Last update

Energy & Green Tech

A new modeling approach could make it easier to predict home energy use

Predicting how much energy individual homes consume is a persistent challenge for researchers and urban planners. Models often group houses into broad categories based on their age or other characteristics, overlooking differences ...

Robotics

Extra robotic thumb lets wearers complete two-handed tasks with one hand

To complete many everyday tasks and chores, humans typically use both of their hands. For instance, when opening a bottle, they use one hand to hold the bottle and the other to twist its cap. Researchers at the University ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Data centers need power—lower-income rural residents pay the price

As the engines of artificial intelligence, large data centers can consume as much power as medium-sized cities, straining grids and prompting expensive upgrades to U.S. energy infrastructure. New research finds that residents, ...

Internet

Even modest sleep loss may leave people more vulnerable to email scams

Nearly a third of adults in the U.S. do not get enough sleep. A recent surge in attention to this issue raises serious concerns about its long-term health implications, and new research suggests that it can lead to hazardous ...

Technology news

Hi Tech & Innovation

Directional VR passwords improve recall with a sense of place

Researchers have demonstrated a new password authentication technique for use in virtual reality (VR) settings, which allows users to choose directions rather than numbers. The approach supports the same number of possible ...

Robotics

FLEX approach helps robots reason beyond literal commands

Humans are intuitive by nature. We can sense meaning beyond the literal words that we encounter. Now, a new artificial intelligence–assisted learning platform developed by MIT engineers is enabling robots to read larger meaning ...