R&D Magazine August 03, 2018 The distribution of U.S. investment in R&D across countries and industries has undergone a dramatic shift since the 1990s, with R&D becoming less concentrated geographically and growing rapidly in less developed markets such as China and India. A team of researchers in the US (Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University) documents three important issues: the growing globalization of R&D, the increasing importance of software and IT to firms’ innovation, and the rise of new R&D hubs and the differences in the types of activity done there. Based on their analysis, the researchers conclude that the United […]
These amazing future transport technologies promise to supercharge your commute
Digital Trends July 26, 2018 Here are some of the amazing modes of transportation we must look forward to – Self driving cars, Flying jet-suits, Flying cars, Elon’s city-to-city rocket system, Hyperloop, Telepresence robots… read more.
Artificial intelligence can predict your personality … simply by tracking your eyes
Eurekalert July 27, 2018 An international team of researchers (Germany, Australia) used state-of-the-art machine-learning algorithms to demonstrate a link between people’s eye movements and their personality. It reveals whether they are sociable, conscientious or curious, with the algorithm software reliably recognising four of the Big Five personality traits: neuroticism, extroversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The study provides new links between previously under-investigated eye movements and personality traits and delivers important insights for emerging fields of social signal processing and social robotics… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
China Just Launched a Hypersonic Aircraft That Could Slip a Nuke Past US Defences
Science Alert August 8, 2018 The wedge-shaped Xingkong-2 (Starry Sky-2) hypersonic experimental waverider vehicle can reportedly achieve a top speed six times the velocity of sound. During the recent test the max speed was reportedly Mach 6 or 4,600 miles per hour (7,400 km/h), according to the state-run China Daily. The vehicle made several high-altitude and large-angle maneuvers at a maximum altitude of a little over 18 miles. The aircraft then landed in the targeted area as intended. The speed, as well as the unpredictable flight trajectories, of these vehicles make them particularly difficult for existing defence systems to intercept… […]
The Defense Department has produced the first tools for catching deepfakes
MIT Technology Review August 7, 2018 The tools for catching deepfakes were developed through a program run by DARPA, called Media Forensics. Video trickery involves using a machine-learning technique known as generative modeling. The DARPA challenges are exploring similar tricks for automatically catching deepfakes: strange head movements, odd eye color, and so on. The arrival of these forensics tools may simply signal the beginning of an AI-powered arms race between video forgers and digital sleuths. A key problem is that machine-learning systems can be trained to outmaneuver forensics tools… read more.
Earth at risk of heading towards ‘hothouse Earth’ state
Science Daily July 6, 2018 According to a study by an international team of researchers (Sweden, Australia, Denmark, UK, USA – University of Arizona, Stanford, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany) “Hothouse Earth” climate will in the long-term stabilize at a global average of 4-5°C higher than pre-industrial temperatures with sea level 10-60 m higher than today, even if the carbon emission reductions called for in the Paris Agreement are met. Maximizing the chances of avoiding a “Hothouse Earth” requires not only reduction of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions but also enhancement and/or creation of new biological carbon stores, through […]
Hole in ionosphere is caused by sudden stratospheric warming
Phys.org August 7, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (MIT Haystack Observatory, University of Colorado, University of Puerto Rico, University of Wisconsin) used decades data from Haystack and Puerto Rico observatories to study the sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event from January 2013 separating the effects of other known effects on the SSW. They found that electron density in the nighttime ionosphere was dramatically reduced by the effects of the SSW for several days, a significant hole was formed that stretched across hemispheres from latitudes 55 degrees S to 45 degrees N also and they measured a strong downward […]
Memristor based equation solver could cut energy used by 100 times for longer lasting smartphones
University of Michigan, July 30, 2018 Memristors enable memory and processing in the same device. However, memristors can have resistances that are on a continuum. Researchers at the University of Michigan got around the problem by digitizing the current outputs and mapped large mathematical problems into smaller blocks within the array, called “memory-processing units,” improving the efficiency and flexibility of the system. This is particularly useful for implementing machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms, weather prediction and other matrix-based operations… read more.
Nanotube ‘rebar’ makes graphene twice as tough
Science Daily August 4, 2018 In 2014 Rice University researchers developed Rebar graphene that consists of CNTs embedded in graphene. An international team of researchers (USA – Rice University, University of Maine, Brown University, China) implemented a “dry” transfer technique to test the freely suspended rebar graphene under uniaxial tension mode. Combined experiments and molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that the embedded CNTs divert and bridge the propagating crack and provide a toughening mechanism for the material. This is a promising extrinsic toughening strategy for 2D materials and provides mechanistic insights into the fracture process of graphene hybrid material. The experiments […]
Physicists Tied Laser Beams into Knots
Live Science August 3, 2018 An international team of researchers (Canada, UK, USA – University of Rochester, University of Birmingham) created the knots by tuning the polarization of two beams of light. The knots formed around “polarization singularities” where the beams intersected and a number of other wavelengths of light looped around them. At those points, light bent in the way the researchers wanted. The knots were visible enough in images of the light wave data for them to identify the figure eights and toruses. They also confirmed their findings using formal knot theory mathematics. They hope this technology will […]