Asia Research October 1, 2020 Using convolutional neural network (CNN) a team of researchers in Japan trained an AI using post-disaster aerial images to accurately determine how battered the buildings are. It works by classifying buildings as collapsed, non-collapsed, or blue tarp-covered based on the seven damage scales (D0-D6) used in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. Based on the photos used to train the AI, they found that the blue tarp-covered category predominantly represented D2-D3 levels of devastation. When the system was tested on post-disaster aerial images of the September 2019 typhoon that hit Chiba, results showed that damage levels of […]
Bacteria fed on a customized diet produce biodegradable polymers for alternative packaging in the cosmetics industry
Fraunhofer Research October 1, 2020 To create biologically based, biodegradable polymers as a replacement for plastic packaging in the cosmetics industry researchers in Germany are cultivating bacteria fed on a variety of waste materials, ranging from wood waste and oil and sugar residues to glycerol from biodiesel production. They cause the bacteria to produce specific intracellular storage granules, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). The PHA is sent in the form of a white powder is turned into granules and then into a polymer film. Initial testing on small sheets of the polymer material for characteristics such as thermal stability, plasticity, and various barrier […]
Building walls that will make summer heat waves more bearable
Phys.org September 28, 2020 A team of researchers in South Korea propose Phase Change Material (PCM) wall device using bubble injection method for the application of PCM in building envelopes. The density difference between PCM and bubbles causes the upward movement of the bubbles and flow in the liquid PCM destroying temperature stratification in the PCM and heat penetration across the PCM is reduced. With the application of the bubble injection method, 11% more latent heat energy was stored in the PCM, 28% less heat penetrated across the PCM wall and the average flow rate inside the liquid PCM with […]
Color-coded biosensor illuminates in real time how viruses attack hosts
Science Daily September 25, 2020 Researchers at the Colorado State University invented a biosensor that lights up blue when viral translation is happening, and green when normal host translation is happening, in single living cells. They have shown this host-attacking process, at the single-molecule level in living cells, and they have reproduced these behaviors in computational models. The models showed that both healthy human RNA and viral RNA fluctuate between states that actively express proteins and those that are silent. The combination of their sensors and computational analyses provide powerful tools to understand, predict, and control how future drugs might […]
Dogs Deployed at Helsinki Airport Can Detect COVID-19 With Almost 100% Accuracy
Science Alert September 25, 2020 The aim of this study by an international team of researchers is to evaluate if the sweat produced by COVID-19 persons has a different odor for trained detection dogs than the sweat produced by non-COVID-19 persons. The study was conducted on 3 sites, following the same protocol procedures, and involved a total of 18 dogs. The percentages of success of the dogs to find the positive sample in a line containing several other negative samples were 100p100 for 4 dogs, and respectively 83p100, 84p100, 90p100 and 94p100 for the others, all significantly different from the […]
Machine learning to automated daydreaming: academics map future of AI
Imperial College of London September 29, 2020 Researchers in the UK designed the Automated Futures Map to show how the existing brain-computer interface technologies could one day prove to be a stepping-stone towards shared dreaming, the recording of our internal monologues, or cyborg rights. While some of the technologies on the map might seem fantastical, it is designed to demonstrate the breadth of work taking place within AI and robotics, show the links between different technologies, and explore what the future of the field might look like…read more.
Quantum entanglement realized between distant large objects
Phys.org September 28, 2020 The disparity of hybrid systems and the vulnerability of quantum correlations have thus far hampered the generation of macroscopic hybrid entanglement. An international team of researchers (Spain, USA – University of Chicago, Denmark) generated an entangled state between the motion of a macroscopic mechanical oscillator and a collective atomic spin oscillator, as witnessed by an Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen variance below the separability limit, 0.83 ± 0.02 < 1. The mechanical oscillator is a millimetre-size dielectric membrane, and the spin oscillator is an ensemble of 109 atoms in a magnetic field. Light propagating through the two spatially separated systems […]
Rapid rescue of buried people
Fraunhofer Research October 1, 2020 Researchers in Germany have developed a mobile radar device that can search hectare-sized areas quickly and thoroughly. The new technology combines greater mobility with accurate detection of vital signs. They have developed an algorithm designed to detect irregular heartbeats. The system detects vital signs close to the stationary radar system, successfully putting it to the test at distances of up to 15 meters. In about two years they expect to transition the technology to UAV based applications to reliably detect buried casualties…read more.
Researchers create fly-catching robots
TechXplore September 28, 2020 An international team of researchers (Austria, Germany) has created a soft robot and demonstrated a series of simulation-guided lightweight, durable, untethered, small-scale soft-bodied robots that perform large-degree deformations at high frequencies up to 100 Hz. They are driven at very low magnetic fields down to 0.5 mT and exhibit a specific energy density of 10.8 kJ m−3 mT−1. They observed asynchronous strongly nonlinear cross-clapping behavior of the robots in experiments and analyzed by simulation, breaking ground for future designs of soft-bodied robots. The robots walk, swim, levitate, transport cargo, squeeze into a vessel smaller than their dimensions and can […]
Researchers work to create a roadmap on quantum materials
Phys.org September 25, 2020 Recently the definition of quantum materials has broadened to cover all the materials that allow scientists and engineers to explore emergent quantum phenomena and their potential applications. In this roadmap an international team of researchers (USA – UT Austin, University of Minnesota, Cornell University, France, Germany, South Korea, Canada, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Chile, India, Brazil, Austria) aims to capture a snapshot of the most recent developments in the field, and to identify outstanding challenges and emerging opportunities. The experts in each discipline share their viewpoint and articulate their vision for quantum materials, reflecting the […]