From Science Fiction to Reality: A Bionic Finger Could Replace X-rays for Medical Imaging

A team of researchers has created a bionic finger that is capable of emulating the sensory capabilities of a human finger. This innovative device can precisely map and detect any object or surface it comes into contact with, providing a remarkable level of accuracy and detail in its sensing function. For many years, medical technologies such as X-rays, MRI, and ultrasound have been the go-to methods for examining the human body. However, these methods are not without their drawbacks. X-rays, in particular, carry the risk of cancer with even a slight increase in exposure. Meanwhile, MRI can cause a range of side effects due to the use of magnetic imaging. Despite their benefits, these technologies have yet to be replaced with a safer alternative.

Imagine being able to create detailed images of the insides of human bodies and electronic devices using just the sense of touch. This possibility has now become a reality, thanks to the groundbreaking work of researchers at Wuyi University. They have developed a bionic finger that can generate 3D maps of complex objects' internal shapes and textures by touching their outer surface. The device was inspired by the incredible sensory capabilities of the human finger, which can not only detect the texture of our skin but also discern the outline of the bone beneath it.

The bionic finger utilizes a "scanning" method by moving across the object and applying pressure, much like a continuous series of pokes or prods. Each poke causes the carbon fibers within the device to compress, providing valuable information about the object's stiffness or softness. Depending on the object's material, it may also deform under pressure from the bionic finger. Rigid objects maintain their shape, while soft ones will bend or give way. This information, along with its corresponding location, is then transmitted to a personal computer where it is processed and displayed as a 3D map.

To assess its capability of mapping the internal and external characteristics of complex objects composed of multiple materials, the bionic finger underwent rigorous testing. Researchers chose to scan a small, compound object comprised of three distinct materials: a rigid internal material, a soft internal material, and a soft outer coating. The bionic finger was able to successfully differentiate between the soft outer coating and the internal hard ridges, demonstrating its ability to discriminate between different materials.

Continuing their development efforts, the researchers decided to assess the bionic finger's ability to replicate human tissue sensing. To achieve this, they created a synthetic tissue using 3D printing technology, which included a skeletal component made of three layers of hard polymer and a soft silicone "muscle" layer. The bionic finger successfully generated a 3D profile of the tissue's structure and was able to locate a simulated blood vessel beneath the muscle layer, demonstrating its impressive capacity to sense and map out internal components of the human body.

The researchers have outlined their plans to expand the bionic finger's capabilities to include omnidirectional detection. This development will pave the way for a non-optical and non-destructive method of testing both the human body and flexible electronics. With this upgrade, the bionic finger will be able to detect and map objects from all angles, thereby enabling a more comprehensive and detailed analysis of complex structures.

Reference : Jianyi Luo & colleauges, A smart bionic finger for subsurface tactile-tomography, Cell Reports Physical Science (2023).

The Future of Firefighting: Meet the Robot That Can Save Lives

Mobile robots have the potential to serve as valuable assistants to first responders in a variety of emergency situations, particularly in areas that are inaccessible or pose life-threatening risks to humans. Firefighters, who frequently face dangerous conditions and are at increased risk of injury, could greatly benefit from the support of reliable robotic assistants that could remotely monitor or intervene in emergency situations alongside them.

 A team of researchers from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid have developed an autonomous ground robot that could provide valuable assistance to firefighters responding to indoor emergencies. Their innovative system, which has been featured in the Journal of Field Robotics, enables agents to better plan their interventions by creating safe paths to affected areas and aiding in evacuations. With this technology, firefighters can navigate hazardous environments more effectively, ensuring the safety of both themselves and those they are rescuing.

"This work is part of a project called 'HelpResponder', which aims to reduce the accident rates and mission times of intervention teams," Noelia Fernández Talavera, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Tech Xplore. "This is achieved using fixed beacons, drones, and ground robots. The ground robot was developed as part of a BSc project and supports emergency teams by acquiring environmental parameters in real-time."

New research on the evolution of fires in Spain has underscored the urgent need for advanced technologies that can better support firefighters in their critical work. These studies have examined incidents in which firefighters have faced particular challenges when responding to emergencies in indoor environments, such as structural collapses or exposure to toxic gases. By collecting and analyzing data on these incidents, researchers have identified the pressing need for new tools and technologies that can enhance firefighter safety and enable more effective emergency response.

Talavera and her team have developed a highly advanced robot capable of monitoring its environment and providing valuable data to human agents. The robot is equipped with a range of sensors that enable it to measure temperature, humidity, and air quality within an indoor setting, as well as its own position and the positions of surrounding objects. The data collected by the robot is stored in a centralized database that can be accessed remotely by firefighters through a user-friendly smartphone application. By sharing real-time information with human agents, this innovative technology can help enhance situational awareness and enable more effective emergency response.

"The robot has three operational modes to tackle different scenarios," Talavera explained. "The manual mode allows an operator to remotely control it using a keyboard, joystick, or joypad to generate speed commands. The operator can also control the robot from a direct view or by a graphical user interface. In this last case, the interface must provide enough information to keep their situational awareness, such as the scene map, accurate location of the robot, images of its camera, and so forth."

