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NASA's Mars 2020 rover is put to the test![]() Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 20, 2019 In a little more than seven minutes in the early afternoon of Feb. 18, 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 rover will execute about 27,000 actions and calculations as it speeds through the hazardous transition from the edge of space to Mars' Jezero Crater. While that will be the first time the wheels of the 2,314-pound (1,050-kilogram) rover touch the Red Planet, the vehicle's network of processors, sensors and transmitters will, by then, have successfully simulated touchdown at Jezero many times before. "We f ... read more |
Drone maps icy lava tube to prepare for cave exploration on Moon and MarsMountain View CA (SPX) Mar 20, 2019 The SETI Institute and Astrobotic Technology, Inc. are announcing the successful mapping in 3D of the interior of an ice-rich lava tube in Iceland using a LiDAR-equipped drone. The team was investig ... more
Trembling Aspen Leaves Could Save Future Mars RoversCoventry, UK (SPX) Mar 19, 2019 Researchers at the University of Warwick have been inspired by the unique movement of trembling aspen leaves, to devise an energy harvesting mechanism that could power weather sensors in hostile env ... 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
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 |
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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
How intelligent is artificial intelligence?Singapore (SPX) Mar 13, 2019 Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms such as Deep Learning have become integral parts of our daily lives: they enable digital speech assistants or translation services, impro ... more
Robo-journalism gains traction in shifting media landscapeWashington (AFP) March 10, 2019 A text-generating "bot" nicknamed Tobi produced nearly 40,000 news stories about the results of the November 2018 elections in Switzerland for the media giant Tamedia - in just five minutes. ... more
Business with human and robotic explorationParis (ESA) Mar 12, 2019 Space is profitable - each euro spent on the International Space Station produces 1.8 euros added value to European economies. Research in low Earth orbit has already contributed to the econom ... more
Progress on lifelong learning machines shows potential for bio-inspired algorithmsWashington DC (SPX) Mar 13, 2019 Today's machine learning systems are restricted by their inability to continuously learn or adapt as they encounter new situations; their programs are fixed after training, leaving them unable to re ... more |
![]() Waymo to sell its self-driving tech to outside firms
Researchers engineer a tougher fiberRaleigh 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 int ... more |
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Gateway to the MoonParis (ESA) Mar 12, 2019 The International Space Station partners have endorsed plans to continue the development of the Gateway, an outpost around the Moon that will act as a base to support both robots and astronauts expl ... more
Moon shot: Toyota, Japan space agency plan lunar missionTokyo (AFP) March 6, 2019 Toyota is teaming up with Japan's space agency on a planned mission to the Moon, with the Japanese auto giant expected to develop a lunar rover, officials and local media said Wednesday. ... more
Assembly in the air: Using sound to defy gravityBath UK (SPX) Mar 05, 2019 Scientists at the University of Bath have levitated particles using sound in an experiment which could have applications in so-called "soft robotics" and help reveal how planets start to form. ... more
Mini cheetah is the first four-legged robot to do a backflipBoston MA (SPX) Mar 05, 2019 MIT's new mini cheetah robot is springy and light on its feet, with a range of motion that rivals a champion gymnast. The four-legged powerpack can bend and swing its legs wide, enabling it to walk ... more
FedEx to test 'SameDay Bot' for local deliveriesSan Francisco (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Global courier service FedEx on Wednesday announced plans to test a "SameDay Bot" autonomous delivery device designed to carry purchases from retail shops to local customers. ... more |
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Civilian deaths mount as US drone strikes in Somalia escalate: Amnesty Nairobi (AFP) March 20, 2019
US forces have "dramatically increased" the number of air strikes in Somalia with several civilians killed by the powerful missiles, Amnesty International said Wednesday, reports denied by the military.
Amnesty calculates that there have been more than 100 strikes by US drones and manned aircraft in the past two years, more than the number of US airstrikes in Yemen and Libya combined during ... more |
Spontaneous spin polarization demonstrated in a two-dimensional material Basel, Switzerland (SPX) Mar 15, 2019
Physicists from the University of Basel have demonstrated spin alignment of free electrons within a two-dimensional material. Writing in the latest edition of Nature Nanotechnology, they described their observation of spontaneous spin polarization, which cannot occur in ideal two-dimensional materials according to a well-known theorem from the 1960s.
Two-dimensional materials are the subje ... more |
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Looking back and forward: A decade-long quest for a transformative transistor Washington DC (SPX) Mar 15, 2019
Smartphones contain billions of tiny switches called transistors that allow us to take care of myriad tasks beyond making calls - sending texts, navigating neighborhoods, snapping selfies and Googling names. These switches involve an electrically conducting channel whose conductivity can be changed by a gate terminal, which is separated from the channel by a dielectric film that's a mere 5 to 6 ... more |
RWE looks to 2019 to complete transformation Frankfurt Am Main (AFP) March 14, 2019
German energy giant RWE reported Thursday falling profits in 2018, but said this year should bring completion of a massive deal sealed that will see it buy up the renewable and nuclear activities from its rival EON.
