Impact Lab – Page 244 – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience

Space

New Robot Design May Revolutionize How We Build Things in Space

December 11, 2022

3D animation showing the Hubble Space Telescope over the Earth.

A New Walking Robot Design.

Researchers have created a cutting-edge walking robot that might revolutionize large space construction projects. They tested the feasibility of the robot for the in-space assembly of a 25m Large Aperture Space Telescope. Their findings were recently published in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI. Furthermore, a scaled-down version of the robot has shown potential for large-scale construction applications on Earth.

Maintenance and maintenance of massive structures are particularly important in space, where the circumstances are harsh and human technology has a limited lifetime. Robotics, autonomous systems, and extravehicular activities have all proven helpful for servicing and maintenance missions and have assisted the space community in conducting innovative research on a variety of space missions. Robotics and autonomous systems advancements provide a wide range of in-space services. This includes, but is not limited to, manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, astronomy, earth observation, and debris removal.

Due to the many hazards involved, relying just on human builders is insufficient, and current technologies are outdated.

“We need to introduce sustainable, futuristic technology to support the current and growing orbital ecosystem,” explained corresponding author Manu Nair, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Lincoln.

“As the scale of space missions grows, there is a need for more extensive infrastructures in orbit. Assembly missions in space would hold one of the key responsibilities in meeting the increasing demand.”

drones

Quantum-Systems drones to help SKYLAB with forest management

December 11, 2022

By Ishveena Singh

German drone manufacturer Quantum-Systems has struck a partnership with forest management provider SKYLAB to allow customers to understand the state of their forestry assets better.

SKYLAB is known for using deep learning and aerial data analytics to generate precise and detailed forest maps. In addition to fully-digitalized forest management, the company provides dedicated services for seedling survival, weed monitoring, timber and carbon stock inventories, monitoring forest health, harvesting operations, and more.

Quantum-Systems is coming into the equation with the promise of enabling SKYLAB to maximize the usage of aerial data with Trinity F90+ fixed-wing eVTOL. Since the F90+ is compatible with several camera solutions, including the MicaSense Altum-PT, MicaSense RedEdge-P, Qube 240 LiDAR, Sony UMC- R10C, Sony RX1 RII, and the Oblique D2M cameras, it can cater to almost all aspects of forest management.

In addition, a flight time of up to 90 minutes means that forestry professionals can move from just sampling and extrapolating 1% of the forest to knowing 100% of the forest.

Continue reading…Quantum-Systems drones to help SKYLAB with forest management“

brains

“Braingeneers” automate growth of brain tissue organoids on a chip

December 11, 2022

NOVEL SYSTEM CAN INCREASE REPRODUCIBILITY IN CEREBRAL ORGANOID RESEARCH AND SHOWS PROMISE FOR LOWERING LEVELS OF CELLULAR STRESS.

By Eleanor Garth

A team of engineers at UC Santa Cruz has developed a new method for remote automation of the growth of cerebral organoids – miniature, three-dimensional models of brain tissue grown from stem cells.

Longevity.Technology: Cerebral organoids allow researchers to study and engineer key functions of the human brain with a level of accuracy not possible with other models. This has implications for understanding brain development and the effects of pharmaceutical drugs for treating neurodegenerative diseases or other diseases of aging.

Research on aging has primarily been conducted using cell cultures, yeast, C elegans and animal models (flies, mice). However, longevity research is committed to unpicking the pathways that regulate aging and developing interventions that could slow biological aging and delay the onset and progression of age-related diseases in humans. So, while we have a wealth of non-human data, how much if it is directly applicable to extending human healthspan?

Organoids enable interventional studies that are difficult or impossible to conduct in humans, while at the same time providing valuable human data – their potential as a significant preclinical model tool is enormous.

In this new study, which has been published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, researchers from the UCSC Braingeneers group (probably the best name you’ll read this week!) detail their automated, internet-connected microfluidics system, called “Autoculture”; this system precisely delivers feeding liquid to individual cerebral organoids in order to optimise their growth without the need for human interference with the tissue culture.

3D Printer

This 3D-Printed House Is the First to Be Made Entirely From Bio-Based Materials

December 9, 2022

Named BioHome3D, the structure was printed on the world’s largest 3D printer

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Maine doesn’t have enough affordable housing or enough workers to build more, but it does have quite a bit of excess wood fiber from its substantial forestry industry. Seeking a solution to those problems, researchers with the University of Maine have taken the industry byproduct to create an experimental 3D-printed house—named BioHome3D—they say is entirely recyclable and bio-based.

