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Machine learning & AI

Waiting for DeepSeek: new model to test China's AI ambitions

For weeks now, the global tech industry has been waiting for a major artificial intelligence launch from DeepSeek, seen as a benchmark for China's progress in the fast-moving field.

Engineering

Safer sodium battery eliminates thermal runaway with a heat-triggered polymer barrier

Some batteries have been known to catch fire or explode at high temperatures or when under stress. This safety concern has pushed researchers to experiment with different ways to design safer batteries that can ideally still ...

Robotics

These AI-powered guide dogs don't just lead, they talk

Guide dogs are powerful allies, leading the visually impaired safely to their destinations, but they can't talk with their owners—until now. Using large language models, a team of researchers at Binghamton University, State ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Deep-tech company develops high-precision passive eye-tracking technology for smart contact lenses

XPANCEO, a deep-tech company developing smart contact lenses, has unveiled a passive eye-tracking system that achieves industry-level measurement precision using standard cameras. The system employs microscopic patterns embedded ...

Technology news

Engineering

Solar-powered device disinfects drinking water in under an hour

For many people living in developed nations, towns and cities take care of ensuring that residents' water is clean and safe. Municipalities have advanced filters and UV light disinfection technologies at their disposal. Some ...

Energy & Green Tech

How electric cars could help tropical cities run on solar

In tropical cities, afternoon thunderstorms can plunge entire neighborhoods into brief moments of darkness. When civil engineer Markus Schläpfer moved to Singapore a decade ago, he recognized these thunderstorms as an emerging ...

Robotics

Magnetic coil setup guides microrobots without seeing them

SMU researchers have created an electromagnetic coil system that can control microrobots without requiring continuous visual tracking of their position—a significant advancement that could enable microrobots to operate inside ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Swapping one atom can cut heat flow through a molecule by half

Swapping a single atom can fine-tune the thermal conductance of single-molecule junctions without affecting their electrical conductance, according to a study led by University of Michigan Engineering with collaborators at ...

Engineering

Your future home might be framed with printed plastic

The plastic bottle you just tossed in the recycling bin could provide structural support for your future house. MIT engineers are using recycled plastic to 3D print construction-grade beams, trusses, and other structural ...

Energy & Green Tech

Neptunium study yields plutonium insights for space exploration

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory are breathing new life into the scientific understanding of neptunium, a unique, radioactive, metallic element—and a key precursor for production of ...

Engineering

Octopus-inspired 'smart skin' uses 4D printing to morph on cue

Despite the prevalence of synthetic materials across different industries and scientific fields, most are developed to serve a limited set of functions. To address this inflexibility, researchers at Penn State, led by Hongtao ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

New AI system fixes 3D printing defects in real time

Additive manufacturing has revolutionized manufacturing by enabling customized, cost-effective products with minimal waste. However, with the majority of 3D printers operating on open-loop systems, they are notoriously prone ...

Robotics

A mathematical framework for optimizing robotic joints

Consider the marvelous physics of the human knee. The largest hinge joint in the body, it has two rounded bones held together by ligaments that not only swing like a door, but also roll and glide over each other, allowing ...

Robotics

Training four-legged robots as if they were dogs

Over the next decades, robots are expected to make their way into a growing number of households, public spaces, and professional environments. Many of the most advanced and promising robots designed to date are so-called ...

Machine learning & AI

Geometry behind how AI agents learn revealed

A new study from the University at Albany shows that artificial intelligence systems may organize information in far more intricate ways than previously thought. The study, "Exploring the Stratified Space Structure of an ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Say what's on your mind, and AI can tell what kind of person you are

If you say a few words, generative AI will understand who you are—maybe even better than your close family and friends. A new University of Michigan study found that widely available generative AI models (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, ...