Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
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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.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Space: Exploration
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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.

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

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
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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.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math
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Revolutionary self-sensing electric artificial muscles      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have made groundbreaking advancements in bionics with the development of a new electric variable-stiffness artificial muscle. This innovative technology possesses self-sensing capabilities and has the potential to revolutionize soft robotics and medical applications. The artificial muscle seamlessly transitions between soft and hard states, while also sensing forces and deformations. With flexibility and stretchability similar to natural muscle, it can be integrated into intricate soft robotic systems and adapt to various shapes. By adjusting voltages, the muscle rapidly changes its stiffness and can monitor its own deformation through resistance changes. The fabrication process is simple and reliable, making it ideal for a range of applications, including aiding individuals with disabilities or patients in rehabilitation training.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Mathematics: General
Published

GPT detectors can be biased against non-native English writers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers show that computer programs commonly used to determine if a text was written by artificial intelligence tend to falsely label articles written by non-native language speakers as AI-generated. The researchers caution against the use of such AI text detectors for their unreliability, which could have negative impacts on individuals including students and those applying for jobs.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
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AI nursing ethics: Viability of robots and artificial intelligence in nursing practice      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are expected to play a key role in nursing practice in the future. In this regard, researchers from Japan ask whether intelligent machines can replace humans as nurses. They investigate the potential of current advancements in robotics and AI to replicate the ethical concepts attributed to nurses, including advocacy, accountability, cooperation, and caring. While these technologies hold promise in enhancing healthcare practices, their integration into nursing requires careful consideration.

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

Bees make decisions better and faster than we do, for the things that matter to them      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Research reveals how millions of years of evolution has engineered honey bees to make fast decisions and reduce risk.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: Quantum Computers
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An easier way to learn quantum processes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists show that even a few simple examples are enough for a quantum machine-learning model, the 'quantum neural networks', to learn and predict the behavior of quantum systems, bringing us closer to a new era of quantum computing.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
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Robotic glove that 'feels' lends a 'hand' to relearn playing piano after a stroke      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new soft robotic glove is lending a 'hand' and providing hope to piano players who have suffered a disabling stroke or other neurotrauma. Combining flexible tactile sensors, soft actuators and AI, this robotic glove is the first to 'feel' the difference between correct and incorrect versions of the same song and to combine these features into a single hand exoskeleton. Unlike prior exoskeletons, this new technology provides precise force and guidance in recovering the fine finger movements required for piano playing and other complex tasks.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
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Turning old maps into 3D digital models of lost neighborhoods      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Imagine strapping on a virtual reality headset and 'walking' through a long-gone neighborhood in your city -- seeing the streets and buildings as they appeared decades ago. That's a very real possibility now that researchers have developed a method to create 3D digital models of historic neighborhoods using machine learning and historic Sanborn Fire Insurance maps.

Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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NeuWS camera answers 'holy grail problem' in optical imaging      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have demonstrated full-motion video camera technology that can 'see' through light-scattering media. The research could potentially be used in cameras that peer through fog, smoke, driving rain, murky water and parts of the body that hide tumors and other lesions.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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How urea may have been the gateway to life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Urea reacts extremely quickly under the conditions that existed when our planet was newly formed. This new insight furthers our understanding of how life on Earth might have begun.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Octopus sleep is surprisingly similar to humans and contains a wake-like stage      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have closely examined the brain activity and skin patterning in octopuses (Octopus laqueus) during active sleep and discovered that it closely resembles neural activity and skin patterning behavior seen when awake.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
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Life after death: Astronomers find a planet that shouldn't exist      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The star would have inflated up to 1.5 times the planet's orbital distance -- engulfing the planet in the process -- before shrinking to its current size at only one-tenth of that distance.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features
Published

Starlight and the first black holes: researchers detect the host galaxies of quasars in the early universe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For the first time, the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed starlight from two massive galaxies hosting actively growing black holes -- quasars -- seen less than a billion years after the Big Bang.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: The Solar System
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Magnetic bacteria point the way      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Magnetotactic bacteria, which can align with the Earth's magnetic field, have been discovered in a new location. Previously observed on land and in shallow water, analysis of a hydrothermal vent has proven that they can also survive deep under the ocean. The bacteria were able to exist in an environment that was not ideal for their typical needs. Magnetotactic bacteria are of interest not only for the role they play in Earth's ecosystem, but also in the search for extraterrestrial life. Evidence of their existence can remain in rocks for billions of years. Their magnetic inclinations can also provide a record of how magnetic poles have shifted over time. This new discovery brings hope to researchers that the magnetic bacteria might be found in yet more unexpected locations, on Earth and perhaps even on Mars or beyond.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Newly discovered Jurassic fossils in Texas      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have filled a major gap in the state's fossil record -- describing the first known Jurassic vertebrate fossils in Texas. The weathered bone fragments are from the limbs and backbone of a plesiosaur, an extinct marine reptile.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: Quantum Computing
Published

Researchers make a quantum computing leap with a magnetic twist      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists and engineers have announced a significant advancement in developing fault-tolerant qubits for quantum computing. In a pair of articles, they report that, in experiments with flakes of semiconductor materials -- each only a single layer of atoms thick -- they detected signatures of 'fractional quantum anomalous Hall' (FQAH) states. The team's discoveries mark a first and promising step in constructing a type of fault-tolerant qubit because FQAH states can host anyons -- strange 'quasiparticles' that have only a fraction of an electron's charge. Some types of anyons can be used to make what are called 'topologically protected' qubits, which are stable against any small, local disturbances.