspired by nature, that can regulate its own temperature and could equally be used to treat burns and help space capsules withstand atmospheric forces is under development at the University of Nottingham.
The research paper, Temperature - dependent polymer absorber as a switchable state NIR reactor, is published in the journal Scientific Reports Friday 26 October. ... more |
Cypriot farmers fear no-deal Brexit may hit livelihoods Avd�mou, Cyprus (AFP) Oct 30, 2018
Olive farmer Andreas Fotiou steered carefully along a dusty lane in southwest Cyprus, en route from his village to nearby groves - locations that could have clashing trade regimes, post-Brexit.
He fears he could lose out on vital EU subsidies, and even be forced to pay crippling tariffs, if London and Brussels fail to finalise a withdrawal agreement or trade deal.
Fotiou is one of thous ... more |
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