The state’s paper mills were once a reliable consumer of the forestry industry’s wood residues, according to Habib Dagher, the executive director of the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures & Composites Center, which created the 600-square-foot prototype. But several of those mills have closed in recent years, leading to a glut of the material.

“There’s a lot of that waste material now that is generated yearly in our state and in the region,” Dagher tells AD. “We have over a million tons per year of waste wood residues that are accessible to us [and] that can create a lot of homes.”

Genes

Using gene editing to fight deadly genetic diseases

December 9, 2022

Experts share the latest advances at annual PQG conference

By – Karen Feldscher

November 30, 2022 – Cutting-edge gene editing techniques hold enormous promise for tackling devastating diseases such as sickle cell disease, Huntington’s disease, and heart disease, according to experts.

At the 16^th annual Program in Quantitative Genomics (PQG) conference, a two-day event held in early November and hosted by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, a dozen speakers spoke about recent and upcoming research on therapeutics and technologies targeting specific genetic mutations that cause disease. About 180 participants from around the world attended the virtual conference.

Science & Technology News, Space

SPACE STAYCATION

December 9, 2022

INSIDE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PLAN TO BUILD A TOWN ON THE MOON USING LUNAR DUST

By Jona Jaupi

ONE 3D-printing company has revealed plans to build towns on the Moon’s surface.

Nasa has given 3D printing firm Icon $57.2 million to develop a plan that could help build infrastructure on the lunar surface.

Types of infrastructure would include landing pads, habitats, and roads on the lunar surface.

Not only would the developments be built for Nasa but for commercial companies, as well.

Icon, based in Austin, previously displayed its cutting-edge technology by 3D printing a 1,700-square-foot simulated Martian habitat.

The habitat dubbed Mars Dune Alpha was presented at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Nasa’s contract will help Icon research and develop space-based construction systems, specifically for its project Olympus.

This project will help to support the planned exploration of the Moon and beyond.

It’s also intended to be a multi-purpose construction system primarily using local lunar and Martian resources as building materials to further the efforts of NASA as well as commercial organizations to establish a sustained lunar presence.

“In order to explore other worlds, we need innovative new technologies adapted to those environments and our exploration needs,” said Niki Werkheiser, director of technology maturation in Nasa’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).

Robots

Charging Robotics to Launch Robotic EV Charging Station Pilot in Q1 2023

December 8, 2022

The service was designed to assist people with mobility difficulties.

Charging Robotics Ltd. anticipates releasing the beta of its wireless charging robot user interface by the end of the year. The company, which is a subsidiary of Medigus, will release the software as part of a collaboration with Make My Day, which develops apps and services for electric vehicles.

Customers will be able to take advantage of Charing Robotics wireless charging service through an app developed by Make My Day. They will be able to request charging services, receive information about billing, review driving directions and analysis real-time data about the EV’s battery status, according to the companies. The app will also show customers the location of the nearby charging stations.

Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, Medigus Ltd. said it focuses on innovative growth partnerships, mainly in advanced medical solutions, digital commerce, and electric vehicle markets.

Medicine

A self-powered ingestible sensor opens new avenues for gut research

December 8, 2022

UC San Diego Researchers develop a self-powered ingestible sensor system designed to monitor metabolites in the small intestine over time. Credit: David Ballot for the Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego

By Emerson Dameron

Engineering researchers have developed a battery-free, pill-shaped ingestible biosensing system designed to provide continuous monitoring in the intestinal environment. It gives scientists the ability to monitor gut metabolites in real time, which wasn’t possible before. This feat of technological integration could unlock new understanding of intestinal metabolite composition, which significantly impacts human health overall.

The work, led by engineers at the University of California San Diego, appears in the December issue of the journal Nature Communications.

The ingestible, biofuel-driven sensor facilitates in-situ access to the small intestine, making glucose monitoring easier while generating continuous results. These measurements provide a critical component of tracking overall gastrointestinal health, a major factor in studying nutrition, diagnosing and treating various diseases, preventing obesity, and more.

“In our experiments, the battery-free biosensor technology continuously monitored glucose levels in the small intestines of pigs 14 hours after ingestion, yielding measurements every five seconds for two to five hours,” said Ernesto De La Paz Andres, a nanoengineering graduate student at UC San Diego and one of the co-first authors on the paper. “Our next step is to reduce the size of the pills from the current 2.6 cm in length so they will be easier for human subjects to swallow.”

