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Researchers engineer a tougher fiber![]() Raleigh NC (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 North Carolina State University researchers have developed a fiber that combines the elasticity of rubber with the strength of a metal, resulting in a tougher material that could be incorporated into soft robotics, packaging materials or next-generation textiles. "A good way of explaining the material is to think of rubber bands and metal wires," says Michael Dickey, corresponding author of a paper on the work and Alcoa Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State. "A rubbe ... read more |
Waymo to sell its self-driving tech to outside firmsSan Francisco (AFP) March 6, 2019 Waymo, the former Google car division developing self-driving technology, said Wednesday it would sell a key innovation to companies that don't compete with its autonomous cars. ... more
New cell-sized micro robots might make incredible journeysWashington DC (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 Researchers have harnessed the latest nanofabrication techniques to create bug-shaped robots that are wirelessly powered, able to walk, able to survive harsh environments and tiny enough to be injec ... more
Mathematics of sea slug movement points to future robotsWashington DC (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 What do pizza slices, sea slugs and one possible design for future soft-bodied robots have in common? They all have frilly surfaces, and new insights about the surprising geometry of frilly surfaces ... more
Ultra-low power chips help make small robots more capableAtlanta GA (SPX) Mar 11, 2019 An ultra-low power hybrid chip inspired by the brain could help give palm-sized robots the ability to collaborate and learn from their experiences. Combined with new generations of low-power motors ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Mar 09 | Mar 08 | Mar 07 | Mar 06 | Mar 05 |
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GMV achieves important breakthroughs in robotics systems and autonomyMadrid, Spain (SPX) Mar 04, 2019 GMV has recently presented the results obtained in ERGO and ESROCOS, two robotic-technology building blocks led by GMV within the European Commission's H2020 Space Robotics Technologies Strategic Re ... more
Spider silk could be used as robotic muscleBoston MA (SPX) Mar 04, 2019 Spider silk, already known as one of the strongest materials for its weight, turns out to have another unusual property that might lead to new kinds of artificial muscles or robotic actuators, resea ... more
Clues to Martian Life Found in Chilean DesertLausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Mar 01, 2019 A robotic rover deployed in the most Mars-like environment on Earth, the Atacama Desert in Chile, has successfully recovered subsurface soil samples during a trial mission to find signs of life. ... more
Prototype Mars Rover Gets Workout Controlled from 6,000 Miles AwaySwindon UK (SPX) Mar 01, 2019 A space control centre in the UK has been used to test-drive a prototype Mars rover thousands of miles away in Chile's Atacama desert. Experts at the European Space Agency's centre in Oxfordsh ... more
Life on Mars: my 15 amazing years with Oppy, NASA's record-breaking roverStirling UK (SPX) Feb 28, 2019 "It's getting dark, my batteries are running low." With this final poignant message, the most successful mission to Mars - originally planned to last 90 days - ended after 15 years, in a dust storm ... more |
![]() Aquatic microorganism could inspire soft robots able to move fast in narrow spaces
5G is coming: what can we expect?Barcelona (AFP) Feb 25, 2019 This year the telecoms industry will begin the transition to new fifth-generation cellular networks - known as 5G - which is expected to one day help run everything from self-driving cars to robot surgeons. ... more |
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Can we trust scientific discoveries made using machine learning?Washington DC (SPX) Feb 18, 2019 Rice University statistician Genevera Allen says scientists must keep questioning the accuracy and reproducibility of scientific discoveries made by machine-learning techniques until researchers dev ... more
Robots track moving objects with unprecedented precisionBoston MA (SPX) Feb 20, 2019 A novel system developed at MIT uses RFID tags to help robots home in on moving objects with unprecedented speed and accuracy. The system could enable greater collaboration and precision by robots w ... more
Weather on Mars: Chilly with a chance of 'dust devils'Ithaca NY (SPX) Feb 20, 2019 If you're planning a trip to Elysium Planitia on Mars, pack a sweater. Starting this week, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will provide daily weather reports for Mars, courtesy of the red pla ... more
Teaching AI systems to adapt to dynamic environmentsWashington DC (SPX) Feb 18, 2019 Current AI systems excel at tasks defined by rigid rules - such as mastering the board games Go and chess with proficiency surpassing world-class human players. However, AI systems aren't very ... more
Mars Rover Opportunity Ends Mission After 15 YearsIthaca NY (SPX) Feb 13, 2019 The Mars rover Opportunity, NASA's robotic geologist fitted with an array of tools to search for evidence of water, ended its mission Feb. 13 - three weeks after its 15th anniversary and long past i ... more |
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MQ-9 Reaper drone detachment in Poland is fully operational Washington (UPI) Mar 8, 2019
The U.S. Air Force announced this week that a detachment of MQ-9 Reaper drones became fully operational in Poland on Mar. 1.
New facilities at Miroslawiece Air Base in Poland, where Air National Guardsmen, the Polish Air Force and private contractors operate the unmanned aircraft, were opened with a ceremony.
Although unarmed drones have been involved in intelligence, surveillanc ... more |
Nanotechnology and sunlight clear the way for better visibility Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Mar 06, 2019
Anyone who skis, wears glasses, uses a camera or drives a car is familiar with the problem: if you come into a humid environment from the cold, your eyewear, camera lens or windshield can quickly fog up.
Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed a new transparent material coating that greatly reduces this effect. Just a few nanometres thick, their durable coating is made of gold nanopar ... more |
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Two dimensional 'Lego' shows new methods for creating electronics Manchester UK (SPX) Mar 11, 2019
Physicists from The University of Manchester and The University of Sheffield have discovered that when two atomically thin (two-dimensional) materials like graphene are placed on top of each other like a 'Lego' tower, their properties change and a material with novel hybrid properties emerges, paving the way for design of new materials and nano devices.
This happens without the two atomic ... more |
Lithuania asks Belarus to convert nuclear plant to gas Vilnius (AFP) March 7, 2019
Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis on Thursday suggested that Belarus convert its nearly-completed nuclear power plant to gas, saying the move could lead to closer ties between Minsk and the EU.
Lithuania, a eurozone Baltic state, has repeatedly said construction of the plant 20 kilometres (12 miles) from its border does not meet safety standards, a claim rejected by Minsk.
Skv ... more |
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Syria govt rejects watchdog report on deadly chlorine attack Damascus (AFP) March 7, 2019
The Syrian regime on Thursday rejected a report by the world's chemical weapons watchdog confirming chlorine was used in an attack against the Syrian town of Douma in April 2018.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said last Friday that there were "reasonable grounds" to believe toxic chemicals containing "reactive chlorine" had been used in the attack, which witnesses s ... more |
CO2 emissions in developed economies fall due to decreasing fossil fuel and energy use Norwich UK (SPX) Feb 27, 2019
Efforts to cut emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and tackle climate change in developed economies are beginning to pay off according to research led by the Tyndall Centre at the University of East Anglia (UEA).
The study suggests that policies supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency are helping to reduce emissions in 18 developed economies. The group of countries represents 28 pe ... more |
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New reactor-liner alloy material offers strength, resilience Los Alamos NM (SPX) Mar 11, 2019
A new tungsten-based alloy developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory can withstand unprecedented amounts of radiation without damage. Essential for extreme irradiation environments such as the interiors of magnetic fusion reactors, previously explored materials have thus far been hobbled by weakness against fracture, but this new alloy seems to defeat that problem.
"This material showed ... more |
China's lunar rover studies stones on moon's far side Beijing (XNA) Mar 07, 2019
China's lunar rover has conducted scientific detection on some stones on the far side of the moon, which might help scientists find out whether they are from outer space or native to the moon.
The rover Yutu-2, or Jade Rabbit-2, was sent to the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3 in the Chang'e-4 mission.
Currently, the rover h ... more |
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Out of This World Auction Sponsored by ARISS Washington DC (SPX) Mar 08, 2019
The ARISS-US team (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) will auction two very unusual items in its first-ever auction! Picture yourself as the winning bidder and proud owner of a unique JVC Kenwood TS-890S signed by astronauts! Or, you could be top bidder on a special astronaut-signed 6-volume boxed set 2019 ARRL Handbook!
Bidding starts April 8th at 12:00 UTC and ends April 1 ... more |
SWIM Project Maps Potential Sources of Mars Water Tucson AZ (SPX) Mar 07, 2019
Missions carrying humans to Mars will require on-site resources, and a project led by Planetary Science Institute (PSI) scientists Nathaniel Putzig and Gareth Morgan is mapping the availability of potential shallow water-ice sources across the surface of the Red Planet.
Two teams led by Putzig and Morgan were contracted by NASA to pursue separate mapping efforts of subsurface ice deposits ... more |
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China's new solid rocket booster completes test Beijing (XNA) Mar 08, 2019
China announced Tuesday that the country's new solid rocket booster, with 200-tonne thrust engine, completed hot firing tests, proving its readiness for commercial launches.
With a diameter of 2.65 meters, the booster engine is expected to be used on the modified version of the Long March-11 rocket.
The rocket is the only series in the Long March family that uses solid propellants, a ... more |
Antibiotic resistance is spreading from wastewater treatment plants Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 07, 2019
The products of wastewater treatment have been found to contain trace amounts of antibiotic resistant DNA. These products are often reintroduced to the environment and water supply, potentially resulting in the spread of antibiotic resistance.
As such, researchers at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering have been studying the development of these potentially ... more |
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Tesla gets $520 mn funding for first Chinese plant Shanghai (AFP) March 8, 2019
Electric carmaker Tesla has won more than $520 million in loans from Chinese banks to build its first overseas car plant near Shanghai, the first foreign automaker to wholly own a factory in China.
The funding, announced on Thursday, is an important boost for the California-based firm, which has been in negotiations with Beijing for years over building the plant in the world's biggest electr ... more |
The holy grail of nanowire production Lausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Feb 25, 2019 |
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Nanotechnology and sunlight clear the way for better visibility Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Mar 06, 2019
Anyone who skis, wears glasses, uses a camera or drives a car is familiar with the problem: if you come into a humid environment from the cold, your eyewear, camera lens or windshield can quickly fog up.
Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed a new transparent material coating that greatly reduces this effect. Just a few nanometres thick, their durable coating is made of gold nanopar ... more |
Houston, we're here to help the farmers Washington DC (SPX) Mar 11, 2019
Farmers irrigating their crops may soon be getting some help from space. In 2018, scientists launched ECOSTRESS, a new instrument now attached to the International Space Station. Its mission: to gather data on how plants use water across the world.
"Technically, the instruments are measuring surface temperature, which reflects the heat stress of plants," explains Joshua Fisher of NASA's Je ... more |
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