January 2021 – Page 5

SCIENTISTS WANT TO SEND A ROBOT MADE OF ICE TO ANOTHER PLANET

January 16, 2021

VICTOR TANGERMANN

Scientists-want-send-robot-made-of-ice — ICEBOT

A team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are trying to figure out if we can send robots that are made out of ice to another planet, IEEE Spectrum reports.

The idea is to create a robot design that can leverage local resources to repair itself in case it ever breaks down.

As detailed in a new paper presented at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, the researchers looked a variety of ways of creating robots out of ice by using both additive and subtractive manufacturing processes.

Medical Breakthrough, Science & Technology News

‘Virtual biopsies’ could replace tissue biopsies in future thanks to technique developed by Cambridge scientists

January 15, 2021

Viral-biopsies-could-replace-tissue-biopsies — Illustration of a patient with a pelvic tumour. a Routine contrast-enhanced CT images were used to manually segment the pelvic tumour (dashed line). b Spatial radiomic feature extraction and generation of habitat maps. For this patient, three tumour habitats are feasible and highlighted in blue, red, and green, respectively. c The left figure shows the US image with the co-registered CT-based tumour segmentation (dashed line). The right figure shows the CT scan overlaying the US plane, with the habitat maps highlighted in colour. The US images correspond to a different plane orientation with respect to panels a and b Credit: University of Cambridge

A new advanced computing technique using routine medical scans to enable doctors to take fewer, more accurate tumour biopsies, has been developed by cancer researchers at the University of Cambridge. This is an important step towards precision tissue sampling for cancer patients to help select the best treatment. In future the technique could even replace clinical biopsies with ‘virtual biopsies’, sparing patients invasive procedures.

The research published in European Radiologyshows that combining computed tomography (CT) scans with ultrasound images creates a visual guide for doctors to ensure they sample the full complexity of a tumour with fewer targeted biopsies.

Science & Technology News, Tesla

Tesla’s Autopilot Full Self-Driving Completes Round Trip From San Francisco to Los Angeles PRACTICALLY WITHOUT ANY HUMAN INTERVENTION.

January 18, 2021

By Jeff Yeung

Footage has surfaced showing a TeslaModel 3 making a round trip between San Francisco and Los Angeles using its Autopilot Full Self-Driving mode.

The video came from YouTube user Whole Mars Catalog, whose entire channel appears to be dedicated to testing Tesla’s Autopilot FSD functionality. According to the channel, the drive was made possible via the latest Beta version of Tesla’s software, and the entire round trip was completed with close to no human intervention at all, except for one scenario where debris had shot up from the road after the car in front passed over it and so the driver had to take control immediately for just one second.

App, Science & Technology News

Study Finds More Than $100 Billion Spent on App Stores in 2020

January 15, 2021

by Hartley Charlton

Study-finds-more-than-$100-Billion-app-stores-1

A new report by Sensor Tower reveals that 2020 has been a record-setting year for worldwide spending on the Apple App Storeand Google Play Store, which collectively passed $100 billion in a single year for the first time ever in November.

The trend of increased spending continued over Christmas, when consumers around the world spent an estimated $407.6 million across Apple’s ‌App Store‌ and Google Play. This represents a 34.5 percent year-on-year growth from approximately $303 million in 2019. At the same time in 2019, spending only increased by 17.1 percent year-on-year.

Spending on Christmas day constituted 4.5 percent of December’s total spending so far, which reached nine billion dollars globally on December 27. The majority of holiday spending was on mobile games, which climbed by 27 percent from $232.4 million at the same time last year to $295.6 million.

Science & Technology News, Space

Japanese researchers are developing satellites made of wood

January 14, 2021

Shane McGlaun

The number of satellites being put into orbit is always increasing, and many researchers and scientists worldwide fear the amount of space junk that will accumulate in orbit around the Earth. A Japanese company called Sumitomo Forestry is working with researchers from Kyoto University to develop the first satellites made of wood by 2023. Sumitomo Forestry says that it has started research on tree growth and the use of wood materials in space.

The partnership between the company and the University will start by experimenting with different wood types in extreme environments on Earth. According to the partners, wooden satellites would burn up in the atmosphere without releasing harmful substances or raining debris onto the ground. Kyoto University Professor Takao Doi says there is concern that all satellites that reenter the Earth’s atmosphere burn and create tiny alumina particles that float in the upper atmosphere for many years.

NASA, Science & Technology News

Current spacesuits won’t cut it on the moon. So NASA made new ones.

January 14, 2021

Neel V. Patelarchive

current-spacesuits-won't-cut-it-on-moon-1 — The upper torso of NASA’s xEMU design.NASA

As astronauts get ready to go back to the moon and spend more time in space, they’ll need better gear to help them survive.

A spacesuit is more like a miniature spacecraft you wear around your body than an item of clothing. It’s pressurized, it’s decked out with life support systems, and it’s likely to look pretty cool. But should the suit fail, you’re toast.

No one has ever died because of a faulty spacesuit, but that doesn’t mean current models are perfect. Whether it’s for launch into space or reentry back to Earth, or for an extravehicular activity (EVA, colloquially known as a spacewalk), astronauts have never been completely satisfied with the gear they are forced to put on for missions.

