https://techxplore.com/ en-us Tech Xplore internet news portal provides the latest news on electronics, technology, and engineering. What's it like to play a physical game with or against a robot that both looks and behaves like a person? That's what NTNU researchers wanted to find out when they conducted a controlled laboratory experiment with Pepper, a social robot designed to interact with humans. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-pepper-robot-good-playmate.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:00:06 EDT news700397162 If you've ever stood on a Victorian beach and felt the wind from the Southern Ocean, you'll know this is not a gentle force. Whipped up across thousands of kilometers of cold ocean, these winds are relentless and powerful. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-good-news-renewables-southern-australia.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 11 Jun 2026 11:20:11 EDT news700394462 Researchers in Japan have developed quantum multi-programming auto mode, a function that automatically runs quantum programs from different users in parallel. Launched on the Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology (QIQB) quantum computer cloud service at the University of Osaka, the system reduces idle qubit resources, improves throughput and may help ease congestion in quantum cloud computing. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-world-cloud-full-quantum-capacity.html Computer Sciences Thu, 11 Jun 2026 11:20:03 EDT news700395243 For remotely operated underwater vehicles, cloudy and turbulent waters are often a no-go. When vehicles settle on the seafloor or dig through a sand bed, they can kick up clouds of sediment that make it tough for onboard cameras to see through. Often, the only thing to do is wait until the marine dust settles before a vehicle can safely proceed. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-sonarcamera-murky.html Robotics Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:40:07 EDT news700392181 Coupling a power uprate with burnup extension—or how long fuel can produce power before being replaced—allows fuel to operate at a higher power for longer periods. Fuels with accident-tolerant and higher-burnup capabilities allow reactor operators to do both, effectively producing more power, more effectively, at a lower cost. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-fast-tracking-efficiency-reactor-fuels.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:20:04 EDT news700391882 As Australian motorists continue to grapple with rising fuel prices and electric vehicle (EV) sales steadily increase across the country, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found that petrol costs alone are not the primary factor shaping drivers' decisions to switch to electric vehicles. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-fuel-wont-australia-ev-transition.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 11 Jun 2026 09:40:01 EDT news700389002 As robots increasingly move out of factories and into workplaces, hospitals, warehouses and public spaces, a simple challenge becomes increasingly important: helping people understand what those machines are about to do. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-robot-eyes-augmented-reality-humans.html Robotics Thu, 11 Jun 2026 09:00:03 EDT news700386002 The use of a sea drone to rescue two U.S. Army aviators apparently shot down by Iran underscores the growing importance of such vessels in Washington's naval operations, analysts said Wednesday. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-drone-highlights-navy-autonomous.html Robotics Thu, 11 Jun 2026 07:40:01 EDT news700371170 Beijing cleaner Lin Meiqiong found her work a little easier the day she was paired with an unlikely new colleague—a tall, wheeled robot with AI-powered tidying skills. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ai-robot-cleaners-lab-china.html Robotics Thu, 11 Jun 2026 07:00:07 EDT news700370864 With a smartphone strapped to her head, Indian housewife Nagireddy Sriramyachandra films herself slicing mangoes to train AI-powered robots to take on household jobs in the future. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-indian-workers-ai-robots-jobs.html Machine learning & AI Thu, 11 Jun 2026 06:20:02 EDT news700370734 For nearly 25 years, GoPro cameras have gone underwater, glided with parachutes and slipped down ski slopes, allowing the adventurous to record images of their experiences. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-competition-threaten-gopro.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 11 Jun 2026 05:40:02 EDT news700370658 Anthropic on Wednesday joined growing calls for the artificial intelligence industry to find ways to cushion people from the technology's disruptions, announcing an initial $200 million investment to research AI's impact on jobs and the economy. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-anthropic-pledges-million-ai-economic.html Business Thu, 11 Jun 2026 05:00:05 EDT news700370578 In her tiny apartment in South Korea, where she lives alone, 78-year-old Bang Chun-ja spends her days with a childlike AI-powered doll she says she prefers to people. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-aging-south-korea-ai-dolls.html Robotics Thu, 11 Jun 2026 04:40:01 EDT news700370942 Canada's culture minister on Wednesday introduced legislation that would ban children under 16 from having social media accounts and require AI chatbot services to limit the production of harmful content. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-canada-16s-social-media-ai.html Internet Thu, 11 Jun 2026 04:35:04 EDT news700371258 Betting that people will soon grow more comfortable having artificial intelligence agents shop for groceries, plane tickets or diapers on their behalf, payments giant Visa said Wednesday that it has embedded its payment network inside of ChatGPT, empowering the chatbot to independently shop and complete transactions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-visa-payment-network-chatgpt-ai.html Business Thu, 11 Jun 2026 04:23:13 EDT news700370560 Japan has resumed operations at the world's largest nuclear power plant to help the country meet huge electricity demands during a global oil crisis, but the reboot highlights a big problem: Japan is running out of space for spent nuclear fuel and has no viable plans for permanent disposal of the radioactive waste. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-reactor-reboot-world-largest-nuclear.