Computers

A new study of airflow patterns inside a car's passenger cabin offers some suggestions for potentially reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission while sharing rides with others. The study, by a team of Brown University researchers, used computer models to simulate the airflow inside a compact car with various combinations of windows open or closed. The simulations showed that … [Read more...] about Research reveals how airflow inside a car may affect COVID-19 transmission risk

With their ability to harness the strange powers of quantum mechanics, qubits are the basis for potentially world-changing technologies -- like powerful new types of computers or ultra-precise sensors. Qubits (short for quantum bits) are often made of the same semiconducting materials as our everyday electronics. But an interdisciplinary team of chemists and physicists at … [Read more...] about In new step toward quantum tech, scientists synthesize ‘bright’ quantum bits

At some point in life, most people have stood over a rolled-out slab of cookie dough and pondered just how to best cut out cookies with as little waste as possible. Now, even math experts have given up on finding a computer algorithm to answer this type of geometric problem. How can we maximize dough while cutting out Christmas cookies? How do we pack a suitcase or fill a … [Read more...] about The ever-elusive riddle: What’s the best way to cut Christmas cookies?

According to a new study by Tampere University in Finland, making eye contact with a robot may have the same effect on people as eye contact with another person. The results predict that interaction between humans and humanoid robots will be surprisingly smooth. With the rapid progress in robotics, it is anticipated that people will increasingly interact with so called social … [Read more...] about A study predicts smooth interaction between humans and robots

A team of researchers has developed a flexible, rechargeable silver oxide-zinc battery with a five to 10 times greater areal energy density than state of the art. The battery also is easier to manufacture; while most flexible batteries need to be manufactured in sterile conditions, under vacuum, this one can be screen printed in normal lab conditions. The device can be used in … [Read more...] about This flexible and rechargeable battery is 10 times more powerful than state of the art

AI-based evaluation of medical imaging data usually requires a specially developed algorithm for each task. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now presented a new method for configuring self-learning algorithms for a large number of different imaging datasets - without the need for specialist knowledge or very significant computing power. In the … [Read more...] about Self-learning algorithms for different imaging datasets

In 2018, California wildfires caused economic losses of nearly $150 billion, or about 0.7 percent of the gross domestic product of the entire United States that year, and a considerable fraction of those costs affected people far from the fires and even outside of the Golden State. For a study to be published Monday, Dec. 7, in Nature Sustainability, researchers at the … [Read more...] about California’s 2018 wildfires caused $150 billion in damages: Study shows health and socio-economic costs extended far beyond burned areas

Neural networks are some of the most important tools in artificial intelligence (AI): they mimic the operation of the human brain and can reliably recognize texts, language and images, to name but a few. So far, they run on traditional processors in the form of adaptive software, but experts are working on an alternative concept, the "neuromorphic computer." In this case, the … [Read more...] about Split wave: Component for neuromorphic computer

A hacker can reproduce a circuit on a chip by discovering what key transistors are doing in a circuit -- but not if the transistor "type" is undetectable. Purdue University engineers have demonstrated a way to disguise which transistor is which by building them out of a sheet-like material called black phosphorus. This built-in security measure would prevent hackers from … [Read more...] about New transistor design disguises key computer chip hardware from hackers

While a certain level of trust is needed for autonomous cars and smart technologies to reach their full potential, these technologies are not infallible -- hence why we're supposed to keep our hands on the wheel of self-driving cars and follow traffic laws, even if they contradict our map app instructions. Recognizing the significance of trust in devices -- and the dangers when … [Read more...] about Studying trust in autonomous products