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Shape-shifting robots perceive surroundings, make decisions for first time![]() Ithaca NY (SPX) Nov 01, 2018 General-purpose robots have plenty of limitations. They can be expensive and cumbersome. They often accomplish only a single type of task. But modular robots - composed of several interchangeable parts, or modules - are far more flexible. If one part breaks, it can be removed and replaced. Components can be rearranged as needed - or better yet, the robots can figure out how to reconfigure themselves, based on the tasks they're assigned and the environments they're navigating. Now, a Cornell ... read more |
Maxar Technologies' MDA to design lunar rover concept for Canadian Space AgencyBrampton, Canada (SPX) Oct 31, 2018 MDA has been selected by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to provide a conceptual design of a lunar rover for science exploration and to prepare for human missions on the lunar surface. As part ... more
NASA will keep trying to contact stalled Mars rover OpportunityWashington (AFP) Oct 30, 2018 NASA has changed its mind about how long it will continue to seek contact with an aging robotic vehicle that was blanketed in a dust storm on Mars back in June and has been stalled ever since. ... more
NASA researchers teach machines to "see"Greenbelt MD (SPX) Oct 31, 2018 Your credit card company contacts you asking if you've purchased something from a retailer you don't normally patronize or spent more than usual. A human didn't identify the atypical transaction. A ... more
Humans help robots learn tasksStanford 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, Ph ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Nov 01 | Oct 31 | Oct 30 | Oct 29 | Oct 28 |
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NASA's InSight will study Mars while standing stillPasadena CA (JPL) Oct 25, 2018 You don't need wheels to explore Mars. After touching down in November, NASA's InSight spacecraft will spread its solar panels, unfold a robotic arm ... and stay put. Unlike the space agency's rover ... more
How to mass produce cell-sized robotsBoston MA (SPX) Oct 24, 2018 Tiny robots no bigger than a cell could be mass-produced using a new method developed by researchers at MIT. The microscopic devices, which the team calls "syncells" (short for synthetic cells), mig ... more
Preparing future explorers for a return to the MoonColumbia MD (SPX) Oct 22, 2018 To train future explorers to support NASA's mission to return to the Moon's surface, scientists use similar environments found on the Earth. Last week, a group of domestic and international students ... more
Understanding the building blocks for an electronic brainGroningen, Netherlands (SPX) Oct 23, 2018 Computer bits are binary, with a value of 0 or 1. By contrast, neurons in the brain can have all kinds of different internal states, depending on the input that they received. This allows the brain ... more
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 services
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 |
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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-learningTokyo, Japan (SPX) Oct 18, 2018 A NIMS research group has invented an ionic device, termed as ionic decision-maker, capable of quickly making its own decisions based on previous experience using changes in ionic/molecular concentr ... more
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
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 |
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US Army tests DARPA autonomous flight system, pursuing integration with Black Hawk Washington DC (SPX) Oct 31, 2018
An S-76B commercial helicopter flew over a small crowd gathered at Fort Eustis, Virginia, landed in an adjacent field after adjusting to miss a vehicle, and rose up to hover perfectly motionless for several minutes. The mid-October demonstration was remarkable because the pilot carried out the maneuvers using supervised autonomy in an aircraft equipped with DARPA's Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Autom ... more |
NASA team investigates ultrafast laser machining for multiple spaceflight applications Greenbelt MD (SPX) Nov 02, 2018
An ultrafast laser that fires pulses of light just 100 millionths of a nanosecond in duration could potentially revolutionize the way that NASA technicians manufacture and ultimately assemble instrument components made of dissimilar materials.
A team of optical physicists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is experimenting with a femtosecond laser and has already ... more |
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Brain-inspired methods to improve wireless communications Blacksburg VA (SPX) Oct 31, 2018
Researchers are always seeking more reliable and more efficient communications, for everything from televisions and cellphones to satellites and medical devices.
One technique generating buzz for its high signal quality is a combination of multiple-input multiple-output techniques with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing.
Virginia Tech researchers Lingjia Liu and Yang (Cindy) ... 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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Brazil's next defense minister wants snipers to take out criminals Rio De Janeiro (AFP) Nov 1, 2018
The army general tapped by Brazil's far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro to be defense minister said Wednesday that snipers should be deployed to take down armed criminal suspects.
His comments came after the far-right governor-elect of Rio de Janeiro, Wilson Witzel, met with criticism after announcing he would deploy police snipers to shoot suspects even if officers' lives are not in da ... 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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Ben-Gurion University researchers achieve breakthrough in process to produce hydrogen fuel New York NY (SPX) Oct 30, 2018
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology researchers have cracked the chemical mechanism that will enable development of a new and more efficient photo-chemical process to produce hydrogen fuel from water, according to a new paper published in Nature Communications.
The team is the first to successfully reveal the fundamental chemical reactio ... 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 |
Water cycle along the northern rim of Hellas Basin throughout Mars' history Mountain View CA (SPX) Nov 02, 2018
The northeastern rim region of Hellas impact basin, located in the southern hemisphere of Mars, contained numerous ephemeral lakes throughout Mars' history, a new study reveals. A new paper published in Astrobiology examines a region where depressions may have been hosted ponding water that originated from different sources, including precipitation, fluvial transportation and ground water.
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Rocket Lab enters high frequency launch operations Huntington Beach CA (SPX) Nov 01, 2018
US orbital launch provider Rocket Lab has confirmed the launch window for the upcoming 'It's Business Time' mission. The nine-day launch window will open from 11 to 19 November (NZDT), with daily launch opportunities between 16:00 - 20:00 NZDT (03:00 - 07:00 UTC).
The Electron launch vehicle is on site at Launch Complex 1 undergoing final pre-launch checkouts, following a final successful ... more |
France launches nationwide probe into baby arm birth defects Paris (AFP) Oct 31, 2018
France has launched a nationwide probe into incidents of babies being born with either missing or malformed arms after abnormal rates of birth defects in several regions have sparked a public health scare.
Francois Bourdillon, head of the Public Health France agency, confirmed for the first time that a national investigation was "underway" and the results would be known in about three month ... more |
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Carbon-busting system to launch at massive Las Vegas auto week Las Vegas NV (SPX) Nov 01, 2018
A service system for reducing carbon build-up in engines will be released at one of the world's biggest auto industry events in Las Vegas this week.
South Australian company Hydroflex will launch its DCARB system at Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week in Las Vegas from October 30 - November 2.
The week attracts 160,000 buyers and distributors from around the globe and includes the S ... more |
Next generation of watch springs Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Oct 31, 2018
Applied research is not always initiated by industry - but oftentimes it yields results that can swiftly be implemented by companies. A prime example can be seen on the Empa campus in Thun: Tiny watch springs are on display at the Laboratory for Mechanics of Materials and Nanostructures. These springs - the beating heart of every mechanical clock - are not your usual components. They are not mad ... more |
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NASA team investigates ultrafast laser machining for multiple spaceflight applications Greenbelt MD (SPX) Nov 02, 2018
An ultrafast laser that fires pulses of light just 100 millionths of a nanosecond in duration could potentially revolutionize the way that NASA technicians manufacture and ultimately assemble instrument components made of dissimilar materials.
A team of optical physicists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is experimenting with a femtosecond laser and has already ... more |
Cypriot farmers fear no-deal Brexit may hit livelihoods Avdimou, 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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