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Categories: Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published Reinforcement learning allows underwater robots to locate and track objects underwater
(via sciencedaily.com) A team has shown that reinforcement learning -i.e., a neural network that learns the best action to perform at each moment based on a series of rewards- allows autonomous vehicles and underwater robots to locate and carefully track marine objects and animals.
Published This 3D printed gripper doesn't need electronics to function
(via sciencedaily.com) This soft robotic gripper is not only 3D printed in one print, it also doesn't need any electronics to work.
Published 'Time-traveling' pathogens in melting permafrost pose likely risk to environment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ancient pathogens that escape from melting permafrost have real potential to damage microbial communities and might potentially threaten human health, according to a new study.
Published Researchers develop low-cost sensor to enhance robots' sense of touch
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed an L3 F-TOUCH sensor to enhance tactile capabilities in robots, allowing it to 'feel' objects and adjust its grip accordingly.
Published A simpler method for learning to control a robot
(via sciencedaily.com) A new machine-learning technique can efficiently learn to control a robot, leading to better performance with fewer data.
Published Robotic hand rotates objects using touch, not vision
(via sciencedaily.com) Inspired by the effortless way humans handle objects without seeing them, engineers have developed a new approach that enables a robotic hand to rotate objects solely through touch, without relying on vision.
Published Wormlike animals are first amphibians shown to pass microbes to their offspring
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Caecilians are an illusive type of snakelike amphibian that live in aquatic and subterranean environments. In some species, mothers produce a special type of nutrient-rich skin that juveniles consume, similar to the way in which humans breastfeed their children. A new study shows this behavior passes on microbes to juvenile caecilians, inoculating them to jump-start a healthy microbiome.
Published Robot preachers get less respect, fewer donations
(via sciencedaily.com) As artificial intelligence expands across more professions, robot preachers and AI programs offer new means of sharing religious beliefs, but they may undermine credibility and reduce donations for religious groups that rely on them.
Published Future AI algorithms have potential to learn like humans
(via sciencedaily.com) Memories can be as tricky to hold onto for machines as they can be for humans. To help understand why artificial agents develop holes in their own cognitive processes, electrical engineers have analyzed how much a process called 'continual learning' impacts their overall performance.
Published Paleontologists identify two new species of sabertooth cat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Sabertooth cats make up a diverse group of long-toothed predators that roamed Africa around 6-7 million years ago, around the time that hominins -- the group that includes modern humans -- began to evolve. By examining one of the largest global Pliocene collections of fossils in Langebaanweg, north of Cape Town in South Africa, researchers present two new sabertooth species and the first family tree of the region's ancient sabertooths. Their results suggest that the distribution of sabertooths throughout ancient Africa might have been different than previously assumed, and the study provides important information about Africa's paleoenvironment.
Published Allowing robots to explore on their own
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have developed a suite of robotic systems and planners enabling robots to explore more quickly, probe the darkest corners of unknown environments, and create more accurate and detailed maps. The systems allow robots to do all this autonomously, finding their way and creating a map without human intervention.
Published A faster way to teach a robot
(via sciencedaily.com) A new technique enables a human to efficiently fine-tune a robot that failed to complete a desired task with very little effort on the part of the human. Their system uses algorithms, counterfactual explanations, and feedback from the user to generate synthetic data it uses to quickly fine-tune the robot.
Published Unusual fossil shows rare evidence of a mammal attacking a dinosaur
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have described an unusual fossil from around 125 million years ago in China that shows a dramatic moment in time when a carnivorous mammal attacked a larger plant-eating dinosaur. The two animals are locked in mortal combat, and it's among the first evidence to show actual predatory behavior by a mammal on a dinosaur. The fossil's presence challenges the view that dinosaurs had few threats from their mammal contemporaries during the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs were the dominant animals.
Published Bot inspired by baby turtles can swim under the sand
(via sciencedaily.com) This robot can swim under the sand and dig itself out too, thanks to two front limbs that mimic the oversized flippers of turtle hatchlings. It's the only robot that is able to travel in sand at a depth of 5 inches. It can also travel at a speed of 1.2 millimeters per second--roughly 4 meters, or 13 feet, per hour. This may seem slow but is comparable to other subterranean animals like worms and clams.
Published All about the Benjamins: Researchers decipher the secrets of Benjamin Franklin's paper money
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source During his career, Benjamin Franklin printed nearly 2,500,000 money notes for the American Colonies using what the researchers have identified as highly original techniques.
Published Robotics: New skin-like sensors fit almost everywhere
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed an automatic process for making soft sensors. These universal measurement cells can be attached to almost any kind of object. Applications are envisioned especially in robotics and prosthetics.
Published Ice Age saber-tooth cats and dire wolves suffered from diseased joints
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ice Age saber-tooth cats and dire wolves experienced a high incidence of bone disease in their joints, according to new research.
Published Robot team on lunar exploration tour
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers are training legged robots for future lunar missions that will search for minerals and raw materials. To ensure that the robots can continue to work even if one of them malfunctions, the researchers are teaching them teamwork.
Published Pump powers soft robots, makes cocktails
(via sciencedaily.com) Over the past several years, researchers have been developing soft analogues of traditionally rigid robotic components. In fluid-driven robotic systems, pumps control the pressure or flow of the liquid that powers the robot's movement. Most pumps available today for soft robotics are either too large and rigid to fit onboard, not powerful enough for actuation or only work with specific fluids. Researchers have now developed a compact, soft pump with adjustable pressure flow versatile enough to pump a variety of fluids with varying viscosity, including gin, juice, and coconut milk, and powerful enough to power soft haptic devices and a soft robotic finger.
Published Training robots how to learn, make decisions on the fly
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Mars rovers have teams of human experts on Earth telling them what to do. But robots on lander missions to moons orbiting Saturn or Jupiter are too far away to receive timely commands from Earth. Researchers developed a novel learning-based method so robots on extraterrestrial bodies can make decisions on their own about where and how to scoop up terrain samples.