News by Subject Technology & Engineering

University at Buffalo research shows 3D printers can be identified by thermodynamic properties, which could could aid intellectual property, security

The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered some seventy years ago, are famous for containing the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and many hitherto unknown ancient Jewish texts. But the individual people behind the scrolls have eluded scientists, because the scribes are anonymous. Now, by combining the sciences and the humanities, University of Groningen researchers have cracked the code, which enables them to discover the scribes behind the scrolls.

Researchers at the Toyohashi University of Technology and the University of Tokyo have developed a virtual walking system for seated observers and have revealed that walking self-avatars improve the illusory walking sensation by integrating foot-vibration simulating footsteps. The walking-avatar is presented in the first-person and mirrored perspectives, to induce a sense of body ownership. This system provides a virtual walking experience to people with walking disabilities.

Researchers in Japan have developed a virtual reality platform that mimics the sensation of walking by stimulating their hands and feet, all while sitting motionlessly. During testing, participants using the platform experiencing a digital world through a first-person perspective found it enhanced the simulation of walking. However, those who saw themselves from a third-person perspective felt it impaired the sensation of movement.

Engineered, autonomous machines combined with artificial intelligence have long been a staple of science fiction, and often in the role of villain like the Cylons in the "Battlestar Galactica" reboot, creatures composed of biological and engineered materials. But what if these autonomous soft machines were ... helpful?

A neural network that mimics the biology of the brain can be loaded onto a microchip for faster and more efficient artificial intelligence.