Researchers at MIT have developed a new chip design called Navion that can process camera images and inertial measurements in real-time, allowing for accurate navigation of miniature drones. The chip consumes just 24 milliwatts of power and is about the size of a LEGO minifigure's footprint.
A recent climate assessment reveals that Antarctica's ice sheet has been losing mass at an unprecedented rate, contributing to a threefold increase in global sea level rise. The continent's ice losses have risen from 53 billion tonnes per year in the 1990s to 159 billion tonnes per year since 2012.
The CONEX-Plus project will attract and professionally train 30 young researchers in various technological areas, including Energy and Nanotechnology. The five-year program aims to develop cross-cutting skills and accelerate professional growth through secondments and training actions.
Researchers at MIT developed an algorithm to prioritize and transmit data from sensors in real-time, ensuring the freshest possible data is received by a network. The algorithm calculates an 'index' based on data age, channel reliability, and node priority, guaranteeing optimal decision-making without overloading wireless channels.
A new lane-change algorithm developed by MIT allows autonomous vehicles to model an entire range of driving styles, from conservative to aggressive, with safety guarantees. The system computes buffer zones on the fly and ensures collision avoidance within a given time frame.
MIT engineers create a new virtual-reality training system for drones, enabling vehicles to navigate through an empty physical space while 'seeing' a rich, virtual environment. The system, dubbed Flight Goggles, reduces the number of crashes that drones experience in actual training sessions.
Researchers have designed a robotic glider that can skim along the water's surface, riding the wind like an albatross while also surfing the waves like a sailboat. The system can cover a given distance using one-third as much wind as an albatross and traveling 10 times faster than a typical sailboat.
Electrically charging a plane could significantly reduce its risk of being struck by lightning, according to MIT researchers. The proposed system would charge the aircraft to a negative level to dampen the more highly charged positive end, preventing it from reaching a critical level and initiating a lightning strike.
The Gerald R. Ford International Airport has implemented a $20 million stormwater/glycol treatment system to address community concerns and meet operational requirements. The system successfully eliminated the airport's contribution to nuisance biofilm growth in Trout Creek, improving the local ecosystem.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professor Farhan Gandhi has received the AIAA Faculty Advisor Award for reviving the RPI Student Branch, facilitating seminars, astronaut visits, and providing students with a sense of community. Gandhi's research focuses on rotary-wing aircraft, adaptive cellular structures, and morphing technologies.
Dr. Helen L. Reed, a renowned expert in aerospace engineering, has been awarded the 2018 Yvonne C. Brill Lectureship for her groundbreaking work on student design-build-fly micro- and nano-satellites. Her expertise in laminar-to-turbulent transition has significantly influenced the development of aerospace systems.
Researchers detected objects in extragalactic galaxies with masses ranging from the Moon to Jupiter using microlensing. The discovery marks the first time planets have been found outside the Milky Way galaxy.
Researchers at Scripps Research Institute develop theory that chemical reactions supporting life today could have occurred with ingredients likely present on early Earth. The citric acid cycle's precursor, glyoxylate, is identified as a key molecule in these reactions.
The US space exploration program should focus on robotic sample recovery and human missions to Mars, according to Scott Hubbard, Editor-in-Chief of New Space. He highlights the benefits of this strategy, including offsetting costs through international partnerships.
Researchers at Caltech have characterized the adaptations of Mono Lake flies, enabling them to crawl underwater without getting wet. The flies create a protective bubble around their bodies using an extreme water-repelling phenomenon called superhydrophobicity.
A new AI system can analyze a large dataset of research papers to extract recipes for producing specific materials. The system can identify paragraphs containing recipes and classify words within those paragraphs according to their roles, allowing scientists and engineers to access detailed instructions for material production.
A three-year study will explore how population growth, climate change, and lake-specific factors affect water quality in approximately 2,000 lakes in the Northeast. The research team will use satellite, drone, and mobile app data to identify patterns and understand relationships between complex systems.
W. Stanley Wilson, founder of NASA's Oceanography from Space Program and organizer of the international coalition supporting the Argo observing system, is recognized for his key role in these initiatives. He will be formally recognized on February 13, 2018, during a ceremony at the Ocean Sciences Meeting.
The Dartmouth-led research team will explore how human population growth, climate change, and land use have affected lake water quality in the Northeast, with a focus on cyanobacterial blooms and real-time monitoring. Citizen scientists will also be involved in collecting data through the Lake Observer app.
