Industries
AFM could help diagnose chronic heart disease
Researchers from the University of Lisbon and the North Lisbon Hospital Center (Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte) conducted a pilot study that demonstrated how atomic force microscopy (AFM) could be used as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for chronic heart disease. Their work appears in the recent issue of Nature Nanotechnology. The World Health Organization estimates that 17.5 million people die annually due to cardiovascular diseases.
Robot force sensors enable automation of tough tasks
Seiko Epson announced the development of its S250 series of high-precision force sensors. The S250 series, which will be rolled out worldwide from early June, will be available as an option for the company's six-axis and SCARA robots. Employing Epson's proprietary piezoelectric quartz sensing technology, the new force sensors are durable and sensitive, allowing them to accurately and consistently sense minimal amounts of force in six directions.
Quantum satellite device to be used for global network
Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the University of Strathclyde, UK, have become the first to test in orbit technology for satellite-based quantum network nodes. They have put a compact device carrying components used in quantum communication and computing into orbit. And it works: the team report first data in a paper published in the journal Physical Review Applied.
AI technology enables logical dialogue in Japanese
Hitachi announced that it has developed a basic AI technology that analyses huge volumes of Japanese text data on issues that are subject to debate, and presents in Japanese both affirmative and negative opinions on those issues together with reasons and grounds. In this research, Hitachi applied deep learning to the process of distinguishing sentences representing reasons and grounds for opinions, eliminating the need for a dedicated program to ...
Transforming patient care with wireless monitoring
The need for complete monitoring systems within today’s hospitals and care homes is growing rapidly, with demand for personal health information, early warning scores and alerting when a patient's condition is deteriorating.
British companies lead the way in counter-drone technology
The policing of the restricted airspace over airports is becoming increasingly complex and challenging due to the proliferation of consumer drones – and we have already had several incidents of high profile near misses between consumer drones and commercial aircraft. The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is currently reporting more than 100 drone sightings within the vicinity of US airports each month.
Prodding leukemia cells with nanoprobes could provide cancer clues
Giving blood cells a gentle squeeze can reveal a great deal about their health. To find out more, researchers in France have used a tiny force probe to compare the mechanical responses of healthy and cancerous hematopoietic cells (biological structures that help to renew blood in the body).
Firmware update adds BeiDou support to GNSS modules
u-blox has announced a firmware upgrade for its NEO-M8P high precision GNSS modules. The small, highly cost effective and very precise Real Time Kinematics (RTK) modules now support BeiDou. Complementing u-blox's existing support for GPS+GLONASS satellite navigation systems, this release introduces 8Hz RTK update rates for GPS, making the NEO-M8P suitable for applications with high user dynamics.
SimpleLink WiFi modules simplify IoT connectivity
Based around the TI CC3200 and CC3100 SimpleLink chipsets, two 2.4GHz IEEE802.11 b/g/n compliant wireless modules have been announced by Murata. The Type 1JP and Type1JQ modules, measuring 13.2x21.45x2.65mm, significantly ease incorporating wireless internet connectivity to a host of embedded applications and especially IoT designs.
‘Jackrabbot’ learns pedestrian behaviour
In order for robots to circulate on sidewalks and mingle with humans in other crowded places, they’ll have to understand the unwritten rules of pedestrian behaviour. Stanford researchers have created a short, non-humanoid prototype of a moving, self-navigating machine. The robot is nicknamed “Jackrabbot” – after the jackrabbits often seen darting across the Stanford campus.