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Categories: Anthropology: Cultures, Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Published Robotic system feeds people with severe mobility limitations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a robotic feeding system that uses computer vision, machine learning and multimodal sensing to safely feed people with severe mobility limitations, including those with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis.
Published Generative AI that imitates human motion
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Walking and running is notoriously difficult to recreate in robots. Now, a group of researchers has overcome some of these challenges by creating an innovative method that employs central pattern generators -- neural circuits located in the spinal cord that generate rhythmic patterns of muscle activity -- with deep reinforcement learning. The method not only imitates walking and running motions but also generates movements for frequencies where motion data is absent, enables smooth transition movements from walking to running, and allows for adapting to environments with unstable surfaces.
Published New study finds AI-generated empathy has its limits
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Conversational agents (CAs) such as Alexa and Siri are designed to answer questions, offer suggestions -- and even display empathy. However, new research finds they do poorly compared to humans when interpreting and exploring a user's experience.
Published Caterbot? Robatapillar? It crawls with ease through loops and bends
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers created a catapillar-shaped robot that splits into segments and reassembles, hauls cargo, and crawls through twisting courses.
Published Stretchable e-skin could give robots human-level touch sensitivity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A stretchy electronic skin could equip robots and other devices with the same softness and touch sensitivity as human skin, opening up new possibilities to perform tasks that require a great deal of precision and control of force.
Published In medieval England, leprosy spread between red squirrels and people, genome evidence shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Evidence from archaeological sites in the medieval English city of Winchester shows that English red squirrels once served as an important host for Mycobacterium leprae strains that caused leprosy in people, researchers report.
Published Robots invited to help make wind turbine blades
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have successfully leveraged robotic assistance in the manufacture of wind turbine blades, allowing for the elimination of difficult working conditions for humans and the potential to improve the consistency of the product.
Published Random robots are more reliable
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New algorithm encourages robots to move more randomly to collect more diverse data for learning. In tests, robots started with no knowledge and then learned and correctly performed tasks within a single attempt. New model could improve safety and practicality of self-driving cars, delivery drones and more.
Published Scientists show ancient village adapted to drought, rising seas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have unveiled evidence for ancient human resilience to climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Published Machine listening: Making speech recognition systems more inclusive
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source One group commonly misunderstood by voice technology are individuals who speak African American English, or AAE. Researchers designed an experiment to test how AAE speakers adapt their speech when imagining talking to a voice assistant, compared to talking to a friend, family member, or stranger. The study tested familiar human, unfamiliar human, and voice assistant-directed speech conditions by comparing speech rate and pitch variation. Analysis of the recordings showed that the speakers exhibited two consistent adjustments when they were talking to voice technology compared to talking to another person: a slower rate of speech with less pitch variation.
Published Trotting robots reveal emergence of animal gait transitions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A four-legged robot trained with machine learning has learned to avoid falls by spontaneously switching between walking, trotting, and pronking -- a milestone for roboticists as well as biologists interested in animal locomotion.
Published More plants on the menu of ancient hunter-gatherers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source It has long been thought that meat played an important role in the diet of hunter-gatherers before the Neolithic transition. However, due to the scarcity of well-preserved human remains from Paleolithic sites, little information exists about the dietary habits of pre-agricultural human groups. A new study challenges this notion by presenting compelling isotopic evidence of a strong preference for plants among 15,000-year-old hunter-gatherers from Morocco. This is the first time a significant amount of plant consumption has been measured for a pre-agricultural population, shedding new light on the dietary practices of ancient human societies.
Published Ancient Maya blessed their ballcourts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using environmental DNA analysis, an international team of researchers identified a collection of plants used in ceremonial rituals in the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah in Mexico. The plants, known for their religious associations and medicinal properties, were discovered beneath a plaza floor where a ballcourt was built.
Published Built-in bionic computing
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The use of pliable soft materials to collaborate with humans and work in disaster areashas drawn much recent attention. However, controlling soft dynamics for practical applications has remained a significant challenge. Researchers developed a method to control pneumatic artificial muscles, which are soft robotic actuators. Rich dynamics of these drive components can be exploited as a computational resource.
Published Computer vision researcher develops privacy software for surveillance videos
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Computer vision can be a valuable tool for anyone tasked with analyzing hours of footage because it can speed up the process of identifying individuals. For example, law enforcement may use it to perform a search for individuals with a simple query, such as 'Locate anyone wearing a red scarf over the past 48 hours.'
Published Why can't robots outrun animals?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Robotics engineers have worked for decades and invested many millions of research dollars in attempts to create a robot that can walk or run as well as an animal. And yet, it remains the case that many animals are capable of feats that would be impossible for robots that exist today.
Published Computer game in school made students better at detecting fake news
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A computer game helped upper secondary school students become better at distinguishing between reliable and misleading news.
Published How 3D printers can give robots a soft touch
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Soft skin coverings and touch sensors have emerged as a promising feature for robots that are both safer and more intuitive for human interaction, but they are expensive and difficult to make. A recent study demonstrates that soft skin pads doubling as sensors made from thermoplastic urethane can be efficiently manufactured using 3D printers.
Published First evidence of human occupation in lava tube cave in Saudi Arabia
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has highlighted an area in Arabia that once acted as a key point for cultural exchanges and trades amongst ancient people -- and it all took place in vast caves and lava tubes that have remained largely untapped reservoirs of archaeological abundance in Arabia. Through meticulous excavation and analysis, the international team uncovered a wealth of evidence at Umm Jirsan, spanning from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age periods (~10,000-3,500 years ago).
Published New computer vision tool wins prize for social impact
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of computer scientists working on two different problems -- how to quickly detect damaged buildings in crisis zones and how to accurately estimate the size of bird flocks -- recently announced an AI framework that can do both. The framework, called DISCount, blends the speed and massive data-crunching power of artificial intelligence with the reliability of human analysis to quickly deliver reliable estimates that can quickly pinpoint and count specific features from very large collections of images.