System

Ordinarily, when studying the behavior of animals, scientists have to watch many hours of video footage of the creatures going about their daily lives. That may soon no longer be necessary, however, thanks to a new critter-watching computer system.Currently being developed by a team from the University of Zurich and the ETH Zurich research institute, the technology utilizes an image-analysis algorithm which makes use of computer vision and machine learning.When utilized to analyze lengthy video recordings of animals in…

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Girls and women who have been through the care system should be diverted away from custodial sentences into community alternatives wherever possible, says a new report published today. …

It's a sad fact that even though our forests are disappearing at an alarming rate, new wooden structures are typically made of all-new wood. A special computer system could help change that, by facilitating the use of wood reclaimed from existing buildings.Currently in development at the ETH Zurich research institute, the system is initially used to create an inventory of all the pieces of wood that the users were able to harvest from a building or other structure slated for demolition. That wood could also consist of…

Along with providing users with sights and sounds, some VR systems also deliver tactile sensation to the hands. A new ultrasound-based setup, however, lets users feel the virtual world on and in their mouths – without making physical contact.The inexpensive system is being developed within Carnegie Mellon University's Future Interfaces Group, by a team including PhD student Vivian Shen, post-doctoral fellow Craig Schultz and Assoc. Prof. Chris Harrison. It incorporates a phased array of 64 tiny ultrasound transducers,…

The acoustic characteristic curves of fluid saturation under different coal rank conditions. Credit: Higher Education Press Limited Company Around the beginning of the 21st century, the world economy entered a new development cycle, and the demand for oil and natural gas resources around the world has skyrocketed. In the face of this huge energy demand, people are beginning to pay more attention to unconventional oil and…

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Initial tsunami waves are typically a few centimeters high, but nonetheless cause a disturbance in the Earth's upper atmosphere by pushing up air and creating an acoustic wave that is amplified as it goes higher. …

The race for space exploration is unfolding at an unprecedented speed. Private companies have forayed into this sector with commercial ventures, and the US and China have set their eyes on landing humans on Mars by the next decade. While this ambition is laudable, it presents significant technological and logistical challenges. For instance, a mission to the Red Planet can only be launched once every 26 months, when Earth and Mars are at their closest point. Even then, it would take up to nine months to reach Mars from…

A growing number of players, including private companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX, are trying to gain access to the lucrative space sector by launching new satellites. Because of this, space is getting increasingly crowded, raising the risk of collision among satellites. To deal with this situation, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has developed a collision-warning system. It unveiled the prototype recently and hoped it will ease the burden on satellite operators considerably. The prototype…

Cheaters are common in first-person shooters like Call of Duty. That’s why developers use all sorts of anti-cheat systems to clear out the players that find ways to abuse the game and ruin the experience for everyone else. But the new anti-cheat system that Team Ricochet employed for Call of Duty might take the cake. The new system makes legit players invisible to cheaters. That way, cheaters can only battle each other. But they will be risking imminent, infuriating death at the hands of the real players who play…

SpaceX chief Elon Musk warned there was a high chance the company's Starlink satellite broadband service could be "targeted" in Ukraine, which has been hit by Russian invasion.The warning came days after an internet security researcher warned that devices used for satellite communications could become "beacons" that Russia could target for airstrikes."Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with…