A new technology developed by Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research could enable smartwatches to automatically recognize what objects users are touching, for instance, whether the wearer is using a laptop, operating a saw, or riding a motorcycle, creating new opportunities for context-aware apps.
Tech
A child need not choose between the immersive, but often passive world of digital media or the physical interaction of real-world games and activities. Scientists at Disney Research say augmented reality with mobile devices serves as the perfect bridge between the two and can enhance creativity in the process.
Even a novice can design and build a customized walking robot using a 3-D printer and off-the-shelf servo motors with the help of a new design tool developed by Disney Research and Carnegie Mellon University.
The user can specify the shape, size and number of legs for the robotic creature, using intuitive editing tools to interactively explore design alternatives. The system also ensures that the resulting design is capable of moving as desired and not falling down; it even enables the user to alter the creature's gait as desired.
Plant-derived oils are widely used all over the world both for food and for industrial purposes. In recent years they have also attracted attention as raw materials for potential bio-fuels and bio-plastics that are friendly to the environment. Because of these, the demand for vegetable oils is expanding year by year. Researchers in Japan have succeeded in inducing the genes involved in oil synthesis in seeds to work for longer periods of time, thereby allowing them to accumulate more seed oil.
How can we monitor Europe-wide farmland biodiversity so that it makes sense to farmers, is ecologically credible and scientifically sound and can be implemented for a reasonable price? Two new studies answer these questions.
With the world population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, engineers and scientists are looking for ways to meet the increasing demand for food without also increasing the strain on natural resources, such as water and energy -- an initiative known as the food-water-energy nexus.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 6, 2015 - A tool that provides world-class microscopy and spatially resolved chemical analysis shows considerable promise for advancing a number of areas of study, including chemical science, pharmaceutical development and disease progression.
At the Siggraph Asia conference this week, MIT researchers presented a pair of papers describing techniques for either magnifying or smoothing out small variations in digital images.
The techniques could be used to produce more polished images for graphic-design projects, or, applied in the opposite direction, they could disclose structural defects, camouflaged objects, or movements invisible to the naked eye that could be of scientific interest.
Very few 2D superconductors exist in nature, and single-layer NbSe2 is the first among them that remains a superconductor in its isolated, 2D form without the need of a special substrate. Furthermore, CDW order - spatial modulation of both the electron density and the atomic lattice (see figure below) - has been revealed to be a genuine 2D electronic phenomenon in NbSe2. This work has been recently reported in Nature Physics.
From laptops and televisions to smartphones and tablets, semiconductors have made advanced electronics possible. These types of devices are so pervasive, in fact, that Northwestern Engineering's Matthew Grayson says we are living in the "Semiconductor Age."
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 5 - Before eating your next meal, pause for a moment to thank the humble honeybee. Farmers of almonds, broccoli, cantaloupe and many other nuts, vegetables and fruits rely heavily on managed honeybees to pollinate their crops each year.
Are you less happy than your parents were at the same age? It may not be all in your head. Researchers led by San Diego State University professor Jean M. Twenge found adults over age 30 are not as happy as they used to be, but teens and young adults are happier than ever.
Researchers -- including Ryne A. Sherman of Florida Atlantic University and Sonja Lyubomirsky of University of California, Riverside -- analyzed data from four nationally representative samples of 1.3 million Americans ages 13 to 96 taken from 1972 to 2014.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (Nov. 5, 2015) -- Previous research has found lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths are four times more likely to commit suicide compared to their straight peers. Members of this community usually are more stressed and depressed than the general population. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine are exploring the role resilience plays in off-setting stress and depression among LGBT adults and youths, and found that LGBT youths have a lower levels of resilience than LGBT adults.
Conventional particle accelerators are typically big machines that occupy a lot of space. Even at more modest energies, such as that used for cancer therapy and medical imaging, accelerators need large rooms to accommodate the required hardware, power supplies and radiation shielding.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have found that lithium ion batteries operate longer and faster when their electrodes are treated with hydrogen.
Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are a class of rechargeable battery types in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge and back when charging.