Older methods for directly monitoring the inside of the small intestine can cause significant discomfort for patients while generating only single short data recordings of an environment that continuously changes. By contrast, this biosensor provides access to continuous data readings over time. The platform could also be used to develop new ways to study the microbiome of the small intestine. The “smart pill” approach could lead to simpler and cheaper ways to monitor the small intestine, which could lead to significant cost savings in the future.

Driverless vehicles

Japan to open roads to autonomous vehicles in 2023

December 8, 2022

By Brianna Wessling

Japan’s National Policy Agency announced that it would lift a ban preventing SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles from operating on Japanese roads. The change in policy will allow autonomous vehicles (AVs) to operate in a limited capacity in April 2023.

The agency will announce more details on how the vehicles will be rolled out, where they’ll be available and how many will be on the roads after a public comment period scheduled to close at the end of November 2022.

Japan hopes that it can offer mobility services using Level 4 AVs in 40 areas of the country by 2025, and in more than 100 areas by 2030. These services will likely include AVs that will be used as delivery robots or tour buses on routes in lightly populated areas.

BOLDLY, a Tokyo-based company and subsidiary of SoftBank Corp., recently partnered with Auve Tech, an Estonian developer of autonomous shuttles, to deploy autonomous shuttles in Japan. The MiCa shuttles, which will be specifically designed for Japanese roadways, will hopefully be on roads by the end of fiscal year 2023.

Art

Pantone’s 2023 Color of the Year revealed — and it’s unexpectedly bright

December 7, 2022

Written by Faith Karimi, CNN

Pantone has spoken. The color that will shape the year ahead is — drum roll, please — Viva Magenta.

The global color authority reveals its Color of the Year every December, and its 2023 choice, announced Thursday, is a vibrant relative of the red family.

Described as “a nuanced crimson tone” that balances warm and cool, Viva Magenta is “an unconventional shade for an unconventional time,” Pantone said in a statement unveiling its pick.

“Powerful and empowering, it is an animated red that encourages experimentation and self-expression without restraint; an electrifying, boundaryless shade.” Pantone said of this year’s choice. Credit: Pantone

“Brave and fearless, (Viva Magenta) is a pulsating color whose exuberance promotes optimism and joy,” the statement added. “Powerful and empowering, it is an animated red that encourages experimentation and self-expression without restraint; an electrifying, boundaryless shade.”

The company went on to describe the color as “audacious, witty and inclusive of all.”

The Pantone Color Institute’s choice is intended to reflect the latest trends across sectors including fashion, beauty, technology, design and home decor. It also serves as something of a mood ring, with shades chosen to capture the zeitgeist.

Augmented Reality

Epson Unveils New Moverio Augmented Reality Smart Glasses

December 7, 2022

With the introduction of the Moverio BT-45C and BT-45CS devices, Epson has unveiled its most recent line of Moverio augmented reality (AR) smart glasses. The company created these new glasses to provide smooth remote collaboration with a high-quality AR viewing experience.

The new Moverio models are designed explicitly for mission-critical tasks like troubleshooting, maintenance, inspection, and training. They support immersive, hands-free collaboration between on-site technicians and remote experts to help increase efficiency, improve safety, and decrease downtime.

“Field service is undergoing a transformation, with many businesses shifting to remote assistance and adopting immersive AR technology to help enhance work efficiency, save costs and improve workplace safety,” said Nathan Cheng, Associate Product Manager, Augmented Reality at Epson America, Inc.

The Moverio BT-45C and BT-45CS are equipped with brand-new Si-OLED technology, a binocular see-through Full HD display with a 34° field-of-view (FoV), and a proprietary optical engine to incorporate digital content with the outside world effectively. They are also compatible with a range of collaboration and remote assistance software.

The BT-45C headset may tether to several Android or Windows host devices with a USB-C interface to support numerous applications. The smart glasses are built with a rugged, robust design with better shock and dust resistance to withstand the most challenging and dynamic work environments. Epson says the smart glasses are designed for businesses working in manufacturing, automotive, field service, IT, logistics, construction, and more.

quantum computing

Physicists Create a Wormhole Using a Quantum Computer

December 7, 2022

Researchers were able to send a signal through the open wormhole, though it’s not clear in what sense the wormhole can be said to exist.Credit: Kim Taylor/Quanta Magazine

Physicists have purportedly created the first-ever wormhole, a kind of tunnel theorized in 1935 by Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen that leads from one place to another by passing into an extra dimension of space.

The wormhole emerged like a hologram out of quantum bits of information, or “qubits,” stored in tiny superconducting circuits. By manipulating the qubits, the physicists then sent information through the wormhole, they reported today in the journal Nature.