Technology
press releases.

Technology20 Mar 2024

A replacement for traditional motors could enhance next-gen robots

Whether it’s a powered prosthesis to assist a person who has lost a limb or an independent robot navigating the outside world, we are asking machines to perform increasingly complex, dynamic tasks. But the standard electric motor was designed for steady, ongoing activities like running a compressor or spinning a conveyor belt – even updated designs waste a lot of energy when making more complicated movements. Researchers at Stanford University have invented a way to augment electric motors to make them much more efficient at performing dynamic ...

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Technology20 Mar 2024

Quantum talk with magnetic disks

Quantum computers promise to tackle some of the most challenging problems facing humanity today. While much attention has been directed towards the computation of quantum information, the transduction of information within quantum networks is equally crucial in materializing the potential of this new technology. Addressing this need, a research team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) is now introducing a new approach for transducing quantum information: the team has manipulated quantum bits, so called qubits, by harnessing the magnetic field ...

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Technology20 Mar 2024

Introducing Floorlocator: a game-changer in indoor navigation technology

Researchers have developed FloorLocator, a breakthrough in indoor navigation technology, which combines the high efficiency of Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) with the advanced learning capabilities of Graph Neural Networks (GNNs). This innovative approach ensures remarkable accuracy and scalability for floor localization, crucial for enhancing emergency responses, indoor positioning, and personalized recommendation systems. Indoor positioning is transforming with applications demanding precise location tracking. Traditional methods, including fingerprinting and sensor-based techniques, though widely used, face significant drawbacks such as the ...

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Technology20 Mar 2024

AI ethics are ignoring children, say Oxford researchers

Researchers from the Oxford Martin Programme on Ethical Web and Data Architectures (EWADA), University of Oxford, have called for a more considered approach when embedding ethical principles in the development and governance of AI for children. In a perspective paper published today in Nature Machine Intelligence, the authors highlight that although there is a growing consensus around what high-level AI ethical principles should look like, too little is known about how to effectively apply them in principle for children. The study mapped the global landscape of existing ethics guidelines for AI and identified four ...

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Technology20 Mar 2024

Machine learning tools can predict emotion in voices in just over a second

Words are important to express ourselves. What we don’t say, however, may be even more instrumental in conveying emotions. Humans can often tell how people around them feel through non-verbal cues embedded in our voice. Now, researchers in Germany wanted to find out if technical tools, too, can accurately predict emotional undertones in fragments of voice recordings. To do so, they compared three ML models’ accuracy to recognize diverse emotions in audio excepts. Their results were published in Frontiers in Psychology. “Here we show that machine learning can be used ...

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Technology20 Mar 2024

Metamaterials and AI converge, igniting innovative breakthroughs

A research team, comprising Professor Junsuk Rho from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Chemical Engineering, and the Department of Electrical Engineering, and PhD candidates Seokho Lee and Cherry Park from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), has recently published a paper that highlights the next generation of research trends that combine metaphotonics research with artificial intelligence. The paper has been published in the international journal, Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science. Metalenses have sparked a revolution in optics, drastically ...

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Technology19 Mar 2024

Machine learning used to classify fossils of extinct pollen

In the quest to decipher the evolutionary relationships of extinct organisms from fossils, researchers often face challenges in discerning key features from weathered fossils, or with prioritizing characteristics of organisms for the most accurate placement within a phylogenetic tree. Enter neural networks, sophisticated algorithms that underlie today’s image recognition technology. While previous attempts to utilize neural networks in classifying extinct organisms within phylogenetic trees have struggled, a new study, recently published in PNAS Nexus, heralds a significant breakthrough. The model has been trained ...

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Technology19 Mar 2024

Evaluating homelessness empathy through virtual reality among dental students

Alexandria, VA, USA – A study aiming to determine experiential impact on student-empathy in relation to timing of when they experienced a VR-simulation of homelessness was presented at the 102nd General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 48th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, on March 13-16, 2024, in New Orleans, LA, USA. The abstract, “Evaluating Homelessness Empathy Through Virtual Reality Among Dental Students” was presented during the “Late Breaking Abstracts I” Poster Session ...

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Technology19 Mar 2024

Mass General Brigham researchers develop AI foundation models to advance pathology

Foundation models, advanced artificial intelligence systems trained on large-scale datasets, hold the potential to provide unprecedented advancements for the medical field. In computational pathology (CPath), these models may excel in diagnostic accuracy, prognostic insights, and predicting therapeutic responses. Researchers at Mass General Brigham have designed the two of the largest CPath foundation models to date: UNI and CONCH. These foundation models were adapted to over 30 clinical, diagnostic needs, including ...