New research found that global livestock methane emissions for 2011 are 11% higher than previously estimated. The study used revised emissions factors and spatially distributed annual carbon fluxes to calculate the increased emissions.
The university's researchers compiled a large solar dataset from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory mission, making several hundred thousand solar events available to the public. The dataset has improved the quality of the data and will accelerate computer vision research on these solar images.
A new study from Washington University School of Medicine and VA St. Louis Health Care System found that breathing dirty air may harm kidneys. The research analyzed data on nearly 2.5 million people over 8.5 years, concluding that high levels of particulate matter increase the risk of chronic kidney disease and failure.
A new roadmap is being published by Purdue University's Advanced Lyophilization Technology Hub to identify improvements needed in the lyophilization process. The road map will focus on three key areas: products, processes, and equipment, with the goal of increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
A new app has been developed that can noninvasively provide detailed information about heart health using a smartphone camera. The app measures pressure waveforms of blood flow through the cardiovascular system and has been shown to be as accurate as echocardiography in estimating left ventricular ejection fraction.
Researchers analyzed Akatsuki data to uncover wind velocities with temporal and spatial variabilities in lower-to-middle cloud layers. The discovery of an equatorial jet near the equator has significant implications for understanding superrotation theories.
Engineers at MIT created a robot that can follow pedestrian rules, avoiding collisions while keeping pace with foot traffic. The 'socially aware navigation' system uses reinforcement learning to adapt to unpredictable pedestrian behavior.
A new method for controlling self-balancing mobile robots has been proposed by Prof. Mou Chen, improving their tracking performance. The technique utilizes a disturbance observer to fully utilize dynamic information and adjust the robot's behavior.
Researchers at Caltech simulated earthquakes in a lab to measure dynamic friction and its impact on seismic events. They found that slip velocity is the key factor in dynamic friction, contradicting previous assumptions.
A new micropropulsion system for CubeSats uses an innovative design of tiny nozzles that release precise bursts of water vapor to maneuver the spacecraft. The FEMTA thruster technology demonstrates a thrust-to-power ratio of 230 micronewtons per watt, making it a viable method for attitude control of CubeSats.
The journal published two ultraviolet radiation datasets covering China, providing long-term measurements from 1961 to 2014. This move aims to promote translational applications for the general public by making atmospheric and physical oceanographic data traceable and citable.
Researchers used simulations to show that plasma from hypervelocity impacts creates damaging electromagnetic radiation by separating ions and electrons at different speeds. The study aims to verify the theory of senior author Sigrid Close, who previously suggested that hypervelocity impact plasmas are responsible for satellite failures.
A team of scientists has created a novel photothermocatalytic reaction that reduces CO2 to form useful carbon sources, opening new avenues for efficient CO2 conversion. The process utilizes powdered elemental boron as an all-in-one catalyst, light harvester, and hydrogen source.
Physicists have developed a new feedback controller to control fusion plasma energy and rotation. The algorithm uses sensors, algorithms, and actuators to modify the plasma's rotation profile and stored energy.
A study using human stem cells found that deep space radiation may increase the risk of leukemia in humans. The research team identified a dietary supplement as a potential protector against these effects.
Excess emissions from Volkswagen's diesel cars sold between 2008 and 2015 will cause approximately 1,200 premature deaths across Europe. The countries hardest hit include Germany, Poland, France, and the Czech Republic.
The new automated measurement system at Oak Ridge National Laboratory improves Pu-238 production quality by reducing human handling. The system enables the efficient processing of neptunium-237 feedstock, resulting in high-quality plutonium-238 for NASA's Mars missions.
Researchers at the University at Buffalo have developed software that allows a swarm of low-cost drones to quickly map an offshore oil spill. The system uses principles from nature, such as flock dynamics, to optimize communication and data sharing among the drones, enabling them to determine the size of the spill in just nine minutes.
UC researchers successfully employed fuzzy logic in a simulation to show it is an ideal system for navigating under dynamic conditions. The concept, also known as genetic-fuzzy, allows drones to make good navigational decisions amid statistical noise and has real-world applications such as autonomous delivery.
A new study suggests that warmer conditions could make years like 2015, with historically low snowpack levels, occur about once a decade, while snowpack similar to 2014 will happen every 4-5 years. The region's snowpack is highly sensitive to increasing temperatures.
MIT researchers incorporated human strategies into automatic planners, achieving significant improvements in performance. By encoding high-level strategies from skilled human planners, they improved the performance of competition-winning algorithms on complex planning problems.
