In recent years, researchers worldwide have been trying to develop computational techniques that reproduce behaviors of humans or animals in robots and machines. This includes, for instance, the structure and functioning of the human brain, the swarm communication...
TECHXPLORE
LiftTiles: Actuator-based building blocks for shape-changing interfaces
Large-scale interfaces that change shape could be used to create interactive displays or environments that can be adapted to meet the needs human users. Despite their potential, creating these systems has so far proved challenging, as they can be expensive to build...
M-Hubo: A wheeled humanoid robot to assist humans with simple daily tasks
Researchers worldwide are now training robotic agents to assist humans in a variety of manual tasks, including cooking and moving objects. While many of these robots have achieved promising results, most of them are still unable to complete the tasks assigned to them...
New organic-metal oxide transistors with high operational stability
Metal oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs), which are built by depositing thin films of an active metal oxide-based semiconducting material on a supporting substrate, have become widely used over the past few years, particularly in organic light-emitting diode displays....
RoboFly: An insect-sized robot that can fly, walk and drift on water surfaces
Insect-size robots could have numerous useful applications, for instance, aiding search and rescue (SAR) missions, simplifying the inspection of infrastructures and speeding up agricultural processes. Despite the advantages associated with their size, these robots can...
Talek: A private messaging system that hides message contents and user communication patterns
Encrypted messaging services, which prevent cyberattackers from reading the contents of messages exchanged by their users, have become increasingly popular over the past decade or so. While these services hide message content, malicious users can often use the network...
Thin-film identification tags for transferring data to touchscreen devices
Today, countless electronic devices have touchscreens, including smart phones, tablets and smart home appliances. Touchscreen interfaces have become some of the most common means for users to communicate with and browse through their devices.
Training robots to identify object placements by ‘hallucinating’ scenes
With more robots now making their way into a number of settings, researchers are trying to make their interactions with humans as smooth and natural as possible. Training robots to respond immediately to spoken instructions, such as "pick up the glass, move it to the...
Inverted perovskite solar cells with a power conversion efficiency of 22.3%
Photovoltaic (PV) cells, which can generate energy from the sun, could be very useful in tackling the current environmental crisis. Perovskite PV cells, cells made of metal halide perovskite semiconductors, have recently proved to be particularly promising, as...
WayPtNav: A new approach for robot navigation in novel environments
Researchers at UC Berkeley and Facebook AI Research have recently developed a new approach for robot navigation in unknown environments. Their approach, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, combines model-based control techniques with learning-based perception.