Scientists develop ‘flying dragon’ robot to fight fires from a distance
From Frontiers 01/01/24 Imagine a flying dragon that doesn’t spout fire, but instead extinguishes it with blasts of water. Thanks to a team of Japanese researchers, this new kind of beast may soon be recruited to firefighter teams around the world, to help put out fires that are too dangerous for their human teammates to […]
Light colour is less important for the internal clock than originally thought
From University of Basel 01/01/24 Vision is a complex process. The visual perception of the environment is created by a combination of different wavelengths of light, which are decoded as colours and brightness in the brain. Photoreceptors in the retina first convert the light into electrical impulses: with sufficient light, the cones enable sharp, detailed, […]
Cotton picking bot
From Superinnovators 29/12/23 Indian company Green Robot Machinery has developed a cotton picking bot capable of harvesting 50kg of cotton per day. Each picking arm has a stereo camera that detects cotton balls within 3mm precision and a gripper and vacuum mechanism removes the ball. The first bot was unveiled on YouTube in 2018, with […]
Unraveling the evolutionary origins of umami and sweet taste preferences
From Kindai University 29/12/23 The perception of taste is one of the most important senses and helps us identify beneficial foods and avoid harmful substances. For instance, our fondness for sweet and savory foods results from our need to consume carbohydrates and proteins. Given their importance as an evolutionary trait, researchers around the world are […]
KRISS develops world’s first coffee bean CRM for component analysis
From 29/12/23 Coffee is an indispensable beverage in the daily lives of Koreans. In Korea, the per capita coffee consumption of the adult population is 2.7 times higher than the global average, and coffee imports (raw and roasted beans) reached a record high of 200,000 tons, amounting to approximately 1.7 trillion won last year. For […]
Software DJ creates automated pop song mashups #Acoustics23
From American Institute of Physics 29/12/23 Song mashups are a staple of many DJs, who mix the vocals and instrumentals from two or more tracks into a seamless blend, creating a new and exciting final product. While the result is fun to listen to, the creation process can often be challenging, requiring knowledge and expertise […]
Riding sound waves in the brain
From ETH Zurich 28/12/23 Brain tumours, brain haemorrhages and neurological and psychological conditions are often hard to treat with medication. And even when effective drugs are available, these tend to have severe side effects because they circulate throughout the brain and not just the area they are meant to treat. In light of this situation, […]
Training algorithm breaks barriers to deep physical neural networks
From Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne 28/12/23 EPFL researchers have developed an algorithm to train an analog neural network just as accurately as a digital one, enabling the development of more efficient alternatives to power-hungry deep learning hardware. With their ability to process vast amounts of data through algorithmic ‘learning’ rather than traditional programming, it […]
Giant doubts about giant exomoons
From Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research 28/12/23 Only two of the more than 5300 known exoplanets have so far provided evidence of moons in orbit around them. In observations of the planets Kepler-1625b and Kepler-1708b from the Kepler and Hubble space telescopes, researchers had discovered traces of such moons for the first time. […]
Tiny electric bubble car expands distribution in Europe
From Superinnovators 28/12/23 Swiss company Micro Mobility Systems, founded in 1999, has expanded distribution of its tiny electric bubble car, Microlino, to the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Italy following the first deliveries to Switzerland in Oct 2022. The Microlino, unveiled at Geneva Motor Show in 2016, has 228km max. range, 90km/h top speed, weighs 496kg […]