Frank Lu, a UTA aerospace engineering professor, has been named an AIAA Fellow for his sustained contributions to gasdynamics and detonation-based technologies. He is the first UTA faculty member to earn this honor, which recognizes his novel experimental facility and measurement techniques.
MIT engineers analyzed a simple vehicle-platooning scenario and found that relatively simple scheduling policies can save fuel and minimize delays for autonomous vehicle fleets. The findings may also apply to conventional long-distance trucking and ride-sharing services.
A recent study found that fragmented forest edges in New England absorb more carbon than expected due to increased growth rates, but also experience more heat stress. This mixed outcome suggests that while forests may be valuable carbon sinks, they are also sensitive to climate change.
The USDA is providing up to $5 million in funding for research on cyber-physical systems to improve efficiency and sustainability in the agricultural industry. This initiative aims to develop data-driven analytical tools throughout the food supply chain to promote smarter decision-making and reduce waste and increase safety.
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has announced $3 million in funding for robotics research, application, and education in agriculture. This funding will support research on collaborative human-robot interactions, including the development of customizable robots and infrastructure to lower barriers to entry.
A new study by the University of Delaware and colleagues reveals that oceans play a crucial role in absorbing excess heat from the atmosphere, redistributing it within the Earth system. This redistribution explains the observed decrease in global mean surface temperature, considered a key indicator of climate change.
Researchers at Lehigh University developed a 3D-printed wing attachment inspired by owl feathers, reducing wind turbine noise by 10 decibels without impacting aerodynamics. The design can also reduce roughness and trailing-edge noise, with implications for improving man-made aerodynamic designs.
A numerical study explores the patterns made by 2-D rectangular plates falling freely within water, identifying parameters influencing their motion and force characteristics. The findings may aid in improving wing designs for unmanned aerial vehicles and controlling object motions within fluids.
PyFR combines highly accurate numerical methods with flexible code implementation to solve complex fluid flow problems. The software achieves over 50% of Titan's theoretical peak performance, making it ideal for industries like aerospace and wind power.
Researchers at MIT have developed a method to reinforce composite materials using carbon nanotubes, resulting in substantially stronger and more resistant materials. The stitched composites were found to be 30% stronger and withstood greater forces before breaking than existing composite materials.
Sampath Vengate's innovative design uses weighted flight to turn the aircraft, eliminating the need for ailerons and elevators. This technology has potential applications for stealth and hypersonic aircraft, cutting down on radar signatures and fuel consumption.
Researchers at MIT have developed a new space boot with built-in sensors and haptic motors that can guide the wearer around or over obstacles. The boot uses vibrations to provide navigation cues, which could be beneficial for both astronauts in space and visually impaired individuals on Earth.
A team of researchers proposes using clusters of small satellites to estimate the planet's reflected energy with greater accuracy. The satellites can measure albedo from multiple angles, providing a multiangular view of the Earth's surface.
A MSU physicist developed a new model that predicts the speed of solar plasma during solar flares, likening it to the path traveled by a thrown baseball. The model has implications for understanding how solar flares evolve and providing better ways to predict them.
Researchers detected gamma-ray emission in Arp 220, revealing extreme energetic processes and hidden cosmic rays. The finding expands energy observations of galaxies and sheds light on the population of extreme energetic particles.
The University of Würzburg researchers developed Skith, a technology for the world's first wireless satellite, allowing for reduced design effort and costs. The system uses miniaturized high-speed real-time radio modules with short ranges, boosting technical reliability and flexibility.
A new vortex identification method has been proposed to accurately visualize vortices in complex 3D flows. The method uses a ratio of vorticity square over the sum of vorticity square and deformation square to define and identify vortex structures, offering a universal and accurate approach.
UTARI researcher Endel Iarve will lead a three-year project to predict the strength and life of rotor blade assemblies using discrete damage modeling. The goal is to extend advanced computational techniques to larger aircraft structures, improving life prediction in rotorcraft structures.
Darrian Mills, a freshman physics and computer science student at Louisiana Tech University, has been awarded a Minority Research Scholars fellowship with NASA. He will work with Dr. Chester Wilson and Dr. William Clower to develop an inexpensive nanostructured material for radar imagery in space.
Researchers at MIT developed a new model to reduce unnecessary communication in human-robot teams, enabling them to work together more effectively. The system has been tested on computer simulations and shows promise for improving team performance.