A new algorithm developed by USC computer science researchers shows that robots can, in computer simulations, learn tasks after a single demonstration. Alone at home, your bones creaky due to old age, you crave a cool beverage. You turn to your robot and say, “Please get me a tall glass of water from the refrigerator.” Your AI-trained companion obliges. Soon, your thirst is quenched. While this scenario still is a decade or more away in terms of a seamless real-world…
Jefferson Lab leads a multidisciplinary team selected by DOE to advance a superconducting approach to advanced computer chip technology. Superconducting technologies are the lifeblood of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in its ongoing mission to probe the quarks and gluons inhabiting the quantum universe. Superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) technology, a core competency of Jefferson Lab, is used to accelerate the fundamental electron particles in the lab’s Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, enabling researchers from around the…
KIT researchers use deep learning to enhance the spatial and temporal resolution of coarse precipitation maps. Strong precipitation may cause natural disasters, such as floodings or landslides. Global climate models are required to forecast the frequency of these extreme events, which is expected to change as a result of climate change. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed a first method based on artificial intelligence (AI), by means of which the precision of coarse precipitation fields generated…
This research carried out at the State University of Campinas focused on the use of nanometric optomechanical cavities as bridges between superconducting circuits and optical fibers, with applications in computing and quantum communications. The ability to transmit information coherently in the band of the electromagnetic spectrum from microwave to infrared is vitally important to the development of the advanced quantum networks used in computing and communications. A study conducted by researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil,…
…unlock new potential for brain science. Goggles enabled researchers to study responses to overhead threats for first time. Northwestern University researchers have developed new virtual reality (VR) goggles for mice. Besides just being cute, these miniature goggles provide more immersive experiences for mice living in laboratory settings. By more faithfully simulating natural environments, the researchers can more accurately and precisely study the neural circuitry that underlies behavior. Compared to current state-of-the-art systems, which simply surround mice with computer or projection…
When we last checked in with Caltech’s Kerry Vahala three years ago, his lab had recently reported the development of a new optical device called a turnkey frequency microcomb that has applications in digital communications, precision time keeping, spectroscopy, and even astronomy. This device, fabricated on a silicon wafer, takes input laser light of one frequency and converts it into an evenly spaced set of many distinct frequencies that form a train of pulses whose length can be as short…
A navigation belt helps visually impaired people to reach their destination. You enter the route you want to take via an app, press “start” and the belt guides you in the right direction like a compass. The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) have developed a contacting process with which this orientation aid – and e-textiles in general – can be produced more economically and conveniently. When you have to turn into a street, the naviBelt® from…
Secure communication, impervious to interception, is achieved through the application of quantum mechanics in a groundbreaking technology. This method facilitates not only tap-proof communication but also the tamper-proof transfer of diverse data. It seamlessly integrates into existing microchip and processor manufacturing processes, offering a cost-effective solution. In conventional communication, data is generated and encrypted using mathematical algorithms. However, the vulnerability of this encryption lies in the decryptable nature of the underlying algorithm, as evidenced by numerous global cyberattacks, exposing weaknesses…
…hastening possibilities for quantum information processing. In work that could lead to more robust quantum computing, Princeton researchers have succeeded in forcing molecules into quantum entanglement. For the first time, a team of Princeton physicists have been able to link together individual molecules into special states that are quantum mechanically “entangled.” In these bizarre states, the molecules remain correlated with each other—and can interact simultaneously—even if they are miles apart, or indeed, even if they occupy opposite ends of the…
In cooperation with Munich Quantum Valley, the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre is procuring a quantum computer based on trapped-ion technology. Quantum technology for research and development: Together with Munich Quantum Valley (MQV), the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BAdW) is procuring another quantum computer for its Quantum Integration Centre (QIC). The computer, which uses 20 qubits implemented in an ion trap, was developed by the Austrian-based start-up Alpine Quantum Technologies (AQT). The new system…
CFN’s Kevin Yager develops a chatbot with an expertise in nanomaterials. A researcher has just finished writing a scientific paper. She knows her work could benefit from another perspective. Did she overlook something? Or perhaps there’s an application of her research she hadn’t thought of. A second set of eyes would be great, but even the friendliest of collaborators might not be able to spare the time to read all the required background publications to catch up. Kevin Yager—leader of…
In a step toward more autonomous soft robots and wearable technologies, EPFL researchers have created a device that uses color to simultaneously sense multiple mechanical and temperature stimuli. Robotics researchers have already made great strides in developing sensors that can perceive changes in position, pressure, and temperature – all of which are important for technologies like wearable devices and human-robot interfaces. But a hallmark of human perception is the ability to sense multiple stimuli at once, and this is something…
When a natural disaster occurs, every minute counts. Unmanned aerial vehicles are often used to assist the search for survivors as they can provide an initial overview of difficult-to-reach areas and help to detect victims — provided they are visible. Researchers at the Fraunhofer FKIE are looking to close a gap in the provision of disaster management services with a new technology: In the future, drones equipped with microphone arrays will be able to precisely locate cries for help and…
Researchers develop hybrid phase-change memristors that offer fast, low-power, and high-density computing memory.# By strategically straining materials that are as thin as a single layer of atoms, University of Rochester scientists have developed a new form of computing memory that is at once fast, dense, and low-power. The researchers outline their new hybrid resistive switches in a study published in Nature Electronics. Developed in the lab of Stephen M. Wu, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and of physics, the approach marries the best qualities of two…
‘Nature Photonics’ features a study by the Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa. Optical wireless may no longer have any obstacles. A study by Politecnico di Milano, conducted together with Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, the University of Glasgow and Stanford University, and published in the prestigious journal Nature Photonics, has made it possible to create photonic chips that mathematically calculate the optimal shape of light to best pass through any environment, even one that…
…using acoustic wave sensors. An inspection design method and procedure by which mobile robots can inspect large pipe structures has been demonstrated with the successful inspection of multiple defects on a three-meter long steel pipe using guided acoustic wave sensors. The University of Bristol team, led by Professor Bruce Drinkwater and Professor Anthony Croxford, developed approach was used to review a long steel pipe with multiple defects, including circular holes with different sizes, a crack-like defect and pits, through a…
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