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101 news posts in Future tech

Engineering

16 Jan 2017

Functional Ceramics – new specialty section in Frontiers in Materials

Frontiers in Materials is proud to announce the launch of its newest section – Functional Ceramics. Led by Specialty Chief Editor Sheikh Akbar, professor at the Ohio State University, the section aims to publish high quality articles on the processing, structure and properties of ceramic materials and will encompass the whole spectrum of dimensionalities from nanoparticles to bulk ceramic materials. Functional Ceramics will cover ground-breaking advances in design, theory and simulation, and multifunctional performance, as well as multidisciplinary and unique processing, and characterization techniques of ceramic materials. Akbar points to a few the key areas of the section: “One key area of interest involves work on surface patterning of functional ceramics, using novel and inexpensive process pathways that do not require lithography, instead exploiting intrinsic material properties to create oriented and ordered nanostructures represent a paradigm shift in the field of microelectronics, sensor technology, data storage, biotechnology and semiconductor industry. There are opportunities for multidisciplinary studies involving characterization of surface/interface structures and characteristics of gas-solid, liquid-solid interaction, and biological cell attachment and proliferation on the patterned structures. Such studies combined with computer modelling and simulation would aid in the fundamental understanding of the mechanisms allowing process control to create a […]

Robotics and AI

04 Nov 2016

Robotic tutors for primary school children

By Ian Salter, Frontiers Science Writer The use of robotic tutors in primary school classrooms is one step closer according to research recently published in the open access journal Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience. Dr Imbernòn Cuadrado and his co-workers at the Department of Artificial Intelligence in Madrid have developed an integrated computational architecture (ARTIE) for use with software applications in schools. “The main goal of our work was to design a system that can detect the emotional state of primary school children interacting with educational software and make pedagogic interventions with a robot tutor that can ultimately improve the learning experience,” says Luis Imbernòn Cuadrado. Online educational resources are becoming increasingly common in the classroom, although they have not taken into sufficient account that the learning ability of primary school children is particularly sensitive to their emotional state. This is perhaps where robot tutors can step in to assist teachers. Rather than focusing on specific emotions, the researchers first identified three cognitive states (concentrating, distracted and inactive) known to influence the course of learning.  Keyboard strokes and mouse actions of children using educational software were used to predict which of these cognitive states the child is experiencing and subsequently linked […]

Engineering

26 Oct 2016

Sustainable and resilient structural design to combat earthquake disturbances

By Eva Brown, Frontiers Science Writer To help buildings become more resilient to earthquakes, scientists have taken measures to analyze various vibrational modes with the goal of creating safe and sustainable structures for future generations. Professor Izuru Takewaki and his team based at Kyoto University in Japan have centered their studies around the areas of earthquake engineering and the structural design of buildings. They are working towards grasping an understanding of how best to bring resilience in buildings — especially against natural disasters such as earthquakes. Their aim is to create safer and more sustainable constructions. “During Japan’s Tōhoku earthquake and Tsunami in 2011, many people were killed, so I’m working on developing safe designs of buildings,” Takewaki explains. “In my field we are looking at the worst case analysis as you don’t know when, where or how intense a disaster will be.  We are also looking at the resilience of the buildings to withstand earthquakes.” In order to set the ground for progress, the team set out to measure the different vibrational states, which would enable them to develop safer building designs that are more stable and structurally secure. This, in turn, will enable the structures to withstand the […]

Robotics and AI

26 Oct 2016

Can a Brain-Computer Interface Convert Your Thoughts to Text?

By Srividya Sundaresan, Science Writer Recent research shows brain-to-text device capable of decoding speech from brain signals  Ever wonder what it would be like if a device could decode your thoughts into actual speech or written words? While this might enhance the capabilities of already existing speech interfaces with devices, it could be a potential game-changer for those with speech pathologies, and even more so for “locked-in” patients who lack any speech or motor function. “So instead of saying ‘Siri, what is the weather like today’ or ‘Ok Google, where can I go for lunch?’ I just imagine saying these things,” explains Christian Herff, author of a review recently published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. While reading one’s thoughts might still belong to the realms of science fiction, scientists are already decoding speech from signals generated in our brains when we speak or listen to speech. In their review, Herff and co-author, Dr. Tanja Schultz, compare the pros and cons of using various brain imaging techniques to capture neural signals from the brain and then decode them to text. The technologies include functional MRI and near infrared imaging that can detect neural signals based on metabolic activity of […]

Robotics and AI

25 Oct 2016

Changing the self through immersive Virtual Reality: an interview with Mel Slater

