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101 news posts in Future tech

Robotics and AI

15 Sep 2022

Sharing a laugh: Scientists teach a robot when to have a sense of humor

By Peter Rejcek, science writer ERICA being trained on how to have a sense of humor. Image: Inoue et al No one can really agree on what makes each of us laugh, so designing an artificial intelligence (AI) system with a sense of humor is enormously challenging. Researchers at Kyoto University laughed off the challenge by developing an AI that appropriately detects and responds to human laughter at a shared moment during a conversation. This shared-laughter model is another step toward creating more natural interactions between humans and robots. Since at least the time of inquiring minds like Plato, philosophers and scientists have puzzled over the question, “What’s so funny?” The Greeks attributed the source of humor to feeling superior at the expense of others. German psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud believed humor was a way to release pent-up energy. US comedian Robin Williams tapped his anger at the absurd to make people laugh. It seems no one can really agree on the question of “What’s so funny?” So imagine trying to teach a robot how to laugh. But that’s exactly what a team of researchers at Kyoto University in Japan are trying to do by designing an AI that takes its […]

Engineering

07 Jul 2022

Bees’ ‘waggle dance’ may revolutionize how robots talk to each other in disaster zones

By Conn Hastings, science writer Image credit: rtbilder / Shutterstock.com Honeybees use a sophisticated dance to tell their sisters about the location of nearby flowers. This phenomenon forms the inspiration for a form of robot-robot communication that does not rely on digital networks. A recent study presents a simple technique whereby robots view and interpret each other’s movements or a gesture from a human to communicate a geographical location. This approach could prove invaluable when network coverage is unreliable or absent, such as in disaster zones.   Where are those flowers and how far away are they? This is the crux of the ‘waggle dance’ performed by honeybees to alert others to the location of nectar-rich flowers. A new study in Frontiers in Robotics and AI has taken inspiration from this technique to devise a way for robots to communicate. The first robot traces a shape on the floor, and the shape’s orientation and the time it takes to trace it tell the second robot the required direction and distance of travel. The technique could prove invaluable in situations where robot labor is required but network communications are unreliable, such as in a disaster zone or in space. Honeybees excel at […]

Robotics and AI

17 May 2022

Frontiers in Virtual Reality Seminar Series 2: striving for social harmony in XR

Image: Shutterstock.com Online Seminar Series 25th May – 22nd June 2022 This seminar series is presented by field chief editor of the Frontiers in Virtual Reality journal, Prof Mel Slater and members of the GuestXR European Project.  By now we are likely to have come across horror stories from ‘the metaverse‘ about how easy it is to encounter abuse, racism, misogyny, and have an overall unpleasant experience. On the other hand, social virtual environments have been studied for many years and there is evidence about how people behave in virtual meetings. GuestXR is carrying out research towards how to make immersive virtual meetings realize the goals of the participants. Normally virtual meetings have a purpose, even if that is entertainment, and GuestXR has the ambitious aim of intervening in such meetings to make them fit for their purpose. In this seminar series, partners from the GuestXR project will speak about their early work on these issues, covering a review of virtual meetings (‘collaborative virtual environments’), the utility of agent based models for social modeling, what we can learn from the neuroscience of interpersonal interaction, the role of deep learning for virtual humans, and reflections on the ethical aspects. Scheduled seminars TitleSpeakerDateTimeRegisterThe Affordances and Problems of Meeting in Virtual RealityMel […]

Engineering

06 Apr 2022

Chief Editor of Environmental Analysis among the most influential analytical scientists in 2021

We are proud to announce that Professor Elefteria Psillakis Chief Editor of the Environmental Analysis section of Frontiers in Analytical Science has been identified by The Analytical Scientist as one of the 2021 most influential people in analytical science. Elefteria (Elia) Psillakis is Full Professor in Water Chemistry at the School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Greece. She received her PhD from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. In 2007, she was awarded with a Fulbright Research Fellowship to visit the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), USA. Her investigations have resulted in two patents, several book chapters and 100 publications in ISI Journals. Additionally, her publications have received three “Top cited article” awards. In 2012 and 2013, she was vice-chair of the European chemistry evaluation panel for the EU Marie-Curie excellence fellowships. Later, from 2014-2016 she acted as the Deputy Rector of Academic Affairs and Research at the Technical University of Crete and has served twice as the Director of postgraduate studies. She is currently the Head of the Sample Preparation Study Group of the European Chemical Society-Division of Analytical Chemistry and Leader of WG4 “Sample Treatment and Microfluidics” in COST Action Port ASAP […]

