ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Human robot getting closer: iCub robot must learn from its experiences
• Superfast switching of quantum light sources
• Professor develops 'brain' for robots
• Facebook data used to predict users' age, gender and personality traits
• Beautiful brushstrokes drawn from data
• Space-based laser system as a cost-effective way to nudge small asteroids away from collision course with Earth
• Diesel or electric? Study offers advice for owners of urban delivery truck fleets

Human robot getting closer: iCub robot must learn from its experiences Posted: 27 Sep 2013 06:45 AM PDT A robot that feels, sees and, in particular, thinks and learns like us. It still seems like science fiction, but new research hints that it could happen. Scientists are working to implement the cognitive process of the human brain in robots. A new humanoid will blur the boundaries between robot and human.

Superfast switching of quantum light sources Posted: 27 Sep 2013 06:23 AM PDT Usually, an elementary light source – such as an excited atom or molecule – emits light of a particular color at an unpredictable instance in time. Recently, however, scientists have shown that a light source can be coaxed to emit light at a desired moment in time, within an ultrashort burst. The superfast switching of a light source has applications in fast stroboscopes without laser speckle, in the precise control of quantum systems and for ultrasecure communication using quantum cryptography.

Professor develops 'brain' for robots Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:11 PM PDT Scientists have developed a new feedback system to remotely control mobile robots. This research will allow robots to operate with minimal supervision and could eventually lead to a robot that can learn or even become autonomous.

Facebook data used to predict users' age, gender and personality traits Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT In the age of social media, people's inner lives are increasingly recorded through the language they use online. With this in mind, an interdisciplinary group of researchers is interested in whether a computational analysis of this language can provide as much, or more, insight into their personalities as traditional methods used by psychologists, such as self-reported surveys and questionnaires.

Beautiful brushstrokes drawn from data Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT A good painter uses simple strokes of a brush to bring texture, contrast and depth to a blank canvas. In comparison, computer programs can have difficulty reproducing the complex and varied forms of brushstrokes, and often require painstaking effort to mimic a brief sweep of paint. A new program creates the look and texture of actual brushstrokes.

Space-based laser system as a cost-effective way to nudge small asteroids away from collision course with Earth Posted: 26 Sep 2013 07:23 AM PDT A space-based laser system could be a cost-effective way to nudge small asteroids away from a collision course with Earth.

Diesel or electric? Study offers advice for owners of urban delivery truck fleets Posted: 25 Sep 2013 12:20 PM PDT Researchers are offering advice for owners of urban delivery truck fleets who may be considering diesel versus electric vehicles.

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