Science & Technology News, Tesla

Elon Musk pushes Tesla to have more in-car gaming in preparation for self-driving future

January 14, 2021

Fred Lambert

Elon-Musk-pushes-Tesla-to-have-gaming-1 — CEO Elon Musk is pushing Tesla to have more in-car games and entertainment, which he sees as ‘critical’ in a self-driving future.

Is he getting ahead of himself?

Last weekend, Tesla started pushing a new software update that Musk had been hyping as ‘fire’ over the last few weeks.

The update ended up consisting of a few user interface changes and the main new features were 3 new in-car video games and a new ‘Boombox’ feature to play custom sounds through external speakers.

Musk followed up the update with several comments regarding in-car video games and entertainment, which he sees as “critical” when achieving autonomous driving:

drones, Science & Technology News

US will allow small drones to fly over people and at night in a significant step forward for drone deliveries

January 13, 2021

US-will-allow-small-drones-to-fly-over-people-1 — STEP FORWARD FOR DRONE DELIVERIES

The Federal Aviation Administration announced its new rules on Monday
Drones will now be allowed to fly at night and above people
The rules mean that drone delivery for companies is one step closer
UPS, Google, Amazon and Walmart are all working on drone deliveries

Small drones will be allowed to fly over people and at night in the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Monday, a significant step toward their use for widespread commercial deliveries.

The FAA said its long-awaited rules for the drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, will address security concerns by requiring remote identification technology in most cases to enable their identification from the ground.

Previously, small drone operations over people were limited to operations over people who were directly participating in the operation, located under a covered structure, or inside a stationary vehicle – unless operators had obtained a waiver from the FAA.

Science & Technology News

3D-Printed Electric Motorcycle Looks Straight Out of Blade Runner

January 13, 2021

3D-printed-electric-motorcycle-looks-blade-runner-1

Calling all Cyberpunk 2077 fans, Blade Runner stans, and tech futurists, your moment is almost here. The natural progression in design, paired with the rapid changes in technology, has created the perfect breeding ground for innovation.

Not to mention, some of the latest technology on display around the world looks pretty awesome. Looking like something out of Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, BigRep’s 3D printed motorcycle is a stunning and impressive display of how far the fairly new process of large-scale 3D printing can go in vehicle manufacturing.

AI, Science & Technology News

AI Matches or Beats Human Diagnoses in Award-Winning Study

January 13, 2021

Denti.AI’s artificial intelligence (AI) software accurately identified pathoses that were missed by board-certified dental experts in an award-winning study by Manal Hamdan, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry.

Hamdan concluded that Denti.AI’s technology had comparable or improved results in detecting apical radiolucencies and that it has the potential to reduce provider fatigue and diagnostic errors.

The study won the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology’s 2020 Albert G. Richards Graduate Student Research Award.

“Dr. Hamdan’s research is an excellent example of university and business collaboration utilizing experts in radiology, deep learning, and statistical analysis to produce clinically relevant and potentially game changing results validating software that can elevate patient care,” said Dr. Don Tyndall, professor of oral and maxillofacial radiology at the Adams School.

“Our team at Denti.Ai is committed to being at the forefront of implementing artificial intelligence into clinical practices through rigorous academic validation and collaboration with leading academic institutions,” said Dmitry Tuzoff, founder and CEO of Denti.AI.

Science & Technology News

THIS SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE CONCEPT IS A FLEXIBLE, SCALABLE, LIVING ORGANISM IN ITSELF!

January 11, 2021

Mitosis is the division of a cell into two identical ‘daughter cells’ and the purpose of this process is to grow as well as replace worn-out cells. Now that we have brushed on the biology bit, let’s move on to the sustainable architecturalstructure Mitosis which is also inspired by the process mentioned earlier as you might have guessed by its name! Amsterdam-based architecture firm GG-loop collaborated with Arup to design a modular building system that focuses on regenerative sustainable living and urban development.

Created with biophilic principles and parametric design tools, the hypnotizing prefab timber modules we see will be optimized to be flexible and scalable. This will let the building continue expansion with time in several different urban settings while accommodating the changing times which often results in changing needs. The ability to expand the structural hub is where the building gets its name from. Mitosis can be used for a wide range right from creating communities with off-grid, single-family homes to high-density, mixed-use zones in cities. GG-loop’s pilot project Freebooter was the foundation for Mitosis and is in itself an award-winning pair of prefabricated, cross-laminated timber apartments that were completed last year in Amsterdam.

Science & Technology News

VW developing mobile robot to automate charging

January 11, 2021

VIKNESH VIJAYENTHIRAN

VW-developing-mobile-robot-automate-charging-1 — Volkswagen mobile robot charging prototype

In a world where cars are able to drive themselves, the question of how they will be refueled often comes up.

In the case of electric vehicles, we’ve already seen some solutions for automatic charging, and the latest from Volkswagen is among the most impressive.

The German automaker on Monday unveiled a prototype for a mobile charging robot that looks like it might have been a prop on a “Star Wars” movie. However, the solution not only solves the problem of how to charge an EV when there’s no driver present, but also how to charge multiple cars in a garage that doesn’t have the infrastructure in place for charging in individual bays.

The robot transports a mobile battery to and from a waiting car and a central charging dock. When called via an app or vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, it autonomously travels to the car and then connects the battery via an extending arm. The robot then leaves the battery to charge the car and drives off to connect up another waiting car, and returns later to remove the depleted battery.