In addition to its primary mode of operation, the robot also features an advanced autonomous mode that enables it to independently navigate indoor environments while avoiding obstacles. This cutting-edge functionality is made possible through the use of a sophisticated coverage path planning algorithm that leverages data collected by the robot's integrated sensors. By analyzing this data, the algorithm is able to accurately locate the robot, detect and identify obstacles in its path, and guide it through a pre-determined set of waypoints. With this autonomous mode, the robot can operate effectively in complex and rapidly changing environments, providing critical support to firefighters and other first responders.

The robot developed by the researchers has been designed with a highly modular architecture, enabling additional components (such as thermal cameras or other sensors) to be easily integrated without requiring any significant alterations to its core configuration. Built using affordable and compact components, the robot is well-suited for deployment in a wide range of environments and can effectively navigate areas that may be inaccessible to human agents. Its compact size and highly adaptable design also enable it to be deployed at scale, providing critical support to firefighters and other emergency responders when it is most needed.

Talavera and her team conducted a rigorous testing process on their robot, using a combination of simulations and real-world trials. The results of these tests were extremely encouraging, with the robot demonstrating the ability to successfully complete a variety of tasks while also autonomously avoiding obstacles and providing valuable assistance to firefighters. These findings underscore the significant potential of this innovative technology to enhance emergency response efforts and improve safety for both first responders and the public.

Through a series of comprehensive evaluations, the robot proved to be highly resilient and capable of handling multiple missions within a single day, thanks to its robust components and impressive battery autonomy. In addition to these real-world tests, the research team also created a range of simulations that can be used to help firefighters prepare for future emergency interventions in indoor settings. By leveraging the data collected by the robot, these simulations enable first responders to identify the most efficient and safe routes for reaching their destination, as well as providing an opportunity to practice using the robot in a variety of different scenarios. Overall, this innovative technology has the potential to significantly enhance the safety and efficacy of emergency response efforts in the future.

Talavera and her team's groundbreaking robot is set to be deployed and tested by other fire departments in the near future, with a view to exploring its potential for enhancing emergency response efforts more widely. Moreover, the success of this project has the potential to inspire the development of similar robotic systems that can provide critical support to a range of other first responders, including police officers and search and rescue teams. By leveraging the latest in robotics technology, these innovative solutions have the potential to significantly improve safety outcomes for both responders and those in need, representing a major step forward in the field of emergency response.

ChatGPT's Theory of Mind: How OpenAI's AI System is Moving Closer to Human-Like Intelligence

The ChatGPT AI chatbot created by Open AI has undergone multiple tests by Michal Kosinski, a computational psychologist at Stanford University, to assess its ability to pass the well-known Theory of Mind Test. In his paper published on the arXiv preprint server, Kosinski notes that the latest version of ChatGPT managed to pass the test at the same level as a typical nine-year-old child.

The capacities of AI chatbots like ChatGPT are incredibly sophisticated, including writing complete essays for secondary and higher education students. With continuous advancements in their abilities, some people have observed that communicating with certain software applications is nearly identical to engaging with an unknown human. As a result, there are questions in the psychology community about the potential consequences of such apps for both individuals and society. In this recent research, Kosinski has explored whether these chatbots are getting close to passing the Theory of Mind Test.

As the name implies, the purpose of the Theory of Mind Test is to evaluate the theory of mind, which aims to describe or comprehend the mental state of an individual. In other words, it proposes that individuals have the ability to "guess" what is happening in another person's mind based on the available information, but only to a certain degree. For instance, if someone displays a particular facial expression, many individuals can deduce that they are experiencing a specific emotion, but only those who possess certain knowledge about the circumstances that led to the facial cues will likely understand the reason for it, and as a result, be able to predict the thoughts in that person's head.

Previous investigations have indicated that these abilities arise during childhood and improve with age. As a result, the study of these theories has resulted in the development of assessments to evaluate them. For instance, one test involves providing one person with a box labeled to describe its contents, only for the person to discover upon opening it that it is something entirely different. Then, a matching box is given to another individual, while the first person is asked to forecast what is going on in the second person's mind—namely, that the second individual will assume that the box contains what is indicated on the label.

Kosinski tested an earlier version of ChatGPT that was released prior to 2022 and determined that it had no capability to pass Theory of Mind tests. Subsequently, he tried a later version that was released shortly afterward and found that it was capable of solving around 70% of the theoretical evaluations—equivalent to the capabilities of a 7-year-old child. Then, in November of the same year, he evaluated the most recent version and observed that it had the capacity to solve 93% of the tasks—roughly similar to the abilities of a 9-year-old child.

Microsoft has integrated ChatGPT functionalities into its Bing chatbot and appears to have acknowledged the findings. Bing's AI chatbot has reportedly instituted a filter on correlated inquiries—if questioned about its capacity to pass the Theory of Mind test, it responded with, "I'm regretful, but I would rather not continue with this discussion. As I'm still learning, I value your understanding and forbearance."

