http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org) —German technology company Festo has unveiled the BionicOpter, a fully functional robotic dragonfly. It can fly forwards, backwards, hover and even fly sideways—just like a real dragonfly. Its introduction marks another step forward in robotics engineering. http://phys.org/news284031157.html Electronics Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:50:02 EST news284031157 (Phys.org) —NASA representatives were at the 2013 Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco to show how the ATHLETE robot, a six-legged robot developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California, can move via remote control with the Leap Motion device. Victor Luo and Jeff Norris, from the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, presided over the demo. Luo told the audience of game industry professionals: http://phys.org/news284011463.html Space & Earth Mon, 01 Apr 2013 05:04:53 EST news284011463 Blood, paint or ketchup are complex liquids composed of several different components. For the construction of pumps, or the improvement of technical processes scientists and engineers need description models. They make the special properties of such liquids predictable. Researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen and the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich have developed such a model. They present it in the current issue of the journal Physical Review Letters. http://phys.org/news281882369.html Physics Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:39:38 EST news281882369 Inserting new capabilities into a satellite is no simple task. Doing so as that satellite hurdles through space 22,000 miles above the Earth is a bit more challenging still. DARPA's Phoenix program, which hopes to repurpose retired satellites while they remain in orbit, seeks to fundamentally change how space systems could be designed here on earth and then sustained once in space. http://phys.org/news278152962.html Space & Earth Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:43:04 EST news278152962 (Phys.org)—Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and the Johns Hopkins University have developed a technique to reliably manipulate hundreds of individual micrometer-sized colloid particles to create crystals with controlled dimensions. The accomplishment is an important milestone for understanding how to direct and control the assembly of microscale and nanoscale objects for nanomanufacturing applications. http://phys.org/news277718892.html Nanotechnology Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:08:36 EST news277718892 (Phys.org)—Unraveling the complexities of spin-orbital coupling could someday lead to new high-temperature superconductors and workable quantum computers via an elusive phase of matter called a "quantum spin liquid." Two groups of researchers utilizing x-ray beamlines at the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory are delving into the new physics required to develop just such a material. http://phys.org/news274607239.html Physics Thu, 13 Dec 2012 07:47:30 EST news274607239 (Phys.org)—Are we moving closer to a computer age where "touchscreen" is in the room, but it is the counter, desktop, wall, our new digital work areas? Are we moving into a new form factor called Anywhere? Do we understand how locked up we are in on-screen prisons, and that options will come? The drive for options is strong at the MIT Media Lab, where its Fluid Interfaces Group has been working on some AR options, the "Augmented Product Counter" and the "LuminAR." The latter is a bulb that makes any surface a touchscreen. You can even use it to replace the bulb in a desk lamp with the MIT group's "bulb" to project images onto a surface. The LuminAR bulb is small enough to fit a standard light fixture. http://phys.org/news274368763.html Technology Mon, 10 Dec 2012 13:33:16 EST news274368763 A new robotic space technology spinoff derived from NASA's Robonaut 2 project someday may help astronauts stay healthier in space and aid paraplegics in walking here on Earth. Robonaut 2, the first humanoid robot in space, currently is working with astronauts aboard the International Space Station. http://phys.org/news269244161.html Space & Earth Fri, 12 Oct 2012 07:03:00 EST news269244161 (Phys.org)—Researchers from the University of California, Davis, have built an algorithm designed to create a computer-generated animation of piano-playing, showing finger placement and wrist motions. The novel part of all this is that the team's system takes an audio file and creates a piano-playing cartoon to match it, using sound to animate the piano-playing performance. The software can automatically generate a 3-D animation of piano-playing hands based entirely on the music input. Each chord in a piece translates into a finger position and hand motion. They have worked out an algorithm that carefully takes the position of every finger into account, even when that finger is not involved in the next chord. http://phys.org/news268286035.html Technology Mon, 01 Oct 2012 05:20:01 EST news268286035 (Phys.org)—Rethink Robotics is introducing Baxter to the manufacturing sector with a note: Baxter can ignite a revolution in breaking down costs and safety barriers holding back automation in American manufacturing. The Boston-based company says the $22,000 (list price) robot is a fraction of the cost of traditional industrial robots "with zero integration required." Baxter has been expressly designed to work on assembly lines to perform menial tasks. Baxter has two arms, each with seven degrees of freedom, and a reach similar to that of a human, to take over the mindless menial tasks. It can load, unload, sort, pack, unpack, snap-fit, grind and polish. http://phys.org/news267198938.html Electronics Tue, 18 Sep 2012 14:55:52 EST news267198938 (Phys.org) -- Two swimming strokes -- one that pulls through the water like a boat paddle and another that whirls to the side like a propeller -- are commonly used by athletes training for the Olympic Games. But elite swimmers and their coaches have long argued over which arm motion is more likely to propel an aquatic star toward a medal. http://phys.org/news259338313.html Technology Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:27:23 EST news259338313 (PhysOrg.com) -- A key element of both biotechnology and nanotechnology is – perhaps unsurprisingly – computational modeling. Frequently, in silico nanostructure design and simulation precedes actual experimentation. Moreover, the ability to use modeling to predict biomolecular structure lays the foundation for the subsequent design of biomolecules. Historically, the problem has been that most modeling software presents a tradeoff between being general purpose (in being able to model systems at high/atomic resolution) but limited in scope (i.e., only explores a small fraction conformational space around the initial structure). Recently, however, Stanford University scientists have developed an algorithm – implemented in a modeling program known as MOSAICS (Methodologies for Optimization and SAmpling In Computational Studies) – that achieves nanoscale modeling at the resolution required without being limited by the scope/size dilemma. In addition, the researchers successfully modeled – and benchmarked the new computation modeling technique with – RNA-based nanostructures. http://phys.org/news250772901.html Nanotechnology Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:40:01 EST news250772901 Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have made advances in better understanding correlated quantum matter that could change technology as we know it, according to a study published in the Nov. 20 edition of Nature. http://phys.org/news241115438.html Physics Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:32:20 EST news241115438 (PhysOrg.com) -- Users from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Center for Nanophase Materials Science, working with the X-Ray Microscopy Group, have discovered structural effects accompanying the nanoscale lithography of ferroelectric polarization domains. The results shed new light on the physics of structural changes induced during this model nanoscale lithographic process. http://phys.org/news232278203.html Nanotechnology Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:30:01 EST news232278203 An international research team has successfully developed a widely applicable method for discovering the physical foundations of complex fluids for the first time. Researchers at the University of Vienna and University of Rome have developed a microscopic theory that describes the interactions between the various components of a complex polymer mixture. This approach has now been experimentally proven by physicists from Julich, who conducted neutron scattering experiments in Grenoble. The results have been published in the June issue of Physical Review Letters. http://phys.org/news226139855.html Physics Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:37:48 EST news226139855 How does one design a robot that maneuvers in three dimensions and navigates all manner of terrain? Those are the main challenges that Howie Choset at Carnegie Mellon University is attempting to tackle. http://phys.org/news224844920.html Electronics Tue, 17 May 2011 09:56:04 EST news224844920 (PhysOrg.com) -- When it comes to finding the single best tool for building, digging, grasping, drawing, writing, and many other tasks, nothing beats the human hand. Human hands have evolved over millions of years into four fingers and a thumb that can precisely manipulate a wide variety of objects. In a recent study, researchers have attempted to recreate the human hand by building a biomimetic robotic hand that they have optimized to achieve near-human appearance and performance. http://phys.org/news217248602.html Technology Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:50:27 EST news217248602