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Q&A: Enhancing last-mile logistics with machine learning
Across the country, hundreds of thousands of drivers deliver packages and parcels to customers and companies each day, with many click-to-door times averaging only a few days. Coordinating a supply chain feat of this magnitude in a predictable and timely way is a longstanding problem of operations research, where researchers... Read more
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Why robots can be culturally insensitive—and how scientists are trying to fix it
A robot is chatting to an elderly British man in his bedroom. The robot has a cheery demeanor and a pleasantly high-pitched voice.... Read more
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Can AI read our minds? Probably not, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be worried
Earlier this year, Neuralink implanted a chip inside the brain of 29-year-old US man Noland Arbaugh, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down. The chip has enabled Arbaugh to move a mouse pointer on a screen just by imagining it moving.... Read more
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Using sound waves for photonic machine learning: Study lays foundation for reconfigurable neuromorphic building blocks
Optical neural networks may provide the high-speed and large-capacity solution necessary to tackle challenging computing tasks. However, tapping their full potential will require further advances. One challenge is the reconfigurability of optical neural networks.... Read more
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Researchers develop stretchable quantum dot display
A team of South Korean scientists led by Professor KIM Dae-Hyeong of the Center for Nanoparticle Research within the Institute for Basic Science has pioneered a novel approach to stretchable displays. The team announced the first development of intrinsically stretchable quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs).... Read more
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Advance in light-based computing shows capabilities for future smart cameras
Researchers developing the next generation of computing technology aim to bring some light to the field—literally. Optical computing, which relies on particles of light called photons, is expected to provide alternatives to traditional electronic approaches. Such systems—or light-based components of hybrid systems that also retain electronic parts—could be faster, consume... Read more
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Engineers recreate Star Trek's Holodeck using ChatGPT and video game assets
In "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Captain Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise leverage the Holodeck, an empty room capable of generating 3D environments, of preparing for missions and entertaining them, simulating everything from lush jungles to the London of Sherlock Holmes.... Read more
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Premier League to use semi-automated offside technology from next season
The Premier League will use AI-based player tracking technology to make offside calls from next season in a move that should reduce the time it takes officials to reach their decisions.... Read more
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New 3D-printing method makes printing objects more affordable and eco-friendly
University of Florida engineers have developed a method for 3D printing called vapor-induced phase-separation 3D printing, or VIPS-3DP, to create single-material as well as multi-material objects. The discovery has the potential to advance the world of additive manufacturing.... Read more
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AI-powered 'sonar' on smartglasses tracks gaze, facial expressions
Cornell University researchers have developed two technologies that track a person's gaze and facial expressions through sonar-like sensing. The technology is small enough to fit on commercial smartglasses or virtual reality or augmented reality headsets yet consumes significantly less power than similar tools using cameras.... Read more
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New quantum material promises up to 190% quantum efficiency in solar cells
Researchers from Lehigh University have developed a material that demonstrates the potential for drastically increasing the efficiency of solar panels.... Read more
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Waterproof 'e-glove' could help scuba divers communicate
When scuba divers need to say "I'm okay" or "Shark!" to their dive partners, they use hand signals to communicate visually. But sometimes these movements are difficult to see.... Read more
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Perovskite LEDs for next-generation digital displays can detect fingerprints, changing light conditions and more
Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have developed a digital display screen where the LEDs themselves react to touch, light, fingerprints and the user's pulse, among other things. Their results, published in Nature Electronics, could be the start of a whole new generation of displays for phones, computers and tablets.... Read more
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Protecting art and passwords with biochemistry
Security experts fear Q-Day, the day when quantum computers become so powerful that they can crack today's passwords. Some experts estimate that this day will come within the next ten years. Password checks are based on cryptographic one-way functions, which calculate an output value from an input value. This makes... Read more
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This 3D printer can figure out how to print with an unknown material
While 3D printing has exploded in popularity, many of the plastic materials these printers use to create objects cannot be easily recycled. While new sustainable materials are emerging for use in 3D printing, they remain difficult to adopt because 3D printer settings need to be adjusted for each material, a... Read more
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Forecasting the future of science to keep Swiss diplomatic hub buzzing
As technology and science advance at breakneck speed, a Swiss group is already looking beyond AI to the next big potential technological disrupters.... Read more
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Chipless fiber for wireless visual-to-digital transmission senses interactions with the human body
A team of materials scientists and engineers from Donghua University, in China, and the National University of Singapore, has developed a type of fiber that does not rely on chips or batteries to convert visual signals to digital transmissions as it interacts with the human body.... Read more
