It's a game a lot of us played as children -- and maybe even later in life: unspooling measuring tape to see how far it would extend before bending. But to engineer, this game was an inspiration, suggesting that measuring tape could become a great material for a robotic gripper. The grippers would be a particularly good fit for agriculture applications, as their extremities are soft enough to grab fragile fruits and vegetables, researchers wrote. The devices are also low-cost and safe around humans.
A hopping, insect-sized robot can jump over gaps or obstacles, traverse rough, slippery, or slanted surfaces, and perform aerial acrobatic maneuvers, while using a fraction of the energy required for flying microbots.
Researchers from chemistry, biology, and medicine are increasingly turning to AI models to develop new hypotheses. However, it is often unclear on which basis the algorithms come to their conclusions and to what extent they can be generalized. A publicationnow warns of misunderstandings in handling artificial intelligence. At the same time, it highlights the conditions under which researchers can most likely have confidence in the models.
Do physicians or artificial intelligence (AI) offer better treatment recommendations for patients examined through a virtual urgent care setting? A new study shows physicians and AI models have distinct strengths. The study compared initial AI treatment recommendations to final recommendations of physicians who had access to the AI recommendations but may or may not have reviewed them.
How does a robotic arm or a prosthetic hand learn a complex task like grasping and rotating a ball? Researchers address the classic 'nature versus nurture' question. The research demonstrates that the sequence of learning, also known as the 'curriculum,' is critical for learning to occur. In fact, the researchers note that if the curriculum takes place in a particular sequence, a simulated robotic hand can learn to manipulate with incomplete or even absent tactile sensation.
When we move, it's harder for existing wearable devices to accurately track our heart activity. But researchers found that a starfish's five-arm shape helps solve this problem. Inspired by how a starfish flips itself over -- shrinking one of its arms and using the others in a coordinated motion to right itself -- scientists have created a starfish-shaped wearable device that tracks heart health in real time.
AI mental health apps may offer a cheap and accessible way to fill the gaps in the overstretched U.S. mental health care system, but ethics experts warn that we need to be thoughtful about how we use them, especially with children.
Novel artificial neurons learn independently and are more strongly modeled on their biological counterparts. A team of researchers has programmed these infomorphic neurons and constructed artificial neural networks from them. The special feature is that the individual artificial neurons learn in a self-organized way and draw the necessary information from their immediate environment in the network.
Imagine navigating a virtual reality with contact lenses or operating your smartphone under water: This and more could soon be a reality thanks to innovative e-skins. A research team has developed an electronic skin that detects and precisely tracks magnetic fields with a single global sensor. This artificial skin is not only light, transparent and permeable, but also mimics the interactions of real skin and the brain.
A tiny magnetic robot which can take 3D scans from deep within the body, that could revolutionize early cancer detection, has been developed by researchers. The team say this is the first time it has been possible to generate high-resolution three-dimensional ultrasound images taken from a probe deep inside the gastrointestinal tract, or gut.
From virtual reality to rehabilitation and communication, haptic technology has revolutionized the way humans interact with the digital world. While early haptic devices focused on single-sensory cues like vibration-based notifications, modern advancements have paved the way for multisensory haptic devices that integrate various forms of touch-based feedback, including vibration, skin stretch, pressure and temperature. Recently, a team of experts analyzed the current state of wearable multisensory haptic technology, outlining its challenges, advancements and real-world applications.
This a robot can walk, without electronics, and only with the addition of a cartridge of compressed gas, right off the 3D-printer. It can also be printed in one go, from one material.
A leaping robot could have application in search and rescue, construction, even forest monitoring. But how do you design a robot to stick a landing on a branch or pipe? Biologists worked with robot designers to discover how squirrels do it, and used what they learned to design a one-legged robot with the balancing ability and leg biomechanics to correct for over- and undershooting and land successfully on a narrow perch.
An AI-powered robot that can prepare cups of coffee in a busy kitchen could usher in the next generation of intelligent machines, a study suggests.
Chemists have created a machine learning tool that can identify the chemical composition of dried salt solutions from an image with 99% accuracy. By using robotics to prepare thousands of samples and artificial intelligence to analyze their data, they created a simple, inexpensive tool that could expand possibilities for performing chemical analysis.