Essen-based RWE made adjusted net profits of 591 million euros ($669.3 million) last year, down from 973 million in 2017.
While operating, or underlying profits also fell, to ... more |
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US denies report it is leaving up to 1,000 troops in Syria Washington (AFP) March 18, 2019
The United States strongly denied Sunday a report that it intended to leave almost 1,000 troops in Syria, adding plans for a residual force of around 200 troops had not changed.
The Wall Street Journal had reported Sunday that as talks with Turkey, US-backed Kurdish forces and European allies have failed to produce a deal on a "safe zone" in northeastern Syria, the US now intended to keep wo ... 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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Advances point the way to smaller, safer batteries Ithaca NY (SPX) Mar 19, 2019
People don't ask too much from batteries: Deliver energy when it's needed and for as long as it is wanted, recharge quickly and don't burst into flames. A rash of cell phone fires in 2016 jolted consumer confidence in lithium-ion batteries, a technology that helped usher in modern portable electronics but has been plagued by safety concerns since it was introduced in the 1980s.
As interest ... more |
Super-powerful Long March 9 said to begin missions around 2030 Xichang (XNA) Mar 12, 2019
Chinese scientists are designing what is expected to be the world's most powerful rocket, according to a senior researcher.
Li Hong, deputy general manager at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, said the Long March 9 super heavy-lift carrier rocket will be capable of lifting 140 metric tons of payload into a low-Earth orbit, or a 50-ton spacecraft to a lunar transfer orbit. The gi ... more |
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NASA's JPL seeking applicants for First Space Accelerator Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 20, 2019
NASA's first aerospace accelerator program, co-sponsored by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, will select 10 startup companies to take part in a three-month pilot program to develop new technologies for space. Applications will be accepted through April 7.
Organized by Techstars with support from Starburst Aerospace, the pilot program will enable the selected companies ... more |
NASA's Mars 2020 rover is put to the test Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 20, 2019
In a little more than seven minutes in the early afternoon of Feb. 18, 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 rover will execute about 27,000 actions and calculations as it speeds through the hazardous transition from the edge of space to Mars' Jezero Crater. While that will be the first time the wheels of the 2,314-pound (1,050-kilogram) rover touch the Red Planet, the vehicle's network of processors, sensors ... more |
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Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome Ready for Space, ISS Launches Moscow (Sputnik) Mar 19, 2019
One of the routes opened for launches of Soyuz-2 carrier rockets from the Vostochny space center can be used to launch manned and cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), a spokesperson for the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos told Sputnik on Sunday.
"Indeed, [the route] with an inclination [of 51 degrees to the equator during launches from Vostochny spaceport] c ... more |
Remote Cape with 'world's cleanest air' offers smog respite Cape Grim, Australia (AFP) March 18, 2019
As much of Asia wheezes, coughs and sniffles its way through another smog season, one isolated and windswept corner of Australia is serving as the global standard for clean air.
With panoramic views of swaying tussock grass and the vast crystalline expanse of the Southern Ocean, Tasmania's beautiful Cape Grim peninsula is an unlikely reference point for the scientific world.
But since 19 ... more |
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Lyft revs up for an IPO seeking to raise $2.4bn Washington (AFP) March 18, 2019
Lyft said Monday it would seek to raise as much as $2.4 billion in its public share offering, in the first major listing in the fast-growing ride-hailing sector.
The San Francisco startup could be valued at more than $20 billion under the terms of the initial public offering unveiled Monday, setting a price per share of between $62 and $68.
Lyft's launch is the first of what is expected ... more |
Researchers report new light-activated micro pump Houston TX (SPX) Mar 15, 2019
Even the smallest mechanical pumps have limitations, from the complex microfabrication techniques required to make them to the fact that there are limits on how small they can be. Researchers have announced a potential solution - a laser-driven photoacoustic microfluidic pump, capable of moving fluids in any direction without moving parts or electrical contacts.
The work is described in th ... more |
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Spontaneous spin polarization demonstrated in a two-dimensional material Basel, Switzerland (SPX) Mar 15, 2019
Physicists from the University of Basel have demonstrated spin alignment of free electrons within a two-dimensional material. Writing in the latest edition of Nature Nanotechnology, they described their observation of spontaneous spin polarization, which cannot occur in ideal two-dimensional materials according to a well-known theorem from the 1960s.
Two-dimensional materials are the subje ... more |
Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller contributed to US man's cancer: jury San Francisco (AFP) March 19, 2019
The weedkiller Roundup was a "substantial factor" in the cancer of a US man who developed a lump in his throat after decades of spraying his garden - the second major legal defeat to agrochemical giant Monsanto in a year.
Edwin Hardeman, 70, treated his property in Sonoma County, California, regularly with the herbicide from 1980 to 2012 and was eventually diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymph ... more |
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