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Technology19 Mar 2024

Spectroscopy and theory shed light on excitons in semiconductors

From solar panels on our roofs to the new OLED TV screens, many everyday electronic devices simply wouldn’t work without the interaction between light and the materials that make up semiconductors. A new category of semiconductors is based on organic molecules, which largely consist of carbon, such as buckminsterfullerene. The way organic semiconductors work is largely determined by their behaviour in the first few moments after light excites electrons, forming “excitons” in the material. Researchers from the Universities of Göttingen, Graz, ...

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Technology19 Mar 2024

Does AI help or hurt human radiologists’ performance? It depends on the doctor

One of the most touted promises of medical artificial intelligence tools is their ability to augment human clinicians’ performance by helping them interpret images such as X-rays and CT scans with greater precision to make more accurate diagnoses. But the benefits of using AI tools on image interpretation appear to vary from clinician to clinician, according to new research led by investigators at Harvard Medical School, working with colleagues at MIT and Stanford. The study findings suggest that individual clinician differences shape the interaction between human ...

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Technology19 Mar 2024

Continuous non-invasive glucose sensing on the horizon with the development of a new optical sensor.

For decades, people with diabetes have relied on finger pricks to withdraw blood or adhesive microneedles to measure and manage their glucose levels. In addition to being painful, these methods can cause itching, inflammation and infection. Researchers at TMOS, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems, have taken an important step towards eliminating this discomfort. Their RMIT University team has discovered new aspects of glucose’s infrared signature and have used this information to develop a miniaturised optical sensor only 5mm in diameter that could one day be used to provide continuous non-invasive glucose monitoring in diabetes ...

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Technology18 Mar 2024

Artificial streams reveal how drought shapes California’s alpine ecosystems

Berkeley — A network of artificial streams is teaching scientists how California’s mountain waterways — and the ecosystems that depend on them — may be impacted by a warmer, drier climate. Over the next century, climate change is projected to bring less snowfall to the Sierra Nevada. Smaller snowpacks, paired with warmer conditions, will shift the annual snowmelt earlier into the year, leaving less water to feed streams and rivers during the hot summer months. By 2100, mountain streams are predicted to reach their annual base, or “low-flow,” conditions an average of six ...

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Technology18 Mar 2024

Researchers achieve >99% photoluminescence quantum yield in metal nanoclusters

Prof. ZHOU Meng’s research team from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), collaborating with Prof. WANG Quanming’s team from Tsinghua University (THU) achieved near-unity room-temperature photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) (>99%) in the near-infrared (NIR) emission of metal nanoclusters in solution. Their work was published in Science. Gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) as NIR-emissive materials hold potential in biomedical applications. However, the PLQY of Au NCs in NIR region is typically low, often ...

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Technology18 Mar 2024

Developing bifunctional catalyst performance enhancement technology that will dramatically lower the cost of hydrogen production

Dr. Hyung-Suk Oh and Dr. Woong-Hee Lee of the Clean Energy Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), in collaboration with POSTECH and Yonsei University, have developed a methodology to improve the reversibility and durability of electrodes using bifunctional platinum-nickel alloy catalysts with an octahedral structure that exhibits both oxygen reduction and generation reactions. Bifunctional catalysts are a new generation of catalysts that simultaneously produce hydrogen and oxygen from water using a single catalyst. Currently, electrochemical systems such as water electrolysis technology and CCU (carbon dioxide ...

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Technology16 Mar 2024

Mount Sinai experts to present new research at 71th Annual Meeting of the Society for Reproductive Investigation

Reproductive health experts from the Women’s Biomedical Research Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will present research at the 71th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI) in Vancouver, Canada from March 12-16. The doctors and researchers are available for interview about their findings; they can also provide commentary on other women’s health and female biology topics, breaking news, and studies. PRESENTATIONS and POSTER SESSIONS (*All abstracts are under embargo until the below listed times*) Friday, March 15, 2024 9:00 -11:00 a.m. PT (12:00-2:00 ...

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Technology15 Mar 2024

Speaking without vocal cords, thanks to a new AI-assisted wearable device

People with voice disorders, including those with pathological vocal cord conditions or who are recovering from laryngeal cancer surgeries, can often find it difficult or impossible to speak. That may soon change. A team of UCLA engineers has invented a soft, thin, stretchy device measuring just over 1 square inch that can be attached to the skin outside the throat to help people with dysfunctional vocal cords regain their voice function. Their advance is detailed this week in the journal Nature Communications. The new bioelectric system, developed ...

