Wednesday 5 June 2019

Mojo Vision shows off display technology for augmented reality

What meets the eye is important—but in the case of entering the realm of augmented reality, how it meets the eye is an issue. A California company is on that case. They have technology to let AR users keep in the flow eyes-up. Hands-free.

* This article was originally published here

Energy storage project in Utah described as world's largest of its kind

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) announced an ambitious energy storage project to develop what it claims will be the world's largest energy storage project of its kind, in Utah. Renewable hydrogen is at the core.

* This article was originally published here

Agent Unicorn headset for ADHD children may make understanding easier

The quest for a better understanding among scientists of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) goes on.

* This article was originally published here

NASA estimates heavy Texas and Louisiana rainfall from gulf weather system

Earlier in the week, NOAA's National Hurricane Center was monitoring a low-pressure system in the Gulf of Campeche that has now moved along the Texas and Louisiana coastlines, bringing heavy rainfall. On June 5, NASA used a constellation of satellites to estimate that rainfall.

* This article was originally published here

Using a simulation framework to study spine behaviors of quadruped robots

Researchers at the Robert Bosch center for cyber physical systems in Bangalore, India, have recently proposed a simulation framework to systematically study the effects of spinal joint actuation on the locomotion performance of quadruped robots. In their study, outlined in a paper pre-published on arXiv, they used this framework to investigate the spine behaviors of a quadruped robot called Stoch 2 and their effects on its bounding performance.

* This article was originally published here

Lowering cholesterol levels may worsen nerve damage in T2DM

(HealthDay)—Lowering serum cholesterol levels in patients with type 2 diabetes is associated with diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN), according to a study published online May 31 in JAMA Network Open.

* This article was originally published here

Investigating the implications of social robots in religious contexts

Researchers at Siegen University and Würzberg University, in Germany, have recently carried out a study investigating the user experience and acceptability associated with the use of social robots in religious contexts. Their paper, published in Springer's International Journal of Social Robotics, offers interesting insight into how people perceive blessing robots compared to other robots for more conventional purposes.

* This article was originally published here

Hoard of the rings: Unusual rings are a novel type of Bronze Age cereal-based product

Strange ring-shaped objects in a Bronze Age hillfort site represent a unique form of cereal-based product, according to a study published June 5, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Andreas G. Heiss of the Austrian Archaeological Institute (ÖAW-ÖAI) and colleagues.

* This article was originally published here

New approach optimizes use of future wave electricity generators during disaster

When hurricanes strike, loss of electricity ranks as one of the top concerns for relief workers. Blackouts lasting a week or more can hamper recovery efforts, shutter hospitals, threaten public health and disrupt transportation. The monthslong effort to restore power to Puerto Rico following the 2017 hurricane season has led to renewed interest in finding innovative ways to get affected power grids back online.

* This article was originally published here

Nigeria needs a more effective sanitation strategy. Here are some ideas

In November last year, Nigeria declared that its water supply, sanitation and hygiene sector was in crisis. This was partly prompted by the fact that the country has struggled to make progress towards ending open defecation.

* This article was originally published here

Stanford Doggo: a highly agile quadruped robot

Researchers at Stanford University have recently created an open-source quadruped robot called Stanford Doggo. Their robot, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv and set to be published by IEEE Explore, exceeds the performance of many state-of-the-art legged robots in vertical jumping agility.

* This article was originally published here

Protecting our energy infrastructure from cyberattack

Almost every day, news headlines announce another security breach and the theft of credit card numbers and other personal information. While having one's credit card stolen can be annoying and unsettling, a far more significant, yet less recognized, concern is the security of physical infrastructure, including energy systems.

* This article was originally published here

Study examines potential misuse of anti-anxiety medication

There is concern about the misuse of the sedative anti-anxiety medication alprazolam (Xanax) because of the "high" it can create. A new British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology study found that non-medical use of alprazolam in the United Kingdom is a significant issue, and it appears to be more prevalent in younger adults.

* This article was originally published here

Extending sleep may lower cardiometabolic risk

Increasing sleep duration may help reduce cardiometabolic risk—or the risk of heart disease and metabolic disorders— in individuals who do not get enough sleep, according to an analysis of all published studies on the topic.

* This article was originally published here

Cracking open the black box of automated machine learning

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have developed an interactive tool that, for the first time, lets users see and control how automated machine-learning systems work. The aim is to build confidence in these systems and find ways to improve them.

* This article was originally published here

Working landscapes can support diverse bird species

Privately-owned, fragmented forests in Costa Rica can support as many vulnerable bird species as can nearby nature reserves, according to a study from the University of California, Davis.

* This article was originally published here

REPLAB: A low-cost benchmark platform for robotic learning

Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a reproducible, low-cost and compact benchmark platform to evaluate robotic learning approaches, which they called REPLAB. Their recent study, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, was supported by Berkeley DeepDrive, the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Google, NVIDIA and Amazon.

* This article was originally published here