Engineering

03 Mar 2022

4 articles you need to check out on the future of building engineering

By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager Image: Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock.com The infrastructure that makes up our towns and cities is undergoing a technological and scientific revolution. Now, to help shine a light on some of these significant changes and what it means for engineering, Frontiers highlights just four of the latest research articles helping shape the future of construction. For most of the last century, humanity as a species was focused almost solely on building larger cities as fast as possible and with little thought on its impact to the environment. Now, with the climate crisis an unavoidable reality, this old style of thinking is being replaced by not only more sustainable engineering practices, but ones that revolutionize our very understanding of how we build. Here are just four recent articles published to Frontiers from some of the top researchers in their field as part of the Research Topic ‘Horizons in Built Environment‘. Comprehensive review on the dynamic and seismic behavior of flat-bottom cylindrical silos filled with granular material Storage containers of bulk material are known as bins, silos or even bunkers. Although there is no globally accepted definition for each of the previous terms, ‘bins’ or ‘bunkers’ are commonly used […]

Robotics and AI

27 Jan 2022

AI breakthrough could revolutionize how we research dinosaur fossils

By Peter Rejcek, science writer Image credit: Natalia van D / Shutterstock.com The use of x-ray computed tomography has greatly improved the ability of paleontologists to study the morphology of dinosaur fossils. Now, thanks to innovations in artificial intelligence, machines may soon be able to tackle the labor-intensive job of  segmentation, a process for classifying similar sections of an image for analysis. Researchers tested different deep neural networks on more than 10,000 CT scans of embryonic skulls with encouraging results. One of the most promising applications of artificial intelligence technologies is the identification of tumors from high-resolution medical imagery. Can the same techniques be used to help paleontologists more quickly analyze similar scans of dinosaur fossils? Researchers reported some of the early answers — and remaining challenges — in a new paper published in Frontiers in Earth Science. Much of what scientists can glean from the fossil record of dinosaurs relies on the morphology of the preserved remains of the animals. To study the interior structure of a specimen generally requires cutting thin sections, effectively destroying the sample in the process. That changed with the introduction of high-resolution scanning technologies like x-ray computed tomography (CT), which basically reconstructs internal structures […]

Engineering

21 Oct 2021

Chief Editor of Nanodevices is finalist in 2021 Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists for pioneering memristive technology

We are proud to announce that Professor Themis Prodromakis, Field Chief Editor of Frontiers in Nanotechnology and Specialty Chief Editor for Nanodevices section, has been shortlisted as finalist at the 2021 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom in the Physical Sciences and Engineering Category. This achievement recognizes Prof Prodomakis’ contribution to memristive technology and viable applications in the electronics industry. Professor Themis Prodromakis Prof Themis Prodromakis is the director of the Centre for Electronics Frontiers at the University of Southampton, UK. Prof Prodromakis is well-known for the development of suitable hardware to meet the demanding growth of AI computation. His technology is based on electronic components that can ‘remember’ the amount of charge that has passed through it. This enables the storage of multiple data units in a single component. These electronic components are referred to as memristors (Metal-Oxide Resistive Random-Access Memory). “The invention of the transistor and integrated circuits have over the past seven decades transformed our world. Sustaining modern societal needs requires a fundamental rethink of electronics and Memristors promise to bring this change about” Prof Prodromakis initially focused on the use of nanomaterials to build artificial neural networks that support machine learning and high […]

Robotics and AI

29 Sep 2021

Scientists develop revolutionary AI system to find music you’ll like

By Mr Khalil Damak (graduate student, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Louisville), Dr Olfa Nasraoui (professor, Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science, University of Louisville), and Dr William Scott Sanders (assistant professor, Department of Communication, University of Louisville) Image credit: Tada Images / Shutterstock.com Recommendation systems are intelligent online user interfaces like Amazon, Youtube, or Netflix, where the system identify music, films, or books you might like based on your previous interaction with the system. Such systems use so-called ‘Deep Learning‘, a branch of artificial intelligence (AI). In a recent paper in Frontiers in Big Data, scientists from the University of Louisville, KY, USA, use Deep Learning to propose a more accurate and personalized recommendation system for finding songs online. Here, the authors explain how their novel system works, and what makes it different. What are recommender systems and why are they important? Recommender systems are computational engines whose goal is to learn the users’ preferences in order to personalize their experiences online. These systems have become prevalent in various fields, and have become especially essential on e-commerce websites, streaming platforms, and other internet-based platforms that offer millions of products or options for users to choose […]

