Futurity.org » Georgia Institute of Technology

Fire ants could teach tunneling robots a few tricks

John Toon-Georgia Tech — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:09:42 +0000

GEORGIA TECH (US) — Researchers find fire ants tightly regulate the diameter of their tunnels to insure ideal mobility and traction—but when they slip, antennae take grip.

Future teams of subterranean search and rescue robots may owe their success to the lowly fire ant, a much despised insect whose painful bites and extensive networks of underground tunnels are all-too-familiar to people living in the southern United States.

Cells in hydrogel reverse diabetes in mice

Liz Klipp-Georgia Tech — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:54:46 +0000

GEORGIA TECH / EMORY (US) — Scientists reversed Type 1 diabetes in mice in as little as 10 days using a new technique to transplant cells.

The research team engineered a biomaterial to protect the cluster of insulin-producing cells—donor pancreatic islets—during injection. The material also contains proteins to foster blood vessel formation that allow the cells to successfully graft, survive and function within the body.

Teens breathe easier with texts about asthma

Liz Klipp-Georgia Tech — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:31:40 +0000

GEORGIA TECH (US) — Sending children with asthma a daily text message asking about their symptoms and offering information about their condition can lead to improved health and fewer doctor visits.

Pediatric patients who were asked questions about their symptoms and provided information about asthma via SMS text messages showed improved pulmonary function and a better understanding of their condition within four months, compared to other groups.

‘Touchy’ robot arm reaches past clutter

Liz Klipp-Georgia Tech — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:10:09 +0000

GEORGIA TECH (US) — Thanks to a robot with a flexible arm covered with tactile sensors, a man with quadriplegia was able to pull a blanket over himself and grab a cloth to wipe his face.

Whether reaching for a book out of a cluttered cabinet or pruning a bush in the backyard, people’s arms frequently makes contact with objects during everyday tasks. Animals do it too, when foraging for food, for example.

Like baby turtles, ‘FlipperBot’ has bendy wrists

John Toon-Georgia Tech — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:23:18 +0000

GEORGIA TECH (US) — To move over surfaces like sand, a robot called “FlipperBot” uses flexible wrists inspired by how hatchling sea turtles get to the ocean.

Both the baby turtles and FlipperBot run into trouble under the same conditions: traversing granular media disturbed by previous steps.

New sensors for military capture blast data

Josh Toon-Georgia Tech — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:18:46 +0000

GEORGIA TECH (US) — A new wearable system measures the physical environment of an explosion and collects information that could match a soldier’s experience to his or her long-term medical outcome.

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are becoming a global problem for the US armed forces. To prevent injuries to soldiers and provide better care to those who are injured, the US military is striving to better understand how blasts impact the human body.

‘Smart skin’ can sense cracks in bridges

John Toon-Georgia Tech — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:06:29 +0000

GEORGIA TECH (US) — New technology using low-cost wireless sensors could make it easier to monitor highway bridges and other structures for strain, stress, and early formation of cracks.

The sensors require no power and can be implemented on tough yet flexible polymer substrates to identify structural problems at a very early stage. The only electronic component is an inexpensive radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip.

Sunlight on snow reacts to clean Arctic air

Elizabeth Gardner-Purdue — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:34:00 +0000

PURDUE (US) — Rising surface temperatures in the Arctic could affect a unique chemical reaction that helps rid the air of pollutants, experts report.

“We are racing to understand exactly what happens in the Arctic and how it affects the planet because it is a delicate balance when it comes to an atmosphere that is hospitable to human life,” says team leader Paul Shepson, a professor of chemistry at Purdue University.

Quantum computing: Speed tested in cloud of cold atoms

Futurity-Jenny Leonard — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:51:52 +0000

GEORGIA TECH (US) — Physicists are using clouds of ultra-cold atoms to establish the top speed at which a network of quantum computers could communicate.

The system includes multiple small quantum computers that would work together much as today’s multi-core supercomputers team up to tackle big digital operations. The individual computers in such a system could communicate information using the clouds, known as Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), where the cold atoms all exist in exactly the same quantum state.

Recyclable solar cells made from trees

Jason Maderer-Georgia Tech — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:47:18 +0000

GEORGIA TECH / PURDUE (US) — Fabricating new plant-based solar cells on cellulose nanocrystal substrates means that they’re recyclable in water.

The researchers report that the organic solar cells reach a power conversion efficiency of 2.7 percent, an unprecedented figure for cells on substrates derived from renewable raw materials.

The cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) substrates on which the solar cells are fabricated are optically transparent, which lets light pass through them before being absorbed by a very thin layer of an organic semiconductor.