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Developing artificial skin that can regenerate skin and transmit sensation at the same time
Damage to nerve tissue due to skin defects such as burns, skin diseases, and trauma causes loss of sensory and cognitive functions that are essential for life-sustaining activities, as well as mental and physical distress. If the damage is severe enough that natural healing is not possible, surgical treatment is... Read more
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Virtual skin contact: Smart textiles are making remote hugs tangible
Smart textiles are making virtual reality more immersive and enabling wearers to experience the sensation of physical touch. An ultrathin film that can transmit touch sensations is able to turn textiles into a virtual second skin. For seriously ill children in hospital isolation wards, this new technology offers them the... Read more
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Drawing inspiration from plants: A metal–air paper battery for wearable devices
For more than two millennia, paper has been a staple of human civilization. But these days, the use of paper is not limited to writing. It is also playing a pivotal role in ushering in a greener future.... Read more
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As international travel grows, so does US use of technology. A look at how it's used at airports
The Belgian family of four was on their fourth trip to the United States. They had been dreading the long line at passport control when they entered the country but had heard about a new app they could use to ease their way and decided to give it a shot.... Read more
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Wristband uses echoes and AI to track hand positions for VR and more
Cornell researchers have developed a wristband device that continuously detects hand positioning—as well as objects the hand interacts with—using AI-powered, inaudible soundwaves.... Read more
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Health data storage has a climate cost. In the future, data may be stored in DNA
A lot of energy is required to analyze and store large amounts of data. We may therefore have to take a different approach to data storage in the future, so says Professor Søren Brunak at the University of Copenhagen.... Read more
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Semi-transparent camera allows for eye tracking without obstructing the view
A team of engineers at The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology's ICFO–Institut de Ciències Fotòniques has developed a nearly transparent camera that can be used for eye tracking without obstructing the view. The team has published a paper describing their camera and its performance as an eye tracker on... Read more
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Butterfly-inspired AI technology takes flight
When it comes to mating, two things matter for Heliconius butterflies: the look and the smell of their potential partner. The black and orange butterflies have incredibly small brains, yet they must process both sensory inputs at the same time—which is more than current artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can achieve... Read more
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A single-crystal-like mesoporous material for high-performance lithium storage
In lithium-ion storage, microstructured single crystal electrode materials show great advantages for ionic conductivity because of removing grain boundaries inside the materials but usually trade off the diffusion distance of Li ions in the microsized particle, consequently reducing the rate capability and cycle stability.... Read more
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Increasing the efficiency of eco-friendly solar cells by converting wind energy into high-voltage electricity
A research team led by Professor Lee Ju-hyuck of DGIST in the Department of Energy Science & Engineering has successfully developed an energy harvesting device that enhances solar energy efficiency by removing and preventing surface contamination on solar cells.... Read more
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Universal brain-computer interface lets people play games with just their thoughts
Imagine playing a racing game like Mario Kart, using only your brain to execute the complex series of turns in a lap.... Read more
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Generative AI develops potential new drugs for antibiotic-resistant bacteria
With nearly 5 million deaths linked to antibiotic resistance globally every year, new ways to combat resistant bacterial strains are urgently needed.... Read more
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Researchers develop biomimetic olfactory chips to enable advanced gas sensing and odor detection
A research team led by the School of Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has addressed the long-standing challenge of creating artificial olfactory sensors with arrays of diverse high-performance gas sensors.... Read more
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Highest power efficiency achieved in flexible solar cells using new fabrication technique
Flexible solar cells have many potential applications in aerospace and flexible electronics, but low energy conversion efficiency has limited their practical use. A new manufacturing method has increased the power efficiency of flexible solar cells made from perovskite, a class of compounds with a specific crystalline structure that facilitates the... Read more
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'Near perfect' control of single atoms is major advance toward quantum computing
A new fabrication process that could be used to build a quantum computer achieves an almost zero failure rate and has the potential to be scaled up, according to new research from engineers and physicists at UCL.... Read more
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Transport of the future? Europe's longest hyperloop center opens
Europe's longest tunnel for testing hyperloop technology opens Wednesday in the Netherlands, with operators hoping passengers could one day be whisked from Amsterdam to Barcelona in a couple of hours.... Read more
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Robots replicate reality: High-tech pitching machine mimics every pitcher
Nestor Cortes got behind the plate in a batting cage and watched an 8-foot-high, 1,200-pound robot spit out fastballs, cutters and sweepers just like the ones spinning off the fingertips of his left hand.... Read more
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Researchers use radar technology to monitor the health status of a driver