Robotics and AI

17 Sep 2021

Why is Covid-19 more severe in some patients? Using AI, we found a likely answer

By Dr Emmanuelle Logette, EPFL Blue Brain Project Dr Emmanuelle Logette of the EPFL Blue Brain Project Why does Covid-19 present itself more severe in some patients but not in others? The question has puzzled researchers and clinicians since the start of the pandemic, but recent research from the EPFL Blue Brain Project may have found a major clue to solving the mystery thanks to machine learning. Now, one of those leading the breakthrough research, Dr Emmanuelle Logette, reveals as part of the Frontier Scientists series how even at a very young age she knew she wanted to be a researcher in the fascinating world of genetics. Dr Emmanuelle Logette studied molecular biology and biochemistry at the University of Burgundy in France and, in 2002, received her PhD, for her work on the transcriptional regulation of caspase-2, a not very well known member of the caspase family of enzymes involved in apoptosis. In 2006 she joined the laboratory of Dr Jürg Tschopp at the University of Lausanne as a postdoctoral fellow focusing on the signaling pathways involved in DNA repair and apoptosis during tumorigenesis, again trying to better understand the role of caspase-2. Having mainly worked on the oncogenesis field, […]

Engineering

18 Jun 2021

Surprising spider hair discovery may inspire stronger adhesives

By K.E.D. Coan, science writer Cupiennius salei wandering spider. Image credit: Kevin Wells Photography / Shutterstock.com A recent study by the open access publisher Frontiers shows the first evidence that the individual hair-like structures that form spiders’ adhesive feet are far more diverse than expected. By looking at a sample set of these hairs, researchers have found that they have varied shapes as well as attachment properties. Understanding how spiders climb a wide range of surfaces may help scientists design new and better adhesives. Just how do spiders walk straight up — and even upside-down across — so many different types of surfaces? Answering this question could open up new opportunities for creating powerful, yet reversible, bioinspired adhesives. Scientists have been working to better understand spider feet for the past several decades. Now, a new study in Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering is the first to show that the characteristics of the hair-like structures that form the adhesive feet of one species — the wandering spider Cupiennius salei — are more variable than previously thought. “When we started the experiments, we expected to find a specific angle of best adhesion and similar adhesive properties for all of the individual attachment hairs,” […]

Robotics and AI

21 Apr 2021

Researchers’ VR walking simulator feels surprisingly close to the real thing

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers science writer Image: wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com Researchers in Japan have developed a virtual reality platform that mimics the sensation of walking by stimulating their feet, all while sitting motionlessly. During testing, participants experiencing a digital world through a first-person perspective found it enhanced the simulation of walking. However, those who saw themselves from a third-person perspective felt it impaired the sensation of movement. Despite virtual reality (VR) technology being more affordable than ever, developers have yet to achieve a sense of full immersion in a digital world. Among the greatest challenges is making the user feel as if they are walking.   Now, researchers from the Toyohashi University of Technology and The University of Tokyo in Japan have published a paper to the journal Frontiers in Virtual Reality describing a custom-built platform that aims to replicate the sensation of walking in VR, all while sitting motionlessly in a chair. “Walking is a fundamental and fun activity for human in everyday life. Therefore, it is very worthy to provide a high-quality walking experience in a VR space,” says Yusuke Matsuda. Matsuda is a project assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Toyohashi University of […]

Engineering

24 Feb 2021

Buckyballs on DNA for harvesting light

Supramolecular structure boosts efficiency of light harvesting for solar cells By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology show that DNA can serve as a scaffold for light-harvesting supramolecules, where fluorescent dyes work as electron donors and buckyballs as electron acceptors. The DNA’s regular 3D structure increases the light-to-electrons conversion efficiency by reducing so-called self-quenching. Such DNA-based supramolecules could be used in future organic solar cells. Image: Yes058 Montree Nanta/Shutterstock Organic molecules that capture photons and convert these into electricity have important applications for producing green energy. Light-harvesting complexes need two semiconductors, an electron donor and an acceptor. How well they work is measured by their quantum efficiency, the rate by which photons are converted into electron-hole pairs. Quantum efficiency is lower than optimal if there is “self-quenching”, where one molecule excited by an incoming photon donates some of its energy to an identical non-excited molecule, yielding two molecules at an intermediate energy state too low to produce an electron-hole pair. But if electron donors and acceptors are better spaced out, self-quenching is limited, so that quantum efficiency improves. In a new paper in Frontiers in Chemistry, researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) […]