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 11 Jun 2026 04:22:43 EDT news700370509 The rise of artificial intelligence is riding on the back of an enormous data center expansion. Data centers are projected to account for anywhere from 9% to 17% of total electricity usage in the U.S. by the end of the decade. Today, about a third of data center electricity is devoted to cooling the chips that run AI models. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-startup-nuclear-cooling-centers-sustainable.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 10 Jun 2026 23:20:03 EDT news700306059 Many AI systems answer questions in a matter of seconds—and, in the process, often prevent people from doing exactly what learning is all about: thinking for themselves. Machine learning expert Jakub Mačina is therefore developing models that don't provide pupils with finished solutions, but rather help them develop their understanding step by step. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ai-chatbots.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:40:02 EDT news700296754 A research team at POSTECH led by Professor Wook-Shin Han of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence, along with Ph.D. candidates Taesung Lee and Jaehyun Ha, has developed TurboLynx, an engine capable of analyzing complex, highly interconnected data up to 184 times faster than existing systems. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-relationships-crunching-stats-faster-analysis.html Machine learning & AI Wed, 10 Jun 2026 19:40:03 EDT news700296761 A new kernel (core program) within an operating system gives researchers a cleaner view of what's happening inside a processor. Called Fractal and developed at MIT, the kernel has already surfaced previously unknown behavior in Apple's M1. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-os-kernel-uncovers-hidden-apple.html Hardware Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:00:02 EDT news700329422 Anuja Tripathi grew up in Kanpur, India, where coal fly ash from a nearby power plant coated rooftops, windowsills and laundry hung outside to dry. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ashes-hidden-critical-elements-emerges.html Engineering Wed, 10 Jun 2026 16:40:06 EDT news700327441 Engineers have developed a new technology that enables the direct extraction of lithium from solid salt mixtures derived from brines, offering a low-water, low-energy alternative to conventional lithium extraction methods. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-lithium-method-recovery-efficiency-brine.html Engineering Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:00:11 EDT news700321090 KAIST researchers solved a key challenge in the commercialization of physical AI by developing a new technology that enables AI to learn human judgment criteria on its own from just a few videos. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-robots-human-judgments-key-physical.html Robotics Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:40:06 EDT news700320482 A novel electrolyte technology that overcomes the persistent limitations of aqueous batteries has been developed by a Korean research team. The team, led by Professor Hoseok Park of the Department of Chemical Engineering, has succeeded in dramatically improving the cycle life and capacity of aqueous batteries simply by adding a small amount of a special material to the electrolyte. The findings were published in Nano-Micro Letters. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ultralong-life-aqueous-batteries-enabled.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:20:06 EDT news700319602 Since 2019, GPS signals across Europe, Greenland and Canada have experienced a huge spike in sudden, widespread signal blackouts. These have resulted in disruptions and degraded performance in navigation systems that airplanes and ships rely on to travel safely. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-russian-satellites-linked-mysterious-gps.html Telecom Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:30:01 EDT news700314890 How do software developers respond when they come across code they do not intuitively understand? Neuropsychologists have now explored this question by recording brain activity alongside eye movements. A team of psycholinguists then compared the findings with established patterns from natural language processing and identified some surprising parallels. The interdisciplinary team from Saarland University and Chemnitz University of Technology has now published its study in Scientific Reports. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-code-brain-eye-tracking-reveal.html Software Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:20:47 EDT news700315981 Research published in the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology has taken inspiration from the hunting behavior of the fish-eating bird of prey, the osprey, and combined this with inspiration from quantum computing to improve machine translation, particularly for long sentences and technical texts between Chinese and English. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-osprey-algorithm-chinese-english-accuracy.html Computer Sciences Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:00:02 EDT news700314835 German industrial giant Bosch said Wednesday it will step up efforts in the field of humanoid robotics as its traditional auto parts business comes under increasing pressure. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-struggling-german-auto-supplier-bosch.html Robotics Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:27:25 EDT news700313172 Workshopping, an iterative process in which creators share ideas, test what works and refine what doesn't through collective feedback, is at the heart of any writers group. This collaborative dynamic inspired George Mason University Ph.D. student Shiwei Hong to explore whether artificial intelligence (AI) could benefit from a similar approach. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ai-comedians-workshop-reshape-machines.html Computer Sciences Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:20:03 EDT news700311121 Can we make artificial intelligence impervious to adversaries who want to twist the technology to nefarious ends? Though AI is among the newest of technologies, the answer to that question is nearly a century old. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-mathematical-proof-reveals-ai-guardrails.html Security Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:00:08 EDT news700310461