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Functional carbon nanotube integrated circuits: a breakthrough

Dealing with environmental degradation
September 9, 2015

Complementary SWCNT TFT structures. Atomic force micrograph of the random network SWCNT morphology in the TFT channel with a linear density of ~10 SWCNTs/μm (Height color bar: 0 to 15 nm). (credit: Michael L. Geier et al./Nature Nanotechnology)

Northwestern University engineers say that have finally found the key to practical use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in integrated circuits. Individual transistors made from CNTs are faster and more energy-efficient and reliable than those made from other materials.

The problem. But making the leap to wafer-scale integrated circuits (a microprocessor typically has a billion transistors) is a challenge. The process is incredibly expensive, often requiring billion-dollar cleanrooms to… read more

Topics: Electronics | Nanotech/Materials Science

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An experimental ultrafast optical transistor based on a silicon nanoparticle

September 9, 2015

An illustration of a silicon nanoparticle switching between modes depending on the intensity of incoming laser pulse. (credit: Nano Letters)

Russian physicists have invented an optical version of a transistor, based on a silicon nanoparticle. The research could lead to optical computers in the future.

Current computers are limited by the time needed to trigger a transistor — usually around 0.1 to 1 nanosecond (10−9 of a second). An optical transistor could work up to 1000 times faster — at picoseconds (10−12 of a second),… read more

Topics: Electronics

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‘I’ve seen the future, and it’s …. paper’

How a new origami “zippered tube” design may transform structures from pop-up furniture to buildings
September 8, 2015

Origami 'zipper tubes' interlocking zigzag paper tubes, can be configured to build a variety of structures that have stiffness and function, but can fold compactly for storage or shipping. (credit: Rob Felt)

A new origami “zippered tube” design that makes paper-based (or other thin materials) structures stiff enough to hold weight, yet can fold flat for easy shipping and storage could transform structures ranging from microscopic robots to furniture and even buildings.

That’s what researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Tokyo suggest in a Proceedings of the National Academy of… read more

Topics: Nanotech/Materials Science

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Lipid DNA origami may lead to advanced future nanomachines

September 8, 2015

Scientists have developed a method, using a double layer of lipids, which facilitates the assembly of DNA origami units, bringing us one-step closer to DNA nanomachines. (credit: Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences)

Kyoto University scientists in Japan have developed a method for creating larger 2-D self-assembling DNA origami* nanostructures.

Current DNA origami methods can create extremely small two- and three-dimensional shapes that could be used as construction material to build nanodevices, such as nanomotors, in the future for targeted drug delivery inside the body, for example. KurzweilAI recently covered advanced methods developed by Brookhaven National Laboratory and  … read more

Topics: Nanotech/Materials Science

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First known magnetic wormhole created

Could make MRIs more comfortable for patients and improve magnetic imaging
September 7, 2015

magnetic-wormhole ft

A wormhole* that can connect two regions of space magnetically has been created in the laboratory and experimentally demonstrated by physicists at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain.

This is not a wormhole in space, as in the movie Interstellar. It’s a special design that transfers a magnetic field from one location in space to another in such a way that the process is magnetically… read more

Topics: Biomed/Longevity | Physics/Cosmology

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New laser design could dramatically shrink autonomous-vehicle 3-D laser-ranging systems

September 4, 2015

This self-sweeping laser couples an optical field with the mechanical motion of a high-contrast grating (HCG) mirror. The HCG mirror is supported by mechanical springs connected to layers of semiconductor material. The red layer represents the laser’s gain (for light amplification), and the blue layers form the system’s second mirror. The force of the light causes the top mirror to vibrate at high speed. The vibration allows the laser to automatically change color as it scans. (credit: Weijian Yang)

UC Berkeley engineers have invented a new laser-ranging system that can reduce the power consumption, size, weight and cost of LIDAR (light detection and ranging, aka “light radar”), which is used in self-driving vehicles* to determine the distance to an object, and in real-time image capture for 3D videos.

“The advance could shrink components that now take up the space of a shoebox down to… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics | Electronics

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Toyota invests $50 million in intelligent vehicle technology at Stanford, MIT AI research centers

September 4, 2015

MIT's Stata Center, which houses the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (credit: MIT)

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced today (Fri. Sept. 4) that it will be investing approximately $50 million over the next five years to establish joint research centers at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL) and MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).

Toyota also said Dr. Gill Pratt, former Program Manager at DARPA and leader of its recent Robotics Challenge, has joined Toyota to… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics | Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

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A user-friendly 3-D printing interface for customizing designs

Design tool lets novices do in minutes what would take experts in computer-aided design hours
September 4, 2015

A new Web-based interface for design novices allows a wide range of modifications to a basic design — such as a toy car or a black-and-white "yin-yang" cup — that are guaranteed to be both structurally stable and printable on a 3-D printer. (credit: Courtesy of the researchers (edited by MIT News))

Researchers at MIT and the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel have developed a system that automatically turns CAD files into visual models that users can modify in real time, simply by moving virtual sliders on a Web page. Once the design meets their specifications, they can hit the print button to send it to a 3-D printer.