Inspired by the medical bay of the USS Enterprise from "Star Trek," a research team from the University of Waterloo uses radar technology to monitor people's health while at the wheel, turning an ordinary car or truck into a mobile medical hub. The research paper, "Multibin Breathing Pattern Estimation by... Read more
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GNSS Gyroscopes: A new horizon in motion measurement
Attitude information, crucial in scientific and engineering fields, traditionally relies on instruments like gyroscopes for measurement, facing limitations in miniaturization and accuracy over time.... Read more
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Behavior of granular materials has been difficult to visualize, but new method reveals their internal forces in 3D
Granular materials, those made up of individual pieces, whether grains of sand or coffee beans or pebbles, are the most abundant form of solid matter on Earth. The way these materials move and react to external forces can determine when landslides or earthquakes happen, as well as more mundane events... Read more
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Could supersonic flights be the next big thing in air travel? This flight expert isn't so sure
If you could fly from New York to London in half the time, would you? With a renewed interest and investment in commercial supersonic flight, that's what some companies hope to achieve.... Read more
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Additive manufactured aluminum alloys for space optical instruments
When Zach Post was approached about leading a study to develop a framework for additively manufacturing (colloquially called 3D printing) a new space instrument for detecting air pollution, it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.... Read more
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Researchers create skyrmion-based memory technology for extremely low-power devices
A research team led by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in partnership with National University of Singapore (NUS) has created an innovative microelectronic device that can potentially function as a sustainable, high-performance "bit-switch." This paves the way for future computing technologies to process data much faster while... Read more
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Future nuclear power reactors could rely on molten salts—but what about corrosion?
Most discussions of how to avert climate change focus on solar and wind generation as key to the transition to a future carbon-free power system. But Michael Short, the Class of '42 Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT and associate director of the MIT Plasma Science and... Read more
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Tiny magnetic implants enable wireless health monitoring when paired with wearable device
In a study published in the journal Science Advances, researchers from Peking University have unveiled a miniaturized implantable sensor capable of health monitoring without the need of transcutaneous wires, integrated circuit chips, or bulky readout equipment, thereby reducing infection risks, improving biocompatibility, and enhancing portability. The study is titled "Millimeter-scale... Read more
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Editing memories, spying on our bodies, normalizing weird goggles: Apple's new Vision Pro has big ambitions
Apple Vision Pro is a mixed-reality headset—which the company hopes is a "revolutionary spatial computer that transforms how people work, collaborate, connect, relive memories, and enjoy entertainment"—that begins shipping to the public (in the United States) later this week.... Read more
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Research team develops sweat-resistant wearable robot sensor
New electromyography (EMG) sensor technology that allows the long-term stable control of wearable robots and is not affected by the wearer's sweat and dead skin has gained attention recently. Wearable robots are devices used across a variety of rehabilitation treatments for the elderly and patients recovering from stroke or trauma.... Read more
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3D printed electronic skin provides promise for human-machine interaction
With more than 1,000 nerve endings, human skin is the brain's largest sensory connection to the outside world, providing a wealth of feedback through touch, temperature and pressure. While these complex features make skin a vital organ, they also make it a challenge to replicate.... Read more
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Researchers demonstrate rapid 3D printing with liquid metal
MIT researchers have developed an additive manufacturing technique that can print rapidly with liquid metal, producing large-scale parts such as table legs and chair frames in a matter of minutes.... Read more
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Advanced full-color image sensor technology enables simultaneous energy harvesting and imaging
Organic-based optoelectronic technology is increasingly recognized as an energy-efficient solution for low-power indoor electronics and wireless IoT sensors. This is largely due to its superior flexibility and light weight compared to conventional silicon-based devices. Notably, organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) and organic photodetectors (OPDs) are leading examples in this field.... Read more
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Q&A: How combining origami techniques with modern textile science can lead to practical applications
Exploring the frontiers of textile design, Randall Kamien of the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania and long-time collaborator Geneviève Dion, a professor of design at Drexel University, are investigating the mechanics of knitting, an area of research that represents a significant shift in understanding and... Read more
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Research proposes a self-powered movable seawall for tsunami protection and emergency power generation
With over 2,780 fishing ports and 993 commercial and industrial ports, Japan faces the challenge of safeguarding these important coastal assets from the destructive forces of tsunamis. A promising solution lies in the form of a movable barrier system, where gates rising from the seafloor act as barriers, protecting ports... Read more
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Novel material facilitates measurement of concrete deterioration in buildings and other structures
Concrete is an essential material in the construction industry, where it is fundamental to the foundations and structures of dwellings and office buildings, as well as roads, dams and bridges, among many other infrastructure projects. However, the service life of concrete is limited, and it must be monitored in order... Read more