Important Innovations

Nimble Approach to Beat Global Competition in AI and Technology Development The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA just announced a bold program to accelerate the "3rd wave" of artificial intelligence innovation.  It's going to fund 18 month experiments of potential AI breakthroughs. Super Fast Turnaround To jumpstart this, DARPA is speeding up contracting and funding of innovative concepts to within 3 months of their initial announcement.  The DARPA team will determine the value and the feasibility of the project within 18 months.  The funding awards could be up to $1 million each. DARPA's Goal DARPA is the force behind the creation of the internet, GPS, cloud computing, drones and much more.  It's mission is to provide the US military with overwhelming technological advantages.  The purpose of this quick turnaround AI innovation advancement program is clear.  DARPA wants the US to outpace competing global AI and techno

Google Eyes the Heart Brain and Heart AI Google's Brain Team has developed a new AI system that accurately predicts heart disease by scanning images of people's retina.  The researchers believe this may lead to the discovery of more ways to diagnose health issues from retinal images. Deep Learning Algorithms They used deep learning algorithms trained on data from more than 284,000 patients.  The AI system is able to predict cardiovascular disease risk factors from retinal images with very high accuracy.  The accuracy rate to actually pick out patients in danger of a heart attack or stroke is 70%. Eye and Heart Connections According to lead researcher Lily Peng, their approach is to use deep learning to draw connections between changes in human anatomy and disease.  In this case, using the eyes to reflect what's going on with the heart.

The Transforming Wheel-Track Changes Wheels in Motion To see it is to believe it.  It's called the Transforming Wheel-Track  This is the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA's latest, "go-anyplace, anytime" truck for the US military.  It was designed and developed by a team from Carnegie Mellon's National Robotics Engineering Center.  It's breakthrough technology that can alter a wheel's shape and function while it's in motion. Dual Action in 2 Seconds For soft surfaces, the truck can navigate the terrain on triangular tracks.  For hard surfaces, it changes into round wheels for fast travel.  The switch can be made in 2 seconds while in motion, which provides soldiers the ability to adjust as needed. Designed for military use, it's also practical for search and rescue missions and construction. DARPA's X Vehicles The Transforming Wheel-Track is part of DARPA's Ground X Vehicles technologies program.

American-Chinese Scientists Collaborative Success in Fighting Cancer Medical Nanorobots Chinese and American scientists have successfully developed nanorobots using DNA origami that shrink cancer tumors by cutting off their blood supply.  The team includes scientists from Arizona State University and the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Science. Tiny But Effective Therapy The nanorobots are composed of DNA origami which is 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.  DNA origami is expected to revolutionize medicine.  In this cancer breakthrough, a blood clotting enzyme is attached to the surface of the nanorobots.  In effect, this therapy cuts off the blood supply to the tumor, stopping its growth and leading to tumor tissue death. Nanomedicine First This is the first, fully autonomous DNA robotic system for targeted cancer therapy.  The nanorobots are programmed to attack cancer cells.  They did so within a few hours of injecti

All the Colors of the Rainbow 3D Printed Scientists at the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Spain have just developed a faster and cost-effective colored, 3D printing method.  The scientists say their new system is cost-effective even for large scale production. New Tech Approach They've incorporated materials such as carbon nanotubes that allow for the use of cheaper, lower power lasers.  They've added new photosensitizers to produce bright colors.  The new system can print objects in all the colors of the rainbow. Growing Popularity of 3D Printing People are using 3D printing for a wide variety of applications including manufacturing, medical devices, fashion and even food.  Up until now, there's been a big drawback on the most efficient systems.  They've printed only in grey or black.  The new color system just announced by the Spanish scientists opens a whole new world of color.

On Duty in Your Kitchen and On the Factory Floor You might call it the Ivy League Robot.  Scientists at Princeton University and MIT have developed a highly advanced robot that can select an object in a bin, pick it up and recognize it.  It's a multi-tasking robot that can be put to work in your kitchen or on a factory floor. Pick and Place Robotics The pick and place system consists of a standard industrial robotic arm, custom fitted with a gripper and suction cup.  What's breakthrough is that 2, separate algorithms tied into a deep neural network (class of learning algorithms) are at work.  There's an "object agnostic" grasping algorithm and a new image matching algorithm. Ivy Leaguer Here's how it works.  The robot looks into a cluttered bin, selects an object, determines how to grasp it and pulls it out.  Cameras take pictures of the object.  And with the help of the image matching algorithm the robot can compare the object against a library

Autonomous in the Driver's Seat Waymo is the Google self-driving car project that's now a division of Google's parent Alphabet. It's seems to be leaving other autonomous car makers far behind.  You might say, it's in the driver's seat - along with its combo of laser-radars, sensors and software. A ride-hailing program is expected to be launched later this year. Road Warrior The Waymo vehicles have done 8 million miles in autonomous driving, including 25,000 miles a day on city streets.  The vehicles have 360 degree sensors, radar and software that's designed to detect people, cyclists, vehicles, road work and obstructions up to 3 football fields away.  The cars are taught on 8 million miles of real-world traffic and they're about to be commercialized. Waymo Updates Waymo just cut a pilot project with Walmart.  In the Phoenix area, you can place a Walmart order at a discount and pick it up and take it home in your Waymo driverless car.  They hav

