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Snake-inspired robot slithers even better than predecessor![]() Boston MA (SPX) Apr 23, 2019 Bad news for ophiophobes: Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a new and improved snake-inspired soft robot that is faster and more precise than its predecessor. The robot is made using kirigami - a Japanese paper craft that relies on cuts to change the properties of a material. As the robot stretches, the kirigami surface "pops up" into a 3D-textured surface, which grips the ground just like snake skin. The first-gener ... read more |
FEDOR Space Rescuer: Roscosmos 'Trains' Anthropomorphic Robot for Manned MissionMoscow (Sputnik) Apr 15, 2019 Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos and Rocket and Space Corporation Energia have received FEDOR (Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) anthropomorphic robot for its potential use ... more
NASA 'Nose' importance of humans, robots exploring togetherGreenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 23, 2019 NASA is sending humans forward to the Moon, this time to stay. Upcoming expeditions to the Moon will require making every moment of astronaut time outside the safety of the Gateway in orbit and luna ... more
Giving robots a better feel for object manipulationBoston MA (SPX) Apr 23, 2019 A new learning system developed by MIT researchers improves robots' abilities to mold materials into target shapes and make predictions about interacting with solid objects and liquids. The system, ... more
Things Are Stacking Up for NASA's Mars 2020 SpacecraftPasadena CA (JPL) Apr 19, 2019 For the past few months, the clean room floor in High Bay 1 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, has been covered in parts, components and test equipment for the Mars 2020 sp ... more |
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When robots commit wrongdoing, people may incorrectly assign the blameWashington DC (SPX) Apr 09, 2019 Last year, a self-driven car struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona. The woman's family is now suing Arizona and the city of Tempe for negligence. But, in an article published on April 5 i ... more
Robots created with 3D printers could be caring for those in golden yearsWest Lafayette IN (SPX) Apr 10, 2019 The world's elderly population is booming. The number of older people - those age 60 years or older - is expected to more than double by 2050 and is growing faster than all younger age groups across ... more
Maxar and NASA complete Design Review for Restore-L On-Orbit Servicing Spacecraft BusWestminster CO (SPX) Apr 09, 2019 Maxar Technologies reports that the spacecraft bus it is building for NASA's Restore-L project to refuel a satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) has completed an important review process called the Cri ... more
Laying the ground for robotic strategies in environmental protectionBoston MA (SPX) Apr 09, 2019 Along developed riverbanks, physical barriers can help contain flooding and combat erosion. In arid regions, check dams can help retain soil after rainfall and restore damaged landscapes. In constru ... more
Google workers want ultra-conservative off AI councilSan Francisco (AFP) April 1, 2019 A group of Google employees launched a public campaign Monday to remove the president of the conservative think-tank Heritage Foundation from an outside artificial intelligence ethics advisory panel. ... more |
![]() Is Space Mining a Viable Future?
'Edtech' boom transforms how Indian kids learnMumbai (AFP) March 31, 2019 From a multi-billion-dollar education startup to wired-up mannequins, technology is helping to revolutionise the way Indian schoolchildren are learning - provided their parents can afford it. ... more |
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GITAI signs joint robotic research agreement with JAXATokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 27, 2019 GITAI (Head Office: San Francisco, US; Japanese Branch: Meguro, Tokyo) has signed a joint research agreement with JAXA (the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency). Experiments in using GITAI's ... more
Using AI to build better human-machine teamsWashington DC (SPX) Mar 25, 2019 The inability of artificial intelligence (AI) to represent and model human partners is the single biggest challenge preventing effective human-machine teaming today. Current AI agents are able ... more
Dynamic hydrogel used to make 'soft robot' components and LEGO-like building blocksProvidence RI (SPX) Mar 25, 2019 Using a new type of dual polymer material capable of responding dynamically to its environment, Brown University researchers have developed a set of modular hydrogel components that could be useful ... more
Ankle exoskeleton fits under clothes for potential broad adoptionNashville TN (SPX) Mar 25, 2019 A new lightweight, low-profile and inexpensive ankle exoskeleton could be widely used among elderly people, those with impaired lower-leg muscle strength and workers whose jobs require substantial w ... more
4D-printed materials can be stiff as wood or soft as spongeNew Brunswick NJ (SPX) Mar 25, 2019 Imagine smart materials that can morph from being stiff as wood to as soft as a sponge - and also change shape. Rutgers University-New Brunswick engineers have created flexible, lightweight ma ... more |
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Cubic to support Boeing's MQ-25 unmanned tanker for the US Navy San Diego CA (SPX) Apr 23, 2019
Cubic Corporation reports its Cubic Mission Solutions (CMS) business division has been awarded a contract by The Boeing Company to supply its Wideband Satellite Communications (SATCOM) modem system and Line-of-Sight (LOS) Common Data Link (CDL) system for the MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueling program.
"Our resilient, wideband communication solution will enable the MQ-25 to conduct its missio ... more |
Modified 'white graphene' for eco-friendly energy Tomsk, Russia (SPX) Apr 23, 2019
Scientists from TPU, Germany, and the United States have found a new way to functionalize a dielectric, otherwise known as 'white graphene', i.e. hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), without destroying it or changing its properties. Thanks to the new method, the researchers synthesized a 'polymer nano carpet' with strong covalent bond on the samples.
Prof Raul Rodriguez from the TPU Research Sch ... more |
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Semiconductor scientists discover effect that was thought impossible Moscow, Russia (SPX) Apr 23, 2019
A physical effect known as superinjection underlies modern light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and lasers. For decades this effect was believed to occur only in semiconductor heterostructures - that is, structures composed of two or more semiconductor materials.
Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have found superinjection to be possible in homostructures, which are ma ... more |
Japan to halt nuke plants if anti-terror steps not taken Tokyo (AFP) April 24, 2019
Japanese authorities on Wednesday threatened to close down nuclear reactors that do not conform to strict anti-terror measures introduced after the 2011 Fukushima tsunami and nuclear disaster.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) introduced tougher new rules in 2013 requiring utilities to be able to maintain nuclear reaction cooling facilities by remote control if necessary.
The regula ... more |
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Sri Lanka troops join hunt for bomb attack suspects Colombo (AFP) April 25, 2019
Sri Lanka deployed thousands of additional troops countrywide overnight to help police hunt for suspects in the Easter Sunday suicide blasts that killed nearly 360 people, a spokesman said Thursday.
Brigadier Sumith Atapattu said the army increased its deployment by 1,300 to 6,300, with the navy and airforce also deploying 2,000 more personnel.
"We are armed with powers to search, seize, ... more |
New York mayor targets classic skyscrapers with Green New Deal New York (AFP) April 22, 2019
Mayor Bill de Blasio marked Earth Day by outlining measures to make New York greener Monday, including dramatically cutting the carbon footprint of the city's signature building, the skyscraper.
"We're going to ban the classic glass and steel skyscrapers, which are incredibly inefficient," he told MSNBC television.
The New York version of the "Green New Deal" currently being pushed by fr ... more |
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Artificial intelligence speeds efforts to develop clean, virtually limitless fusion energy Plainsboro NJ (SPX) Apr 23, 2019
Artificial intelligence (AI), a branch of computer science that is transforming scientific inquiry and industry, could now speed the development of safe, clean and virtually limitless fusion energy for generating electricity.
A major step in this direction is under way at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Princeton University, where a team ... more |
China to build moon station in 'about 10 years' Beijing (AFP) April 24, 2019
Beijing plans to send a manned mission to the moon and to build a research station there within the next decade, state media reported Wednesday, citing a top space official.
China aims to achieve space superpower status and took a major step towards that goal when it became the first nation to land a rover on the far side of the moon in January.
It now plans to build a scientific researc ... more |
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Photobioreactor: oxygen and a source of nutrition for astronauts Friedrichshafen, Germany (SPX) Apr 29, 2019
Airbus is bringing another experimental system to the International Space Station (ISS) in the form of the photobioreactor (PBR). The PBR, developed by the University of Stuttgart and built by Airbus on behalf of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), is designed to convert part of the CO2 extracted by the 'LSR' Life Support Rack on board the ISS into oxyge ... more |
ESA to Lose Member State Support if ExoMars Launch Postponed - Director-General Washington DC (Sputnik) Apr 26, 2019
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia's Roscosmos should not consider postponing the launch of the ExoMars mission as its rescheduling will lead to the loss of support from European member countries, Director-General Jan Woerner told Sputnik.
"I don't accept a discussion about rescheduling because we already postponed the launch for two years, from 2018 to 2020, and I believe industry ... more |
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SpaceX, NASA tight-lipped on cause of crew capsule incident Washington (AFP) April 25, 2019
NASA and SpaceX remained tight-lipped Thursday about what caused a mysterious but apparently serious incident last weekend during engine tests on the Crew Dragon capsule designed to carry US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year.
SpaceX said that an "anomaly" had occurred during Saturday's ground tests at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
A photo on the Florida Tod ... more |
China plastic waste ban throws global recycling into chaos Jenjarom, Malaysia (AFP) April 25, 2019
From grubby packaging engulfing small Southeast Asian communities to waste piling up in plants from the US to Australia, China's ban on accepting the world's used plastic has plunged global recycling into turmoil.
For many years, China received the bulk of scrap plastic from around the world, processing much of it into a higher quality material that could be used by manufacturers.
But at ... more |
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Tesla pushes autonomous driving with new chip; Probes Shanghai fire. San Francisco (AFP) April 22, 2019 Tesla on Monday unveiled computer hardware for "full self-driving" capabilities as part of its strategy to bring autonomous cars to the mainstream.
At an investor presentation, the electric carmaker revealed technical details of a new chip and computer being installed in all its vehicles to advance its goals for autonomous driving.
Tesla already enables partial autonomy for its cars, but ... more |
Fast and selective optical heating for functional nanomagnetic metamaterials Usurbil, Spain (SPX) Apr 23, 2019
Compared to so-far used global heating schemes, which are slow and energy-costly, light-controlled heating, using optical degrees of freedom such as light wavelength, polarisation, and power, allows to implement local, efficient, and fast heating schemes for the use in nanomagnetic computation or to quantify collective emergent phenomena in artificial spin systems.
Single-domain nanoscale ... more |
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Modified 'white graphene' for eco-friendly energy Tomsk, Russia (SPX) Apr 23, 2019
Scientists from TPU, Germany, and the United States have found a new way to functionalize a dielectric, otherwise known as 'white graphene', i.e. hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), without destroying it or changing its properties. Thanks to the new method, the researchers synthesized a 'polymer nano carpet' with strong covalent bond on the samples.
Prof Raul Rodriguez from the TPU Research Sch ... more |
Papa roach: Chinese farmer breeds bugs for the table Yibin, China (AFP) April 19, 2019
As farmer Li Bingcai opened the door to his cockroach farm in southwest China, an insect the size of a dart flew into his face.
Picking the critter off his forehead, he tossed it back into the dark room where some 10 million more of its kind scurried around, housed in wooden frames perched on shelves.
The six-legged creatures may be a bugbear for most, but Li and other breeders in China ... more |
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