Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Learning dance moves could help humanoid robots work better with humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have trained a humanoid robot to perform a variety of expressive movements, from simple dance routines to gestures like waving, high-fiving and hugging, all while maintaining a steady gait on diverse terrains. This work marks a step towards building robots that perform more complex and human-like motions.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General
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How risk-averse are humans when interacting with robots?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How do people like to interact with robots when navigating a crowded environment? And what algorithms should roboticists use to program robots to interact with humans? These are the questions that a team of mechanical engineers and computer scientists sought to answer in a recent study.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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AI Chatbots have shown they have an 'empathy gap' that children are likely to miss      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have frequently shown signs of an 'empathy gap' that puts young users at risk of distress or harm, raising the urgent need for 'child-safe AI', according to a new study. The research urges developers and policy actors to prioritize AI design that take greater account of children's needs. It provides evidence that children are particularly susceptible to treating chatbots as lifelike, quasi-human confidantes, and that their interactions with the technology can go awry when it fails to respond to their unique needs and vulnerabilities. The study links that gap in understanding to recent reports of cases in which interactions with AI led to potentially dangerous situations for young users.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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A new twist on artificial 'muscles' for safer, softer robots      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a new soft, flexible device that makes robots move by expanding and contracting -- just like a human muscle. To demonstrate their new device, called an actuator, the researchers used it to create a cylindrical, worm-like soft robot and an artificial bicep. In experiments, the cylindrical soft robot navigated the tight, hairpin curves of a narrow pipe-like environment, and the bicep was able to lift a 500-gram weight 5,000 times in a row without failing.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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A breakthrough on the edge: One step closer to topological quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have achieved a significant breakthrough in quantum materials, potentially setting the stage for advancements in topological superconductivity and robust quantum computing.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Moving from the visible to the infrared: Developing high quality nanocrystals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, quantum dots have a wide variety of applications ranging from displays and LED lights to chemical reaction catalysis and bioimaging. These semiconductor nanocrystals are so small -- on the order of nanometers -- that their properties, such as color, are size dependent, and they start to exhibit quantum properties. This technology has been really well developed, but only in the visible spectrum, leaving untapped opportunities for technologies in both the ultraviolet and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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A 2D device for quantum cooling      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have created a device that can efficiently convert heat into electrical voltage at temperatures lower than that of outer space. The innovation could help overcome a significant obstacle to the advancement of quantum computing technologies, which require extremely low temperatures to function optimally.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

A genetic algorithm for phononic crystals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers tested phononic nanomaterials designed with an automated genetic algorithm that responded to light pulses with controlled vibrations. This work may help in the development of next-generation sensors and computer devices.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Chemistry: Biochemistry Ecology: Sea Life Energy: Alternative Fuels Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Giant clams may hold the answers to making solar energy more efficient      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Solar panel and biorefinery designers could learn a thing or two from iridescent giant clams living near tropical coral reefs, according to a new study. This is because giant clams have precise geometries -- dynamic, vertical columns of photosynthetic receptors covered by a thin, light-scattering layer -- that may just make them the most efficient solar energy systems on Earth.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics Space: General
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Neutrons on classically inexplicable paths      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Is nature really as strange as quantum theory says -- or are there simpler explanations? New neutron measurements prove: It doesn't work without the strange properties of quantum theory.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

New and improved camera inspired by the human eye      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Computer scientists have invented a camera mechanism that improves how robots see and react to the world around them. Inspired by how the human eye works, their innovative camera system mimics the tiny involuntary movements used by the eye to maintain clear and stable vision over time.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Visual explanations of machine learning models to estimate charge states in quantum dots      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To form qubit states in semiconductor materials, it requires tuning for numerous parameters. But as the number of qubits increases, the amount of parameters also increases, thereby complicating this process. Now, researchers have automated this process, overcoming a significant barrier to realizing quantum computers.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Environmental: General Physics: Optics
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Light-controlled artificial maple seeds could monitor the environment even in hard-to-reach locations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a tiny robot replicating the aerial dance of falling maple seeds. In the future, this robot could be used for real-time environmental monitoring or delivery of small samples even in inaccessible terrain such as deserts, mountains or cliffs, or the open sea. This technology could be a game changer for fields such as search-and-rescue, endangered species studies, or infrastructure monitoring.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Characterization of the extraordinary thermoelectric properties of cadmium arsenide thin films      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

If there's one thing we humans are good at, it's producing heat. Significant amounts, and in many cases most of the energy we generate and put into our systems we lose as heat, whether it be our appliances, our transportation, our factories, even our electrical grid.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Understanding quantum states: New research shows importance of precise topography in solid neon qubits      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows new insight into the quantum state that describes the condition of electrons on an electron-on-solid-neon quantum bit, information that can help engineers build this innovative technology.

Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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A chip-scale Titanium-sapphire laser      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With a single leap from tabletop to the microscale, engineers have produced the world's first practical Titanium-sapphire laser on a chip, democratizing a once-exclusive technology.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
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Precision instrument bolsters efforts to find elusive dark energy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Dark energy -- a mysterious force pushing the universe apart at an ever-increasing rate -- was discovered 26 years ago, and ever since, scientists have been searching for a new and exotic particle causing the expansion. Physicists combined an optical lattice with an atom interferometer to hold atoms in place for up to 70 seconds -- a record for an atom interferometer -- allowing them to more precisely test for deviations from the accepted theory of gravity that could be caused by dark energy particles such as chameleons or symmetrons. Though they detected no anomalies, they're improving the experiment to perform more sensitive tests of gravity, including whether gravity is quantized.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General
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Researchers develop new training technique that aims to make AI systems less socially biased      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have created a new, cost-effective training technique for artificial intelligence systems that aims to make them less socially biased.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Next platform for brain-inspired computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Computers have come so far in terms of their power and potential, rivaling and even eclipsing human brains in their ability to store and crunch data, make predictions and communicate. But there is one domain where human brains continue to dominate: energy efficiency.