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Recreating space on Earth - two facilities join ESA's platforms for spaceflight research![]() Human and Robotic Exploration Paris (ESA) Feb 07, 2019 Science is everywhere but opportunities to carry out research in space can be limited. To combat this, ESA works with institutes across Europe to maintain a network of ground-based facilities that recreate aspects of spaceflight. From radiation to weightlessness, isolation and a lack of Earthly comforts, astronauts and robots on missions far from home face many challenges in space. To help mitigate these, two new facilities have been added to Europe's roster of plac ... read more |
A reconfigurable soft actuatorBoston MA (SPX) Feb 05, 2019 Mechanical systems, such as engines and motors, rely on two principal types of motions of stiff components: linear motion, which involves an object moving from one point to another in a straight lin ... more
InSight's Seismometer Now Has a Cozy Shelter on MarsPasadena CA (JPL) Feb 05, 2019 For the past several weeks, NASA's InSight lander has been making adjustments to the seismometer it set on the Martian surface on Dec. 19. Now it's reached another milestone by placing a domed shiel ... more
First private spacecraft shoots for the moonColumbus OG (The Conversation) Feb 04, 2019 "Moon of Israel" is an epic 1924 film from the golden era of silent movies, and helped launch the directing career of Michael Curtiz, of "Casablanca" fame. Sequels seldom live up to the original. ... more
Engineers build a soft robotics perception system inspired by humansSan Diego CA (SPX) Feb 01, 2019 An international team of researchers has developed a perception system for soft robots inspired by the way humans process information about their own bodies in space and in relation to other objects ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Feb 07 | Feb 06 | Feb 05 | Feb 04 | Feb 01 |
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Why do beaked whales return to Navy sonar range despite disturbancesMoss Landing CA (SPX) Jan 30, 2019 Using data from underwater robots, scientists have discovered that beaked whales prefer to feed within parts of a Navy sonar test range off Southern California that have dense patches of deep-sea sq ... more
Automation to hit most jobs, but overall impact 'muted': studyWashington (AFP) Jan 24, 2019 Artificial intelligence and automation will lead to job losses in "virtually all occupational groups" over the coming decades in the United States, but the overall impact on employment will be "muted," a prominent think tank study said Thursday. ... more
Is the world ready for the 'digital transformation'?Davos, Switzerland (AFP) Jan 24, 2019 The annual business rendezvous in Davos is a hothouse of insider tech jargon, but this year's buzzword of "digital transformation" could translate into profound and painful changes for companies and workers. ... more
Information theory holds surprises for machine learningSanta Fe NM (SPX) Jan 25, 2019 New research challenges a popular conception of how machine learning algorithms "think" about certain tasks. The conception goes something like this: because of their ability to discard useles ... more
The first tendril-like soft robot able to climbRome, Italy (SPX) Jan 25, 2019 Researchers at IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia obtained the first soft robot mimicking plant tendrils: it is able to curl and climb, using the same physical principles determining water transpor ... more |
![]() Amazon rolls out 'Scout' delivery robots
NC State researchers create 3D-printed soft mesh robotsRaleigh NC (SPX) Jan 24, 2019 Researchers at North Carolina State University have created 3D-printed flexible mesh structures that can be controlled with applied magnetic fields while floating on water. The structures can grab s ... more |
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Paw patrol: Sony offers robocop dog at homeTokyo (AFP) Jan 23, 2019 Sony's puppy-sized robot dog aibo, equipped with cameras, artificial intelligence and internet capability, can now remotely check up on family members, children or even pets, the Japanese electronics giant said Wednesday. ... more
Increasing skepticism against robotsWurzburg, Germany (SPX) Jan 23, 2019 Robots performing in surgeries, robots in automobile production, and robots in caregiving. In some areas, the machines are already well-established, in others they are on the rise. The psychologists ... more
Smart microrobots that can adapt to their surroundingsLausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Jan 21, 2019 One day we may be able to ingest tiny robots that deliver drugs directly to diseased tissue, thanks to research being carried out at EPFL and ETH Zurich. The group of scientists - led by Selma ... more
NASA's Campaign to Return to the Moon with Global PartnersWashington DC (SPX) Jan 21, 2019 The Moon is a fundamental part of Earth's past and future - an off-world location that may hold valuable resources to support space activity and scientific treasures that may tell us more about our ... more
WSU smart home tests first elder care robotPullman WA (SPX) Jan 15, 2019 A robot created by Washington State University scientists could help elderly people with dementia and other limitations live independently in their own homes. The Robot Activity Support System ... more |
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German Forces Begin Training Courses on Armed Israeli Surveillance Drones Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 05, 2019
German forces recently began a training course at the Tel Nof airbase in Rehovot, Israel, in an effort to learn the surveillance capabilities of the costly Heron TP unmanned surveillance drone.
The German officials, a pilot and sensor operator, began the eight-week training session in late January, according to the Jerusalem Post, which reported that the drone training is expected to conti ... more |
Momentus Announces Orders are Open for the Vigoride Orbit Transfer Service Santa Clara CA (SPX) Feb 07, 2019
Momentus, provider of in-space transportation services, has announced that they are taking orders for their Vigoride and Vigoride Extended services (orbital repositioning for satellites with masses up to 250kg) and have signed their first customer: EXOLAUNCH, in a contract worth more than $6M. EXOLAUNCH (formerly ECM Launch Services), is a leading European launch services provider and cluster in ... more |
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Argonne researchers develop new method to reduce quantum noise Lemont IL (SPX) Feb 05, 2019
In a recent issue of Physical Review A, Argonne researchers reported a new method for alleviating the effects of "noise" in quantum information systems, a challenge scientists around the globe are working to meet in the race toward a new era of quantum technologies. The new method has implications for the future of quantum information science, including quantum computing and quantum sensing.
