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Robotics

Infant-inspired framework helps robots learn to interact with objects

Over the past decades, roboticists have introduced a wide range of advanced systems that can move around in their surroundings and complete various tasks. Most of these robots can effectively collect images and other data ...

Hardware

AI headphones automatically learn who you're talking to—and let you hear them better

Holding a conversation in a crowded room often leads to the frustrating "cocktail party problem," or the challenge of separating the voices of conversation partners from a hubbub. It's a mentally taxing situation that can ...

Software

Speech-to-expression: Controlling digital head avatars via audio signals

Realistic digital avatars are becoming increasingly relevant, for example in virtual and augmented reality applications, video conferencing, films and computer games, or in medicine. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute ...

Computer Sciences

AI training method slashes pre-training time by 50% while boosting accuracy

A much faster, more efficient training method developed at the University of Waterloo could help put powerful artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the hands of many more people by reducing the cost and environmental impact ...

Technology news

Consumer & Gadgets

Residential solar panels can raise electricity rates

A modeling study shows how, under some conditions, increasing numbers of households with rooftop solar panels can lead to higher rates for those without their own solar system. When utility customers cancel their accounts ...

Business

EU launches antitrust probe into Google's data use for AI

The EU announced Tuesday it had opened a probe to assess whether Google breached antitrust rules by using content put online by media and other publishers to train and provide AI services without appropriate compensation.

Energy & Green Tech

Blue jean dye could make batteries greener

Sustainability is often described in shades of green, but the future of clean energy may also carry a hint of deep blue. Electric vehicles and energy storage systems could soon draw power from a familiar pigment found in ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Ionic thermoelectric film uses body heat to power LED lights

A research team affiliated with UNIST has unveiled a novel thermoelectric (TE) film, capable of powering LED lights using a mere 1.5°C temperature difference between the human body and ambient air. This innovative technology ...

Engineering

Nature-inspired hydrogel offers power-free thermal management

The poplar (Populus alba) has a unique survival strategy: when exposed to hot and dry conditions, it curls its leaves to expose the ventral surface, reflecting sunlight, and at night, the moisture condensed on the leaf surface ...