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Categories: Environmental: Wildfires, Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published Scientists use AI to predict a wildfire's next move
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a new model that combines generative AI and satellite data to accurately forecast wildfire spread.
Published Can consciousness exist in a computer simulation?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new essay explores which conditions must be met for consciousness to exist. At least one of them can't be found in a computer.
Published Ant insights lead to robot navigation breakthrough
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Have you ever wondered how insects are able to go so far beyond their home and still find their way? The answer to this question is not only relevant to biology but also to making the AI for tiny, autonomous robots. Drone-researchers felt inspired by biological findings on how ants visually recognize their environment and combine it with counting their steps in order to get safely back home. They have used these insights to create an insect-inspired autonomous navigation strategy for tiny, lightweight robots. It allows such robots to come back home after long trajectories, while requiring extremely little computation and memory (0.65 kiloByte per 100 m). In the future, tiny autonomous robots could find a wide range of uses, from monitoring stock in warehouses to finding gas leaks in industrial sites.
Published Want to spot a deepfake? Look for the stars in their eyes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In an era when the creation of artificial intelligence (AI) images is at the fingertips of the masses, the ability to detect fake pictures -- particularly deepfakes of people -- is becoming increasingly important. So what if you could tell just by looking into someone's eyes? That's the compelling finding of new research which suggests that AI-generated fakes can be spotted by analyzing human eyes in the same way that astronomers study pictures of galaxies.
Published Completely stretchy lithium-ion battery for flexible electronics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When you think of a battery, you probably don't think stretchy. But batteries will need this shape-shifting quality to be incorporated into flexible electronics, which are gaining traction for wearable health monitors. Now, researchers report a lithium-ion battery with entirely stretchable components, including an electrolyte layer that can expand by 5000%, and it retains its charge storage capacity after nearly 70 charge/discharge cycles.
Published Enzyme-powered 'snot bots' help deliver drugs in sticky situations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Snot might not be the first place you'd expect nanobots to be swimming around. But this slimy secretion exists in more places than just your nose and piles of dirty tissues -- it also lines and helps protect the lungs, stomach, intestines and eyes. And now, researchers have demonstrated in mice that their tiny, enzyme-powered 'snot bots' can push through the defensive, sticky layer and potentially deliver drugs more efficiently.
Published A new neural network makes decisions like a human would
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are training neural networks to make decisions more like humans would. This science of human decision-making is only just being applied to machine learning, but developing a neural network even closer to the actual human brain may make it more reliable, according to the researchers.
Published Wildfire smoke has a silver lining: It can help protect vulnerable tree seedlings
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Forest scientists studying tree regeneration have found that wildfire smoke comes with an unexpected benefit: It has a cooling capacity that can make life easier for vulnerable seedlings.
Published Complex impact of large wildfires on ozone layer dynamics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a revelation highlighting the fragile balance of our planet's atmosphere, scientists have uncovered an unexpected link between massive wildfire events and the chemistry of the ozone layer. Using satellite data and numerical modeling, the team discovered that an enormous smoke-charged vortex nearly doubles the southern hemispheric aerosol burden in the middle stratosphere of the Earth and reorders ozone depletion at different heights. This study reveals how wildfires, such as the catastrophic 2019/20 Australian bushfires, impact the stratosphere in previously unseen ways.
Published Neural networks made of light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists propose a new way of implementing a neural network with an optical system which could make machine learning more sustainable in the future. In a new paper, the researchers have demonstrated a method much simpler than previous approaches.
Published Forest carbon storage has declined across much of the Western U.S., likely due to drought and fire
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Forests have been embraced as a natural climate solution, due to their ability to soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow, locking it up in their trunks, branches, leaves, and roots. But a new study confirms widespread doubts about the potential for most forests in the Western US to help curb climate change. The paper analyzed trends in carbon storage across the American West from 2005 to 2019.
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.
Published 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.
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.
Published 'World record' for data transmission speed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have sent data at a record rate of 402 terabits per second using commercially available optical fiber. This beats their previous record, announced in March 2024, of 301 terabits or 301,000,000 megabits per second using a single, standard optical fiber.
Published Soft, stretchy electrode simulates touch sensations using electrical signals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers has developed a soft, stretchy electronic device capable of simulating the feeling of pressure or vibration when worn on the skin. This device represents a step towards creating haptic technologies that can reproduce a more varied and realistic range of touch sensations for applications such as virtual reality, medical prosthetics and wearable technology.
Published Microrobot-packed pill shows promise for treating inflammatory bowel disease in mice
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have developed a pill that releases microscopic robots, or microrobots, into the colon to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The experimental treatment, given orally, has shown success in mice. It significantly reduced IBD symptoms and promoted the healing of damaged colon tissue without causing toxic side effects.
Published Mechanical computer relies on kirigami cubes, not electronics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a kirigami-inspired mechanical computer that uses a complex structure of rigid, interconnected polymer cubes to store, retrieve and erase data without relying on electronic components. The system also includes a reversible feature that allows users to control when data editing is permitted and when data should be locked in place.
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.
Published Wildfires increasingly threaten oil and gas drill sites, compounding potential health risks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More than 100,000 oil and gas wells across the western U.S. are in areas burned by wildfires in recent decades, a new study has found, and some 3 million people live next to wells that in the future could be in the path of fires worsened by climate change.