Size of a Band-aid, Made from Paper New Sensors University of Washington researchers use paper to create band-aid sized sensors. The sensor, placed on a pair of glasses, can detect eye movement.  It's wearable and can also detect a heartbeat, pulse, the blink of an eye, finger movement and more. Many Applications - All from Tissue Paper The researchers tear the paper which is loaded with nanoparticles from carbon nanotube laced water. The carbon nanotubes create electrical conductivity.  The fibers of the tissue are broken.  It then becomes a sensor.  The scientists say it has wide applications in health care, entertainment and robotics.  For instance, it could be used to monitor a person's gait or eye movements to determine brain function. Major Innovation The sensor is light, flexible and inexpensive.  The major innovation is that it's a disposable, wearable sensor made from cheap paper.  The University of Washington researchers are looking to commercialize it.

New Alloy Enables Wearable Computing and Soft Robots Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a unique alloy that can be used for 3D printing of soft robots, stretchable electronics and wearable computing.  It also paves the way for 3D printing of tall, complicated structures. New, 3D Printable Material that's Self-Healing They put nickel nanoparticles into the liquid metal Galinstan which gave it a consistency perfect for 3D printing.  The new material has awesome properties:  good conductivity, low toxicity, inexpensive and self-healing.  It can attach back together at break points. Vision of Soft Robots Walking Out of Printers Liquid metal printing is integral to the flexible electronics field.  The properties contained in this new material enable the creation of a range of emerging technologies such as wearable sensor suits, electrically conductive textiles, wearable computers and soft robots.  In fact, the researchers say they're motivated by the vis

AI System Designs New Drug Medications from Scratch Accelerates Drug Development Process A new artificial intelligence system called ReLeASE has been developed by scientists at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.  It greatly lessens the time to design new drug molecules from scratch.  It could potentially release the floodgates for the development of new medicines.  A blockbuster drug typically takes $3 billion and 10 years to create. Big Breakthrough What's different about ReLeASE, according to the scientists, is its unique ability to create new molecules.  The algorithm can design new, "immediately patentable" medicine with optimal safety profiles and specific biological activity.  This should significantly shorten the time to bring new drug candidates into clinical trials. Two Neural Networks Working Together ReLeASE stands for Reinforcement Learning for Structural Evolution.  It's comprised of two neural networks.  The researchers think of

New AI Tech Spots Pneumonia and Eye Disease AI Speeding Treatment Scientists at the University of California San Diego have developed an artificial intelligence system that accelerates treatment of pneumonia and retinal disease.  The diagnoses take 30 seconds and the accuracy is close to 100%. Transfer Learning on 200,000 Patient Scans It's a computational tool using AI and machine learning techniques.  The technique is called transfer learning in which knowledge gained in solving one problem is stored in the computer and applied to a different but similar problem.  The AI system reviewed 200,000 patient scans. Highly Accurate Results This new AI system, first reported in the journal Cell, has spot-on accuracy.  The accuracy rate for eye disease is 95% and for pneumonia, differentiating between viral and bacterial pneumonia, is 90%.  The turnaround time is 30 seconds. Future of AI in Medicine The UC San Diego researchers say the future of better, cost effective patient

Researchers in India May Have Developed Medicine to Kill Malaria Hope for a Cure It's one of the worst and deadliest scourges impacting mankind.  Malaria afflicts 212 million people globally every year and causes 4.29 million deaths.  Until now it has been an intractable human disease.  But now there is hope. University of Hyderabad Scientists' New Medicine A group of scientists at the University of Hyderabad in India have developed a medicine that effectively kills the parasite infection in red blood cells that's triggered by malaria.  It's a polymer based nanomedicine developed by a research group led by Dr. Pradip Paik, Associate Professor of the School of Engineering and Technology at the University of Hyderabad in Telangana, India. Breakthrough Medicine Now Going into Animal Trials The medicine is very effective in killing the deadly malaria parasite, which triggers plasmodium falciparum infections in the body's red blood cells.  It's now going in

 Nuclear Fusion Source:  Tokamak Energy - Nuclear Fusion Reactor Global Nuclear Fusion Projects with Promise It's hotter than the sun.  UK based Tokamak Energy wants to be the first in the world to produce commercial electricity from fusion power by 2030.  The company has heated a plasma of hydrogen to 27 million degrees in its new experimental reactor.  That temperature is hotter than the core of the sun.  In 2019, it's going to test the system at 180 million degrees. Why Nuclear Fusion May Be the Right Fit for Global Energy Needs Proponents say nuclear fusion could make other types of electricity generation obsolete.  The reason is it can produce large amounts of electricity from very small amounts of hydrogen.  A plant the size of the UK's Tokamak would produce 1 gigawatt of electricity a year.  That's enough to power 700,000 US homes. Renewable and Green Nuclear fusion has very little fuel needs.  Greenhouse emissions are very low. And there's very