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Startup awarded $5 million to build autonomous car that ‘runs on light’

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Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), an agency of the US military akin to Darpa, is funding a $4.8 million project spearheaded by Boston University College of Engineering, the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Lightmatter, a startup developing “photonic supercomputing” chips.

Electro-photonic computing, or optical computing, is thought to hold the promise of solving one of the biggest technical hurdles that self-driving cars face today – delivering high performance, low latency computing power that is also energy efficient.

At the end of the IARPA-funded experiment, the scientists hope to have “a fully functioning prototype of a self-driving car that runs on light”. [Read more…] about Startup awarded $5 million to build autonomous car that ‘runs on light’

Swiss university shows brain-computer interface for controlling robots

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A Swiss university called the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne has showcased a new brain-computer interface that can be used to control robots. (See video below.)

Unlike previous BCI’s famously demonstrated to former US president, Barack Obama, the EPFL brain-computer interface does not require a hole to be drilled in the user’s head.

Two EPFL research groups teamed up to develop a machine-learning program that can be connected to a human brain and used to command a robot. [Read more…] about Swiss university shows brain-computer interface for controlling robots

Robot designed by WHOI to explore underwater glacial walls to monitor climate change

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It’s the front line of climate change and could hold the key to predicting global sea level rise, but what goes on at the underwater face of Greenland’s glaciers is a mystery to science.

That could change in 2023 with a bold new mission led by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin that will explore three of Greenland’s glaciers with a submersible robot.

The voyage will be the first time Greenland’s glaciers – which make up the world’s second-largest ice sheet – will be seen up close underwater. [Read more…] about Robot designed by WHOI to explore underwater glacial walls to monitor climate change

Scientists unveil robotic grippers ‘delicate enough to lift egg yolks and precise enough to lift a human hair’

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Engineering researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a new type of flexible, robotic grippers that they say “are able to lift delicate egg yolks without breaking them, and that are precise enough to lift a human hair”. (See video below.)

The work has applications for both soft robotics and biomedical technologies.

The work draws on the art of kirigami, which involves both cutting and folding two-dimensional (2D) sheets of material to form three-dimensional (3D) shapes. [Read more…] about Scientists unveil robotic grippers ‘delicate enough to lift egg yolks and precise enough to lift a human hair’

Finland university aims to solve cruise liner passenger safety issues with ‘coughing robot’

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Finland’s Healthy Travel project, based at the Åbo Akademi University, is aiming to offer the global cruise industry a lifeline as cruise lines aim to set sail safely once again – through the use of a “coughing robot”.

In the multi-disciplinary initiative, Finnish academic researchers, cruise companies, shipyards, and subcontractors are coming together to develop and implement science-based solutions that will improve health and safety on cruise ships and in terminal buildings.

Finland’s Ambassador to the United States, Mikko Hautala, and his team are now connecting American cruise companies with their Finnish counterparts to ensure that the US cruise industry – the largest in the world – is an active participant in the recovery and future of the global cruise industry. [Read more…] about Finland university aims to solve cruise liner passenger safety issues with ‘coughing robot’

Eavesdropping on our thoughts helps create robots like us

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Can intelligence be taught to robots? Advances in physical reservoir computing, a technology that makes sense of brain signals, could contribute to creating artificial intelligence machines that think like us.

In Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing, researchers from the University of Tokyo outline how a robot could be taught to navigate through a maze by electrically stimulating a culture of brain nerve cells connected to the machine.

These nerve cells, or neurons, were grown from living cells and acted as the physical reservoir for the computer to construct coherent signals. [Read more…] about Eavesdropping on our thoughts helps create robots like us

MassRobotics partners with Abu Dhabi organization for $3 million prize competition

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MassRobotics is partnering with a group from Abu Dhabi to organize another biennial edition of the MBZIRC Maritime Grand Challenge, also known as the Mohammed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge.

The organizers say it is a global competition “designed to push the boundaries of autonomous robotics” and features a total prize purse of over $3 million.

The challenge, open to universities, research centers, companies, and individual innovators, calls for collaboration between unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles to perform complex navigation and manipulation tasks in a GNSS-denied environment at sea to detect unfriendly vessels and move or capture cargo. [Read more…] about MassRobotics partners with Abu Dhabi organization for $3 million prize competition

Everyday Robots comes out of Google Moonshot Factory with robots that can learn variety of tasks

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A startup company called Everyday Robots has unveiled a new robot that it says can perform a range of tasks including wiping tables and windows as well as arrange chairs.

Everyday Robots started out as a project at Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory – also known as X, formerly Google X – but has now started to strike out on its own, setting up its own website as well.

Writing on X’s blog, Hans Peter Brøndmo, chief robot officer, says: “We are now operating a fleet of more than 100 robot prototypes that are autonomously performing a range of useful tasks around our offices. The same robot that sorts trash can now be equipped with a squeegee to wipe tables and use the same gripper that grasps cups can learn to open doors.” [Read more…] about Everyday Robots comes out of Google Moonshot Factory with robots that can learn variety of tasks

Engineers at Columbia University invent robotic lasers that cook food

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Engineers at Columbia University have invented software-controlled robotic lasers that cook food with “unparalleled precision”, retaining more moisture, and creating an entirely new, customized way to cook a tasty meal. (See videos below.)

Imagine having your own digital personal chef; ready to cook up whatever you want; able to tailor the shape, texture, and flavor just for you; and it’s all at the push of a button. Columbia engineers have been working on doing just that, using lasers for cooking and 3D printing technology for assembling foods.

Under the guidance of Mechanical Engineering Professor Hod Lipson, the “Digital Food” team of his Creative Machines Lab has been building a fully autonomous digital personal chef. Lipson’s group has been developing 3D-printed foods since 2007. Since then, food printing has progressed to multi-ingredient prints and has been explored by researchers and a few commercial companies. [Read more…] about Engineers at Columbia University invent robotic lasers that cook food

Russia’s Sber Bank establishes new science award with $820,000 prize money

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Sber, Russia’s largest banking group, has created a competition to find innovative startup companies in the country, pledging to give approximately $270,000 in prize money to the winners.

It’s officially the “Year of Science and Technology” in Russia, so Sber decided to mark it by establishing the Sber Science Award, which is planned to be an annual science award to support the research and development efforts that have a considerable potential to impact the progress of science and technology.

Three winners will receive 20 million roubles (approximately $270,000) in prizes. The total prize pool of the science award reaches 60 million roubles (approximately $820,000). [Read more…] about Russia’s Sber Bank establishes new science award with $820,000 prize money