Unlocking the Ocean's Potential: How to Pull Carbon Dioxide Out of Seawater

Researchers from all around the globe have been working for years to find effective techniques to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it continues to accumulate in the planet's atmosphere. The ocean, on the other hand, serves as the planet's top "sink" for atmospheric carbon dioxide, absorbing between 30% and 40% of all the gas generated by human activity.

 Another interesting option for reducing CO2 emissions that might eventually result in net negative emissions is the prospect of drawing carbon dioxide straight out of ocean water. This possibility has just come to light. Although there are a few businesses trying to break into this market, the notion has not yet resulted to any broad adoption, similar to air capture systems.

MIT researchers claim to have now discovered the secret to a really effective and affordable removal process. The researchers, including MIT professors T. Alan Hatton and Kripa Varanasi, postdoctoral fellow Seoni Kim, and graduate students Michael Nitzsche, Simon Rufer, and Jack Lake, published their findings this week in the journal Energy & Environmental Science.

In order to acidify a feed stream via water splitting, the current techniques for extracting carbon dioxide from seawater use a voltage across a stack of membranes. By doing this, bicarbonates in the water are changed into CO2 molecules, which may subsequently be extracted using a vacuum. Hatton, the Ralph Landau Professor of Chemical Engineering, points out that the processes are costly and complicated since membranes are necessary to power the total electrode reactions at either end of the stack. If at all feasible, he explains, "we sought to prevent the necessity to introduce chemicals to the anode and cathode half cells and to avoid the usage of membranes."

The group developed a reversible procedure using electrochemical cells without a membrane. To drive the release of the dissolved carbon dioxide from the water, reactive electrodes are utilized to release protons into the saltwater that is supplied to the cells. The procedure is cyclical: first, the water is made acidic to dissolve the inorganic bicarbonates and turn them into molecular carbon dioxide, which is then collected as a gas under vacuum. To recover the protons and convert the acidic water back to alkaline before returning it to the sea, the water is then injected into a second set of cells with a reversed voltage. Once one set of electrodes has been depleted of protons (during acidification) and the other has been restored (during alkalization), the responsibilities of the two cells are periodically switched.

According to Varanasi, a professor of mechanical engineering, this removal of carbon dioxide and reinjection of alkaline water could gradually start to reverse, at least locally, the acidification of the oceans that has been brought on by carbon dioxide buildup and has in turn threatened coral reefs and shellfish. To prevent a local alkalinity rise that can disturb ecosystems, they suggest reinjecting alkaline water through dispersed outlets or further offshore. Varanasi asserts that "we won't be able to treat the pollutants from the entire earth." Nevertheless, the reinjection may be carried out in some instances in locations like fish farms, which have a tendency to make the water more acidic; therefore, this could be a strategy to assist mitigate that impact.

 Like with previous carbon removal procedures, once the carbon dioxide has been taken out of the water, it still has to be disposed of. For instance, it may be chemically transformed into substances like ethanol, which may be used as a transportation fuel, or into other specialized compounds, or it may be buried in deep geologic formations beneath the ocean floor. You won't be able to use all of the CO2 that has been captured as a feedstock for the manufacturing of chemicals or materials, but you may surely think about it. In order to avoid running out of markets for all the things you make, a sizable portion of the CO2 that is gathered must be buried below.

At least initially, the concept would be to integrate such systems with infrastructure that is already in place or is being developed and processes seawater, such as desalination facilities. This technique is scalable, so Varanasi claims that it might be integrated into current procedures that are currently treating ocean water or coming into touch with it. It would not be necessary to use consumables like chemical additives or membranes there, since the carbon dioxide removal could be a straightforward addition to the processes that are already used to return enormous volumes of water to the ocean.

In order to lessen the sizeable contribution of ship traffic to total emissions, the system might also be used by ships that would treat water as they sailed. International regulations to reduce shipping's emissions already exist, and Varanasi claims that "this might enable shipping corporations offset part of their pollution, and transform ships into ocean scrubbers."

The technique may potentially be used in places like aquaculture farms or offshore drilling rigs. It may eventually result in the deployment of independent carbon removal facilities all over the world.

According to Hatton, the procedure could be more effective than air-capture devices since saltwater has a carbon dioxide content that is more than 100 times higher than that of air. Prior to recovering the gas in direct air-capture systems, the gas must first be captured and concentrated. Yet, he adds, "the capture stage has already kind of been done for you since the seas are big carbon sinks." "There is simply a release step, no capture process." This implies that the amounts of material that must be handled are substantially less, possibly streamlining the entire process and lowering the demands for footprint.

The objective of ongoing research is to develop a replacement for the current procedure, which involves removing the separated carbon dioxide from the water using a vacuum. A further requirement is the identification of operational tactics to stop the precipitation of minerals that might smear the electrodes in the alkalinization cell, a fundamental problem that lowers the general effectiveness of all described methods. Hatton observes that although these concerns have made great progress, it is still too early to report on them. After around two years, the team anticipates that the system will be prepared for a real-world demonstration project.