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Technology15 Mar 2024

Rice breakthrough could make automated dosing systems universal

by Jade Boyd Special to Rice News HOUSTON – (March 15, 2024) – Rice University synthetic biologists have found a way to piggyback on the glucose monitoring technology used in automated insulin dosing systems and make it universally applicable for the monitoring and dosing of virtually any drug. In a recently published study in Nature Communications, researchers in the lab of Caroline Ajo-Franklin demonstrated the technique by modifying a blood-glucose sensor to detect the anticancer drug afimoxifene ...

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Technology15 Mar 2024

Exploring the frontier of quantum materials through terahertz emission spectroscopy: a comprehensive review

Researchers at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, have published a review article on the terahertz (THz) radiation in quantum materials. The work, led by Surui Yang, Liang Cheng, and Jingbo Qi, offers a comprehensive exploration of the time-dependent photocurrents, shedding light on the up-to-date understanding of the physical processes involved. The investigation, conducted at the forefront of ultrafast science, delves into the potential of THz radiation in unraveling the fundamental physics of quantum materials, with implications for the development of novel technologies. The review focuses on recent advancements in revealing the unique properties of quantum materials ...

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Technology14 Mar 2024

New study shows analog computing can solve complex equations and use far less energy

AMHERST, Mass. – A team of researchers including University of Massachusetts Amherst engineers have proven that their analog computing device, called a memristor, can complete complex, scientific computing tasks while bypassing the limitations of digital computing. Many of today’s important scientific questions—from nanoscale material modeling to large-scale climate science—can be explored using complex equations. However, today’s digital computing systems are reaching their limit for performing these computations in terms of speed, energy consumption and infrastructure. Qiangfei Xia, ...

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Technology14 Mar 2024

Terminator-style robots more likely to be blamed for civilian deaths

Advanced killer robots are more likely to blamed for civilian deaths than military machines, new research has revealed. The University of Essex study shows that high-tech bots will be held more responsible for fatalities in identical incidents. Led by the Department of Psychology’s Dr Rael Dawtry it highlights the impact of autonomy and agency. And showed people perceive robots to be more culpable if described in a more advanced way. It is hoped the study – published in The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology ...

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Technology14 Mar 2024

New multimillion dollar research facility set to unlock secrets of quantum materials

Material scientists from the University of British Columbia Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute (Blusson QMI) will lead the development of a multi-million world-class crystal growth facility thanks to $5.8 million in investments by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the B.C. Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) announced today. Blusson QMI Scientific Director Andrea Damascelli said the investment will strengthen Canada’s position as a leader in quantum research and technology. “The investment enables the establishment of state-of-the-art research infrastructure that is unique in Canada and will deliver exceptional impact for quantum material design, technology ...

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Technology13 Mar 2024

NYU Tandon study exposes failings of measures to prevent illegal content generation by text-to-image AI models

Researchers at NYU Tandon School of Engineering have revealed critical shortcomings in recently proposed methods aimed at making powerful text-to-image generative AI systems safer for public use. In a paper that will be presented at the Twelfth International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR), taking place in Vienna on May 7 - 11, 2024, the research team demonstrates how techniques that claim to "erase" the ability of models like Stable Diffusion to generate explicit, copyrighted, or otherwise unsafe ...

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Technology13 Mar 2024

Strengthening the partnership between humans and AI: the case of translators

ChatGPT and its ability to hold conversations and produce written content have been the focus of a lot of attention in the last year in the field of technology and artificial intelligence. However, AI has been around for some time, helping us in all sorts of everyday tasks, from navigation systems to social network algorithms, not to mention machine translation. Ever since neural machine translation (NMT) systems began to be used on a widespread basis a few years ago, AI has seen exponential growth in its uptake in the translation industry. This has led to new challenges in the relationship between human and machine translators. Today, the post-editing ...

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Technology13 Mar 2024

Advancing toward wearable stretchable electronics

Small wearable or implantable electronics could help monitor our health, diagnose diseases, and provide opportunities for improved, autonomous treatments. But to do this without aggravating or damaging the cells around them, these electronics will need to not only bend and stretch with our tissues as they move, but also be soft enough that they will not scratch and damage tissues. Researchers at Stanford have been working on skin-like, stretchable electronic devices for over a decade. In a paper published ...

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