Showing 20 articles starting at article 641

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Engineering: Robotics Research, Space: Astrophysics

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have discovered a new 'tidal disruption event,' in which the center of a galaxy lights up as its supermassive black hole rips apart a passing star. The outburst is the closest tidal disruption event observed to date, and one of the first to be identified at infrared wavelengths.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers demonstrated a highly dexterous robot hand, one that combines an advanced sense of touch with motor learning algorithms in order to achieve a high level of dexterity. In addition, the hand worked without any external cameras -- it's immune to lighting, occlusion, or similar issues. Because the hand doesn't rely on vision to manipulate objects, it can do so in difficult lighting conditions that would confuse vision-based algorithms -- it even operates in the dark.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new gripper robot grasps by reflex. Rather than start from scratch after a failed attempt, the bot adapts in the moment to reflexively roll, palm, or pinch an object to get a better hold.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study looked at a known binary star (two stars orbiting around a mutual center of gravity), analyzing starlight obtained from a range of ground- and space-based telescopes. The researchers found that the stars, located in a neighboring dwarf galaxy called the Small Magellanic Cloud, are in partial contact and swapping material with each other, with one star currently 'feeding' off the other. They orbit each other every three days and are the most massive touching stars (known as contact binaries) yet observed.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have observed, in one image, the shadow of the black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87) and the powerful jet expelled from it. Thanks to this new image, astronomers can better understand how black holes can launch such energetic jets.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have unlocked one of the biggest mysteries of quasars -- the brightest, most powerful objects in the Universe -- by discovering that they are ignited by galaxies colliding.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In new 3D computer simulations, astrophysicists modeled black holes of varying masses and then hurled stars (about the size of our sun) past them to see what might happen. If they exist, intermediate-mass black holes likely devour wayward stars like a messy toddler -- taking a few bites and then flinging the remains across the galaxy.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows us that age-old interactions between people and their horses can teach us something about building robots designed to improve our lives.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astrophysicists have provided the most direct evidence yet that Dark Matter does not constitute ultramassive particles as is commonly thought but instead comprises particles so light that they travel through space like waves. Their work resolves an outstanding problem in astrophysics first raised two decades ago: why do models that adopt ultramassive Dark Matter particles fail to correctly predict the observed positions and the brightness of multiple images of the same galaxy created by gravitational lensing?

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Roboticists have developed a jellyfish-inspired underwater robot with which they hope one day to collect waste from the bottom of the ocean. The almost noise-free prototype can trap objects underneath its body without physical contact, thereby enabling safe interactions in delicate environments such as coral reefs. Jellyfish-Bot could become an important tool for environmental remediation.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Every giant was once a baby, though you may never have seen them at that stage of their development. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has begun to shed light on formative years in the history of the universe that have thus far been beyond reach: the formation and assembly of galaxies. For the first time, a protocluster of seven galaxies has been confirmed at a distance that astronomers refer to as redshift 7.9, or a mere 650 million years after the big bang. Based on the data collected, astronomers calculated the nascent cluster's future development, finding that it will likely grow in size and mass to resemble the Coma Cluster, a monster of the modern universe.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have designed a tabletop-sized vaccine printer that could be scaled up to produce hundreds of vaccine doses in a day and deployed anywhere vaccines are needed. The vaccine doses are contained within microneedle patches that can be stored long-term at room temperature and applied to the skin, avoiding the need for injections.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new smart material is activated by both heat and electricity, making it the first ever to respond to two different stimuli.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study using data from telescopes on Earth and in the sky resolves a problem plaguing astronomers working in the infrared and could help make better observations of the composition of the universe with the James Webb Space Telescope and other instruments.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mechanically responsive molecular crystals are extremely useful in soft robotics, which requires a versatile actuation technology. Crystals driven by the photothermal effect are particularly promising for achieving high-speed actuation. However, the response (bending) observed in these crystals is usually small. Now, scientists address this issue by inducing large resonated natural vibrations in anisole crystals with UV light illumination at the natural vibration frequency of the crystal.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It looks like a black hole and bends light like a black hole, but it could actually be a new type of star. Though the mysterious object is a hypothetical mathematical construction, new simulations by Johns Hopkins researchers suggest there could be other celestial bodies in space hiding from even the best telescopes on Earth.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A star's chemical composition strongly influences the ultraviolet radiation it emits into space and thus the conditions for the emergence of life in its neighborhood.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have designed a system that makes an off-the-shelf quadruped robot nimble enough to walk a narrow balance beam -- a feat that is likely the first of its kind.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The new smart sensor uses embedded information to detect motion in a single video frame.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

We typically think of robots as metal objects, filled with motors and circuits. But the field of molecular robotics is starting to change that. Like the formation of complex living organisms, molecular robots derive their form and functionality from assembled molecules stored in a single unit, i.e., a body. Yet manufacturing this body at the microscopic level is an engineering nightmare. Now, a team has created a simple workaround.