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Storage of nuclear waste a 'global crisis': report Paris (AFP) Jan 30, 2019
Nuclear waste is piling up around the world even as countries struggle to dispose of spent fuel that will remain highly toxic for many thousands of years, Greenpeace detailed in a report Wednesday.
An analysis of waste storage facilities in seven countries with nuclear power revealed that several were near saturation, the anti-nuclear NGO said.
All these nations also confronted other pro ... more |
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US strikes in Somalia won't stop Shabaab: US general Washington (AFP) Feb 7, 2019
The US military's air campaign against Al-Shabaab in Somalia will not stop the jihadists, a top US general said Thursday as he called on the east African nation's army to take more responsibility in the fight.
The Pentagon is running an ongoing mission in which US forces work with African Union and Somali national security forces to fight the Shabaab movement.
"At the end of the day, the ... more |
To conserve energy, AI clears up cloudy forecasts Ithaca NY (SPX) Feb 07, 2019
If the forecast calls for rain, you'll probably pack an umbrella. If it calls for cold, you may bring your mittens. That same kind of preparation happens in buildings, where sophisticated heating and cooling systems adjust themselves based on the predicted weather.
But when the forecast is imperfect - as it often is - buildings can end up wasting energy, just as we may find ourselves wet, ... more |
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Chinese company wins bid to build lithium factories in Bolivia La Paz (AFP) Feb 7, 2019
Bolivia's public mining company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) has reached agreement with China's Xinjiang TBEA Group-Baocheng to build eight lithium producing factories in the Andes, YLB said on Thursday.
The agreement aims to develop "strategic cooperation" between the two companies to ensure the "financing and realization of industrial projects" in the saline lakes of Coipasa and P ... more |
Seed of moon's first sprout: Chinese scientists' endeavor Beijing (XNA) Feb 05, 2019
An experiment that saw the first-ever plant sprouting on the moon last month was born in a natural disaster that devastated China's cotton-industry almost three decades ago.
Li Fuguang was one of the Chinese agricultural scientists whose years of hard work might one day help lead to a base and long-term human residence on the moon.
He was on the team that developed the cotton seeds c ... more |
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Richard Branson says he'll fly to space by July Washington (AFP) Feb 8, 2019 British billionaire Richard Branson plans to travel to space within the next four or five months aboard his own Virgin Galactic spaceship, he told AFP Thursday.
"My wish is to go up on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, that's what we're working on," the head of the Virgin group said on the sidelines of an event to honor Virgin Galactic at the Air and Space Museum in Washington.
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ESA's Mars rover has a name - Rosalind Franklin Paris (ESA) Feb 08, 2019
The ExoMars rover that will search for the building blocks of life on the Red Planet has a name: Rosalind Franklin. The prominent scientist behind the discovery of the structure of DNA will have her symbolic footprint on Mars in 2021.
A panel of experts chose 'Rosalind Franklin' from over 36 000 entries submitted by citizens from all ESA Member States, following a competition launched by t ... more |
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Launch of Unmanned US Dragon 2 Spacecraft to ISS Set for March 2 Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 07, 2019
The new US spacecraft Dragon 2 will be launched for an unmanned mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on March 2, a source in the Russian space industry told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"The US side gave us information about the launch date of the unmanned spacecraft Dragon 2 to the ISS. It is March 2," the source said.
In mid-January, a source told Sputnik that a manned Dragon ... more |
Green water-purification system works without heavy metals or corrosive chemicals Washington DC (SPX) Feb 08, 2019
Scientists at the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and Yangzhou University (YZU) in Jiangsu have developed an effective and energy-efficient technique for purifying water by using graphitic carbon nitride sheets.
Their prototype, presented February 7 in the journal Chem, purified pathogen-rich water in 30 min, killing over 99.9999% of bac ... more |
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Self-driving cars and geospatial data: Who holds the keys? Hanover NH (SPX) Feb 06, 2019
As self-driving cars continue to develop, there will be plenty of data amassed through cars' navigational technologies. Questions regarding privacy, ownership, cybersecurity and public safety arise, as heavily guarded mapping data is collected and leveraged by companies.
The geospatial data can be used to draw new maps identifying the spaces where we live and travel. That information is cu ... more |
Nano-infused ceramic could report on its own health Houston TX (SPX) Feb 06, 2019
A ceramic that becomes more electrically conductive under elastic strain and less conductive under plastic strain could lead to a new generation of sensors embedded into structures like buildings, bridges and aircraft able to monitor their own health.
The electrical disparity fostered by the two types of strain was not obvious until Rice University's Rouzbeh Shahsavari, an assistant profes ... more |
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Momentus Announces Orders are Open for the Vigoride Orbit Transfer Service Santa Clara CA (SPX) Feb 07, 2019
Momentus, provider of in-space transportation services, has announced that they are taking orders for their Vigoride and Vigoride Extended services (orbital repositioning for satellites with masses up to 250kg) and have signed their first customer: EXOLAUNCH, in a contract worth more than $6M. EXOLAUNCH (formerly ECM Launch Services), is a leading European launch services provider and cluster in ... more |
Gypsum as an agricultural product Washington DC (SPX) Feb 07, 2019
Warren Dick has worked with gypsum for more than two decades. You'd think he'd be an expert on drywall and plastering because both are made from gypsum. But the use of gypsum that Dick studies might be unfamiliar to you: on farmland.
"Gypsum is a good source of both calcium and sulfur, which crops need for good yields," says Dick. "We also found that it improves many other soil characteris ... more |
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