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Blog – Page 7821

Researchers from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have developed flexible feet that can help robots walk up to 40% faster on uneven terrain such as pebbles and wood chips. The work has applications for search-and-rescue missions, as well as space exploration.

“Robots need to be able to walk fast and efficiently on natural, uneven terrain, so they can go everywhere humans can, but maybe shouldn’t,” said Emily Lathrop, the study’s first author and a PhD student in the Jacobs School of Engineering at UCSD.

The researchers are presenting their breakthrough at the RoboSoft conference, taking place virtually from now until 15th July.

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The famous cat-in-a-box thought experiment by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger is an illustration of one of the defining characteristics of quantum mechanics — the unpredictable behaviour of particles at the quantum level.

It makes working with quantum systems incredibly difficult; but what if we could make quantum predictions? A team of physicists believes it’s possible.

In a study published last year, they demonstrated their ability to predict something called a quantum jump, and even reverse the process after it’s started.

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Physicists set a new record by linking together a hot soup of 15 trillion atoms in a bizarre phenomenon called quantum entanglement. The finding could be a major breakthrough for creating more accurate sensors to detect ripples in space-time called gravitational waves or even the elusive dark matter thought to pervade the universe.

Entanglement, a quantum phenomena Albert Einstein famously described as “spooky action at a distance,” is a process in which two or more particles become linked and any action performed on one instantaneously affects the others regardless of how far apart they are. Entanglement lies at the heart of many emerging technologies, such as quantum computing and cryptography.

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Biological tissues have evolved over millennia to be perfectly optimized for their specific functions. Take cartilage as an example. It’s a compliant, elastic tissue that’s soft enough to cushion joints, but strong enough to resist compression and withstand the substantial load bearing of our bodies: key for running, jumping, and our daily wear and tear.

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Google surreptitiously amasses billions of bits of information —every day — about internet users even if they opt out of sharing their information, three consumers alleged in a proposed class action lawsuit.

“Google tracks and collects consumer browsing history and other web activity data no matter what safeguards consumers undertake to protect their data privacy,” according to the complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in San Jose, California.

The lawsuit argues that while Google lets users turn off data collection when using its Chrome web browser, other Google tools used by websites themselves scoop up their data anyways. The suit includes claims for invasion of privacy and violations of federal wiretapping law.

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