Lifeboat Foundation

A team of researchers with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney has achieved a breakthrough in spin qubit coherence times (opens in new tab). The research took advantage of the team’s previous work on so-called “dressed” qubits — qubits constantly under the effect of an electromagnetic field shielding them from interference. In addition, the researchers leveraged a newly-designed protocol, SMART, (opens in new tab) which leverages the increased coherence times to allow individual qubits to be safely coaxed to perform the required computations.

The improvements allowed the researchers to register coherence times of up to two milliseconds — over a hundred times higher than similar control methods in the past, but still a ways from the amount of time your eyelids take to blink.

Engineers at UC Riverside have unveiled an air-powered computer memory that can be used to control soft robots. The innovation overcomes one of the biggest obstacles to advancing soft robotics: the fundamental mismatch between pneumatics and electronics. The work is published in the open-access journal, PLOS One.

Pneumatic soft robots use pressurized air to move soft, rubbery limbs and grippers and are superior to traditional rigid robots for performing delicate tasks. They are also safer for humans to be around. Baymax, the healthcare companion robot in the 2014 animated Disney film, Big Hero 6, is a pneumatic robot for good reason.

Continue reading “Air-powered computer memory helps soft robot control movements” »

What does this mean for the field of robotics?

Some inventions are so strange they simply cannot help but catch the eye. Such is the case with David Bowen’s plant machete, first reported by designboom.

Robotics have come a long way as this project of an arm being controlled by the electric noises produced by a plant. Could this application be scaled up to allow for brain-controlled movement?

Continue reading “This machete is controlled by a plant yielding a robot arm” »

Lab experiments pinpoint extra brain growth orchestrated by a single gene change in modern humans.

Researchers were successful in printing models of well-known structures from several nations.

The developments in the field of additive manufacturing continue unabated. This time, Stanford University’s new burst will bring further innovation to the industry.

Published in Science Advances on September 28, the results demonstrate that the novel process is much faster than the quickest high-resolution printing method currently available.

Continue reading “Stanford’s new 3D printing tech is up to 10 times faster than the quickest printer” »

Block coding converts text-based software code into a visual block format. It helps reduce probable errors. It is used to construct games, apps, and other programs. Users just need to drag and drop visual block coding representations of text-based code into the code editor. Blocks are chunks of instructions a user leverages to create their invention. Sprites can move and turn themselves and other sprites. The sprite can be taken a few steps forward or turned by a few degrees. They can be moved to the right or left with just one block. Blocks are used to change the form of a sprite. They can make the sprite think or talk or do anything. It can dress them up differently or the scale or graphic effects of a sprite. Kids can also use sound blocks are add audio effects to a tale or game. They can also adjust sound effects by varying the pitch and changing the depth of different sounds.

Syntax-free programming

Block-based coding doesn’t involve complex syntax. You can focus on areas that seem more complex and need more attention. The best thing about syntax-free programming is that it helps avoid minor syntax errors.

SmartNews is the most efficient way to get all your news now.

Scientists from Google DeepMind have been awarded a $3 million prize for developing an artificial intelligence (AI) system that has predicted how nearly every known protein folds into its 3D shape.

One of this year’s Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences went to Demis Hassabis, the co-founder and CEO of DeepMind, which created the protein-predicting program known as AlphaFold, and John Jumper, a senior staff research scientist at DeepMind, the Breakthrough Prize Foundation announced (opens in new tab) Thursday (Sept. 22).

Tracking the severity and progression of Parkinson’s disease is a complicated but absolutely necessary task that leaves clinicians baffled. Now, according to an MIT report published on Wednesday, there may be a new device that can help physicians do just that.

Monitoring movement and gait speed

Continue reading “New wireless device can monitor Parkinson’s progression remotely” »