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Computer Sciences

New algorithm helps read QR codes on uneven surfaces

Sometimes, we try to capture a QR code with a good digital camera on a smartphone, but the reading eventually fails. This usually happens when the QR code itself is of poor image quality, or if it has been printed on surfaces ...

Energy & Green Tech

Telescopes can help bring renewable energy to isolated Chilean communities

Just published research in Nature Sustainability shows that building a renewable energy system for a telescope in Chile's isolated Atacama Desert could also cover 66% of a nearby community's energy needs, giving hope for ...

Robotics

New data augmentation algorithm could facilitate the transfer of skills across robots

In recent years, roboticists have developed a wide range of systems designed to tackle various real-world tasks, ranging from completing household chores to delivering packages or finding target objects in delineated environments.

Engineering

Dragonfly wing pattern reinforces vaults and domes better than ancient Roman and tech-generated methods

Skoltech researchers and their colleagues from the University of Granada, Spain, have determined the most efficient ways to reinforce vaults and domes in architecture. The team compared how well various traditional and unconventional ...

Engineering

The potential of p-computers

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has created a crisis in computing and a significant need for more hardware that is both energy-efficient and scalable. A key step in both AI and ML is making ...

Engineering

Engineers build LEGO-like artificial intelligence chip

Imagine a more sustainable future, where cellphones, smartwatches, and other wearable devices don't have to be shelved or discarded for a newer model. Instead, they could be upgraded with the latest sensors and processors ...

Robotics

Rubbery camouflage skin exhibits smart and stretchy behaviors

The skin of cephalopods, such as octopuses, squids and cuttlefish, is stretchy and smart, contributing to these creatures' ability to sense and respond to their surroundings. A Penn State-led collaboration has harnessed these ...

Engineering

Closed-loop additive manufacturing fueled by upcycled plastic

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an upcycling approach that adds value to discarded plastics for reuse in additive manufacturing, or 3D printing. The readily adoptable, ...

Robotics

Scientists craft living human skin for robots

From action heroes to villainous assassins, biohybrid robots made of both living and artificial materials have been at the center of many sci-fi fantasies, inspiring today's robotic innovations. It's still a long way until ...

Security

Keeping web-browsing data safe from hackers

Malicious agents can use machine learning to launch powerful attacks that steal information in ways that are tough to prevent and often even more difficult to study.

Robotics

Training a robot to recognize and pour water

A horse, a zebra and artificial intelligence helped a team of Carnegie Mellon University researchers teach a robot to recognize water and pour it into a glass.