Showing 20 articles starting at article 901
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Engineering: Robotics Research, Space: Exploration
Published Compact, non-mechanical 3D lidar system could make autonomous driving safer


A new system represents the first time that the capabilities of conventional beam-scanning lidar systems have been combined with those of a newer 3D approach known as flash lidar. The nonmechanical 3D lidar system is compact enough to fit in the palm of the hand and solves issues of detecting and tracking poorly reflective objects.
Published Hubble captures the start of a new spoke season at Saturn


Since their discovery by NASA's Voyager mission in the 1980s, temporary 'spoke' features across Saturn's rings have fascinated scientists, yet eluded explanation. They have been observed in the years preceding and following the planet's equinox, becoming more prominent as the date approaches. Saturn's upcoming autumnal equinox of the northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, means that spoke season has come again. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will be on the job studying the spokes, thanks to time dedicated to Saturn in the mission's ongoing Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program. Are the smudgy features related to Saturn's magnetic field and its interaction with the solar wind, as prevailing theory suggests? Confirmation could come in this spoke season, as scientists combine archival data from NASA's Cassini mission with new Hubble observations.
Published Bite this! Mosquito feeding chamber uses fake skin, real blood


Bioengineers and experts in tropical medicine have invented a new way of studying mosquito feeding behavior using technology instead of live volunteers. Their open-source design combines automated cameras, artificial intelligence and blood-infused, 3D-printed 'synthetic skin.'
Published Space dust as Earth's sun shield


Dust launched from the moon's surface or from a space station positioned between Earth and the sun could reduce enough solar radiation to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Published Spanish lagoon used to better understand wet-to-dry transition of Mars


In the ongoing search for signs of life on Mars, a new study proposes focusing on 'time-resolved analogs' -- dynamic and similar Earth environments where changes can be analyzed over many years.
Published A new ring system discovered in our Solar System


Scientists have discovered a new ring system around a dwarf planet on the edge of the Solar System. The ring system orbits much further out than is typical for other ring systems, calling into question current theories of how ring systems are formed.
Published Footprints of galactic immigration uncovered in Andromeda galaxy


Astronomers have uncovered striking new evidence for a mass migration of stars into the Andromeda Galaxy. Intricate patterns in the motions of stars reveal an immigration history very similar to that of the Milky Way.
Published Researchers focus AI on finding exoplanets


New research reveals that artificial intelligence can be used to find planets outside of our solar system. The recent study demonstrated that machine learning can be used to find exoplanets, information that could reshape how scientists detect and identify new planets very far from Earth.
Published Engineers devise a modular system to produce efficient, scalable aquabots


Researchers developed a new approach to building deformable underwater robots, using simple repeating substructures. The team demonstrated the new system in two different example configurations, one like an eel and the other a wing-like hydrofoil.
Published A star is born: Study reveals complex chemistry inside 'stellar nurseries'


The universe's carbon atoms complete a journey that spans eons -- forming in the hearts of dying stars, then becoming a part of planets and even living organisms. Now, a team has uncovered the chemistry behind one tiny, but critical, step in this process.
Published Star formation in distant galaxies by the James Webb Space Telescope


Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope's first images of galaxy clusters, researchers have, for the very first time, been able to examine very compact structures of star clusters inside galaxies, so-called clumps.
Published Interactive cyber-physical human: Generating contact-rich whole-body motions


Performing human-like motions that involve multiple contacts is challenging for robots. In this regard, a researcher has envisioned an interactive cyber-physical human (iCPH) platform with complementary humanoid (physical twin) and simulation (digital twin) elements. iCPH combines human measurement data, musculoskeletal analysis, and machine learning for data collection and augmentation. As a result, iCPH can understand, predict, and synthesize whole-body contact motions.
Published 'Engine' of luminous merging galaxies pinpointed for the first time


Roughly 500 million light-years away, near the constellation Delphinus, two galaxies are colliding. Known as merging galaxy IIZw096, the luminous phenomenon is obscured by cosmic dust, but researchers first identified a bright, energetic source of light 12 years ago. Now, with a more advanced telescope, the team has pinpointed the precise location of what they have dubbed the 'engine' of the merging galaxy.
Published Robot: I'm sorry. Human: I don't care anymore!


Humans are less forgiving of robots after multiple mistakes -- and the trust is difficult to get back, according to a new study.
Published Hubble directly measures mass of a lone white dwarf


Astronomers have directly measured the mass of a single, isolated white dwarf -- the surviving core of a burned-out, Sun-like star. Researchers found that the white dwarf is 56 percent the mass of our Sun. This agrees with earlier theoretical predictions of the white dwarf's mass and corroborates current theories of how white dwarfs evolve as the end product of a typical star's evolution. The unique observation yields insights into theories of the structure and composition of white dwarfs.
Published Astronomers uncover a one-in-ten-billion binary star system: Kilonova progenitor system


Astronomers using data from the SMARTS 1.5-meter Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), have made the first confirmed detection of a star system that will one day form a kilonova -- the ultra-powerful, gold-producing explosion created by merging neutron stars. These systems are so phenomenally rare that only about 10 such systems are thought to exist in the entire Milky Way.
Published New research computes first step toward predicting lifespan of electric space propulsion systems



Electric space propulsion systems use energized atoms to generate thrust. The high-speed beams of ions bump against the graphite surfaces of the thruster, eroding them with each hit, and are the systems' primary lifetime-limiting factor. Researchers used data from low-pressure chamber experiments and large-scale computations to develop a model to better understand the effects of ion erosion on carbon surfaces -- the first step in predicting its failure.
Published Contributing to the utilization of big data! Developing new data learning methods for artificial intelligence


A research group has developed a new learning method for artificial intelligence that combines classification performance for data with multiple labels with the ability to learn continually from data. Numerical experiments on real-world multi-label data indicate that the new method outperforms conventional approaches. The simplicity of this algorithm makes it easy to integrate it with other algorithms to devise new ones.
Published Scientists release newly accurate map of all the matter in the universe


A group of scientists have released one of the most precise measurements ever made of how matter is distributed across the universe today.
Published Legged robots need more testing before real-world use


When it comes to the 'evolution' of mobile robots, it may be a long time before legged robots are able to safely interact in the real world, according to a new study.