IEEE Robotics & Automation Society Italian Chapter (I-RAS)

Researchers have trained computers to quickly and consistently detect and analyze microscopic radiation damage to materials under consideration for nuclear reactors. And the computers bested humans in this arduous task.

Could robots soon help rescue crews save the survivors of a natural disaster? Such a mission would require that the robots be able to determine, on their own, which tasks to perform and in what order to perform them. Researchers have shown, for the first time, that this ability can emerge from a group of robots.

A new highly maneuverable search and rescue robot that can creep, crawl and climb over rough terrain and through tight spaces has been developed.

Progress on new artificial intelligence (AI) technology could make monitoring at water treatment plants cheaper and easier and help safeguard public health.

Researchers have developed a prototype of a robot that can express 'emotions' through changes in its outer surface. The robot's skin covers a grid of texture units whose shapes change based on the robot's feelings.

Researchers have developed a new technique to quickly teach robots novel traversal behaviors with minimal human oversight.

Understanding how a robot will react under different conditions is essential to guaranteeing its safe operation. But how do you know what will break a robot without actually damaging it? A new machine learning method can use observations made under safe conditions to make accurate predictions for all possible conditions governed by the same physical dynamics.

Researchers have created extremely dense, random SWNT/POM network molecular neuromorphic devices, generating spontaneous spikes similar to nerve impulses of neurons. They conducted simulation calculations of the random molecular network model complexed with POM molecules, which are able to store electric charges, replicating spikes generated from the random molecular network. They also demonstrated that this molecular model would very likely become a component of reservoir computing devices. Reservoir computing is anticipated as next-generation artificial intelligence.

The goal of a technology known as mind upload is to make it possible to create functional copies of the human brain on computers. The development of this technology, which involves scanning of the brain and detailed cell-specific emulation, is currently receiving billions in funding. Science fiction enthusiasts express a more positive attitude towards the technology compared to others.

Robotic surgery is as effective as traditional open surgery in treating bladder cancer, according to a new study.

Researchers have demonstrated a novel synaptic architecture that could lead to a new class of information processing systems inspired by the brain.

A computer built to mimic the brain's neural networks produces similar results to that of the best brain-simulation supercomputer software currently used for neural-signaling research. Tested for accuracy, speed and energy efficiency, this custom-built computer named SpiNNaker, has the potential to overcome the speed and power consumption problems of conventional supercomputers, with the aim of advancing our knowledge of neural processing in the brain, including learning and disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.

Millions of people take upwards of five medications a day, but testing the side effects of such combinations is impractical. Now, computer scientists have figured out how to predict side effects using artificial intelligence.

AI holds real potential for improving both the speed and accuracy of medical diagnostics -- but before clinicians can harness the power of AI to identify conditions in images such as X-rays, they have to 'teach' the algorithms what to look for. Now, engineers have designed a new approach: using machine learning to create computer generated X-rays to augment AI training sets.

MIT's Cheetah 3 robot can now leap and gallop across rough terrain, climb a staircase littered with debris, and quickly recover its balance when suddenly yanked or shoved, all while essentially blind. The 90-pound mechanical beast -- about the size of a full-grown Labrador -- is intentionally designed to do all this without relying on cameras or any external environmental sensors.

Initial testing on the next generation of mobile technology with the capability of delivering 100 times faster broadband has been successful, engineers have confirmed.

Scientists have developed an artificial neural network out of DNA that can recognize highly complex and noisy molecular information.

In nature, cockroaches can survive underwater for up to 30 minutes. Now, a robotic cockroach can do even better. Harvard's Ambulatory Microrobot, known as HAMR, can walk on land, swim on the surface of water, and walk underwater for as long as necessary, opening up new environments for this little bot to explore.

Today's crop breeders are trying to boost yields while also preparing crops to withstand severe weather and changing climates. To succeed, they must locate genes for high-yielding, hardy traits in crop plants' DNA. A robot can now find these proverbial needles in the haystack.

Scientists have shown that an artificial intelligence program called a Convolutional Neural Network can be trained to categorize volcanic ash particle shapes. Because the shapes of volcanic particles are linked to the type of volcanic eruption, this categorization can help provide information on eruptions and aid volcanic hazard mitigation efforts.