Fusion power — the process that keeps stars like the Sun burning — holds the promise of nearly unlimited clean power. But scientists have struggled for decades to make it a practical energy source.

Now, laser scientists say a machine learning breakthrough has smashed the standing record for a fusion power yield. It doesn’t mean fusion power is practical yet, but the prestigious journal Nature called the result “remarkable” and wrote that it has “major implications” — so, at the very least, it’s another hint that the long-deferred technology is starting to come into focus.

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Now, this is awesome. A stationary robot, two mobile robots, and a human cooperating to perform a task. The humanoid robot also interprets human gestures and obeys those commands.

More information: http://www.co4robots.eu/

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The Co4Robots MS2 scenario consists on collaborative grasping and manipulation of an object by two agents, the TIAGo mobile manipulator and a static manipulator; and a collaborating mobile platform and stationary manipulator to facilitate loading and unloading tasks onto the mobile platform.

Find out more on the Co4Robots project at: http://www.co4robots.eu

Co4Robots project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 731869.

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The rise of “self-aware” robots has come a major step closer following the invention of a machine capable of thinking for itself from scratch, scientists have said.

Engineers at Columbia University claim to have smashed one of the biggest barriers in the field of robotics after a mechanical arm, which had not been programmed with any instructions, began performing practical tasks after just a few hours.

The team said this is the first time a robot has shown the ability to “imagine itself”, thereby working out what its purpose is and how to perform it.

History Made

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In a scientific first, Columbia neuroengineers have created a system that translates thought into intelligible, recognizable speech. By monitoring someone’s brain activity, the technology can reconstruct the words a person hears with unprecedented clarity. This breakthrough, which harnesses the power of speech synthesizers and artificial intelligence, could lead to new ways for computers to communicate directly with the brain. It also lays the groundwork for helping people who cannot speak, such as those living with as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or recovering from stroke, regain their ability to communicate with the outside world.

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