Currently, 3-D printing an object from any but the simplest designs requires… read more

Topics: VR/Augmented Reality/Computer Graphics

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The Holy Grail: Machine Learning + Extreme Robotics

September 3, 2015

SXSW

Two experts on robotics and machine learning will reveal breakthrough developments in humanlike robots and machine learning at the annual SXSW conference in Austin next March, in a proposed* panel called “The Holy Grail: Machine Learning + Extreme Robotics.”

Participants will interact with Hanson Robotics’ forthcoming state-of-the-art female Sophia robot as a participant on the panel as she spontaneously tracks human faces, listens to… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics

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Carbon dioxide capture by a novel material that mimics a plant enzyme

Could allow for dramatic reductions in the overall energy cost of carbon capture in power plants or the atmosphere
September 3, 2015

Atomic structure of the adsorbed carbon dioxide (grey sphere bonded to two red spheres) inserted between the manganese (green sphere) and amine (blue sphere) groups within the novel metal-organic framework, forming a linear chain of ammonium carbamate (top). Some hydrogen atoms (white sphere) are omitted for clarity. (credit: Image courtesy of Thomas McDonald, Jarad Mason, and Jeffrey Long)

A novel porous material that achieves carbon dioxide (CO2) capture-and-release with only small shifts in temperature has been developed by a team of researchers at the Center for Gas Separations Relevant to Clean Energy Technologies, led by the University of California, Berkeley (a DOE Energy Frontier Research Center), and associates.

This metal-organic framework (MOF) structure, which adsorbs* CO2, closely resembles an… read more

Topics: Biotech | Environment/Climate | Nanotech/Materials Science

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AI authors crowdsourced interactive fiction

Achieves near-human-level authoring
September 3, 2015

The Scheherazade-IF Architecture (credit: Matthew Guzdial et al.)

GVU Center at Georgia Tech | A new Georgia Tech artificial intelligence system develops interactive stories through crowdsourced data for more robust fiction. Here (in a simplified example), the AI replicates a typical first date to the movies (user choices are in red), complete with loud theater talkers and the arm-over-shoulder movie move.

Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have developed a new artificially intelligent system that crowdsources plots… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics | Entertainment/New Media

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Silk bio-ink could help advance tissue engineering using 3-D printers

Could allow for printing tissues loaded with pharmaceuticals or for use in biomedical implants and tissue engineering
September 3, 2015

Scientists have developed a silk-based, 3-D printer ink for use in biomedical implants or tissue engineering. (credit: American Chemical Society )

Tufts University scientists have developed a silk-based bio-ink that could allow for printing tissues that could be loaded with pharmaceuticals, cytokines (for directing stem cell functions), and antibiotics (for controlling infections), for example, or used in biomedical implants and tissue engineering.

Current 3-D printing processes are limited to simple body parts such as bone. And most inks currently being developed for 3-D printing are made of thermoplastics, silicones, collagen,… read more

Topics: Biotech | Nanotech/Materials Science

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Intel invests US$50 million in quantum-computing research

September 3, 2015

(credit: Intel)

Intel announced today (Thursday Sept. 3) an investment of $50 million and “significant engineering resources” in quantum computing research, in a 10-year collaborative relationship with the Delft University of Technology and TNO, the Dutch Organisation for Applied Research.

“A fully functioning quantum computer is at least a dozen years away, but the practical and theoretical research efforts we’re announcing today mark… read more

Topics: Computers/Infotech/UI | Quantum

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Completely paralyzed man voluntarily moves his legs, UCLA scientists report

In 1998, athlete Mark Pollock became the first blind man to race to the South Pole; now "Iron ElectriRx" man is making history again --- in a robotic exoskeleton
September 2, 2015

Mark Pollock and trainer Simon O’Donnell (credit: Courtesy of Mark Pollock)

A 39-year-old man who had been completely paralyzed for four years was able to voluntarily control his leg muscles and take thousands of steps in a “robotic exoskeleton” device during five days of training, and for two weeks afterward, UCLA scientists report.

This is the first time that a person with chronic, complete paralysis has regained enough voluntary control to actively work with a robotic device designed… read more

Topics: AI/Robotics | Cognitive Science/Neuroscience | Human Enhancement

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First US patients treated with noninvasive focused ultrasound for Parkinson’s disease

September 2, 2015

University of Maryland medical doctors monitor focused ultrasound treatment for essential tremor, guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (credit: University of Maryland School of Medicine)

Researchers at the University of Maryland have performed the first focused ultrasound treatments on a deep structure within the brain related to Parkinson’s disease* called the globus pallidus.

These treatments are part of international pilot studies of 40 patients assessing the feasibility, safety, and preliminary efficacy of focused ultrasound treatments for Parkinson’s disease, guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).… read more

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

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