“I still find immersive Virtual Reality as thrilling now as when I first tried it 20 years ago,” writes Professor Mel Slater, Field Chief Editor of Frontiers in Robotics and AI, on his personal blog. Slater, recipient of the IEEE VGTC’s 2005  Virtual Reality Career Award, is ICREA Professor and Head of the Event Lab at Barcelona University and part-time Professor of Virtual Environments at UCL. Here, we talk to him about his research, technical advances and challenges in the field, and how virtual reality can help raise awareness about sustainability and global change. VR as a research tool A major focus of research for Slater and his team is to use VR as a tool in psychology and neuroscience. Many interesting questions can’t be studied in real life, because they are dangerous or distressing to the participants. But in VR, you can safely simulate the situation, and gauge people’s response. For example, “We did a study where we look at (…) an important area in social psychology called the bystander problem: if you see two other people who start fighting, (…) do you run away, do you try to intervene? (…) This is very hard to study in physical reality, but in virtual reality you can.” In […]

Engineering

07 Jun 2016

You are not as anonymous as you think online

Our online browsing behavior leaves a unique digital personality signature which can identify us by Tania FitzGeorge-Balfour, Frontiersin.org Hiding online is harder than you’d think, a new study published on Frontiers in ICT has revealed. Your browsing behavior can indicate your personality and provide a unique digital signature which can identify you, sometimes after just 30-minutes of browsing. “Our research suggests a person’s personality traits can be deduced by their general internet usage. This differs from other studies that have only looked at the use of social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter,” said Dr Ikusan R. Adeyemi, a research scholar at the Universiti Teknologi, Malaysia, and lead author of this new study. He continued; “This opens up opportunities for new research into understanding online behavior.” Research linking personality traits to computer usage has typically focused on social media. For example, extrovert people tend to use these platforms to enlarge their boundary of friends and influence, while introvert individuals spend more time on social media to compensate for a probable lack of physical interaction. However, a person’s general online browsing behavior can also reflect their choice, preference and reflexes, which is largely controlled by their unique psychological characteristics. This latest study recruited volunteers […]

Engineering

31 May 2016

Complexity of the unexpected

by Mikhail Prokopenko, Centre for Complex Systems, University of Sydney Complex systems is a new approach to science, engineering and management that studies how relationships between parts give rise to the collective behaviors of the entire system, and how the system interacts with its environment.  Dynamics of a complex system cannot be predicted, or explained, as a linear aggregation of the individual dynamics of its components, and the interactions among the many constituent microscopic parts bring about macroscopic phenomena that cannot be understood by considering any single part alone (“the whole is more than the sum of the parts”).   Complex systems are often confused with complicated systems which may also comprise a large number of components and interactions. This is not surprising: after all, both concepts express a notion opposite to being simple or straightforward. The two terms also share a common Latin origin: complexus originates from complectī ‎(“to entwine or encircle”), derived in turn from com- ‎(“together”) and plectere ‎(“to weave”), while complicātus is a form of complicāre (“to fold together”) which augments  com- ‎(“together”) with plecāre (“to fold”). So how significant is the difference between weaving and folding some parts together?    Naively, this subtle distinction reflects on different […]

Engineering

07 Apr 2016

Study shows best way to reduce energy consumption

By Fernando Bolaños, Science Writer We know adjusting the thermostat, using blinds, opening windows or using electronics such as a heater or air conditioning unit has an impact on the amount of energy consumed in homes. But a new study looks at which of these is the most efficient when it comes to saving power. “I was interested to find the trends of energy use in typical households and to understand the consumer behavior and the reasons behind high and low energy consumption. I have a strong belief that, if society boosts energy conservation (as well as other resources), we will have less of a challenge meeting future demands,” explained Dr. Gabriel Kamiel. Kamiel and Wei Yang and Yaolin Lin, associate professors at the Wuhan University of Technology in China developed a holistic and integrated model which considered the building enclosure, the mechanical systems, the external environment, the proportion of window opening and the shading factor based on data collected from 270 households including single and multiple units, as well as different heating methods. All houses were located in the city of Oshawa, Ontario, which is located 55 km east of Toronto, Canada. To calculate the building energy consumption, the […]

Robotics and AI

05 Apr 2016

Gestures improve communication – even with robots

  By Abigail Pattenden, science writer In the world of robot communication, it seems actions speak louder than words. Scientists in the UK have discovered that by getting robot avatars to “talk with their hands,” we understand them as well as we do our fellow human beings.   Avatars have been in existence since the 1980s and today are used by millions of people across the globe. They are big business too: from artificial intelligence to social media and psychotherapy to high-end video games, they are used to sell things, to solve problems, to teach us and to entertain us. As avatars become more sophisticated, and their use in society grows, research is focusing on how to improve communication with them.  Getting your message across with your avatar is more important than ever, and learning how to improve this communication is a big deal. Scientists Paul Bremner and Ute Leonards took on this challenge in a recent study published in Frontiers in Psychology. They built their study around the hypothesis that if avatars were to use “iconic” hand gestures together with speech, we would understand them more easily. Iconic gestures have a distinct meaning, like opening a door or a book, […]