Active faults and their resultant earthquakes in northern Pakistan and adjacent parts of India and Afghanistan are the direct result of the convergence between the India and Eurasia plates. By Arshad H. Abbasi The October 26, 2015 M 7.5 earthquake near the …Continue reading
A Treasure Hunt Leads to a Smart Idea
OpenROV, a California startup creates an underwater robot that can explore and map the ocean depths A California startup that specializes in the design and manufacture of underwater drones has entered in its final phase to develop a robot that can work …Continue reading
Paralyzed Man’s Arm Wired to Receive Brain Signals
After doctors bridge his spinal injury with electronics, a paralyzed man can control his arm with his thoughts. Scientists at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio say they’ve used electronics to get around a paralyzed man’s spinal injury, permitting him to use …Continue reading
China Details Next-Gen Nuclear Reactor Program
A group of nuclear scientists and entrepreneurs gathered this week at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Tennessee, to observe the 50th anniversary of the molten-salt reactor experiment—a program carried out at Oak Ridge in the 1960s to build a novel nuclear reactor. …Continue reading
A Robot Finds Its Way Using Artificial “GPS” Brain Cells
The behavior and interplay of two types of neurons in the brain helps give humans and other animals an uncanny ability to navigate by building a mental map of their surroundings. Now one robot has been given a similar cluster of virtual …Continue reading
Smart-ish Glasses That Don’t Look Dumb
VSP Global—whose Marchon eyewear division makes and distributes glasses for brands such as Nike and Calvin Klein—is building glasses that it says can accurately track the wearer’s steps. And unlike Google Glass, the obtrusively in-your-face headgear that Google stopped selling to consumers …Continue reading
Tech Stars Get Applause
P@SHA showcases Pakistan’s talent. The Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA), in partnership with the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), organized its 12th annual ICT Conference and Awards Ceremony, during a grand gala event at the Pearl Continental Hotel …Continue reading
Why Robots and Humans Struggled with DARPA’s Challenge
The falls and fumbles of robots in the DARPA Challenge point to the remaining hurdles for human-robot interfaces. When some of the world’s most advanced rescue robots are foiled by nothing more complex than a doorknob, you get a good sense of …Continue reading
An Algorithm Helps Robots Fall Safely
At a major robotics competition held in June, several multi-million-dollar robots struggled to perform even simple tasks like climbing a flight of stairs; some even toppled over with what seemed like impeccable comic timing. But a few of these amusing pratfalls resulted …Continue reading
Advanced Nuclear Industry to Regulators: Give Us a Chance
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has licensed one new nuclear plant in the last 35 years. Yet there are now nearly 50 companies in the U.S. and Canada researching and developing advanced nuclear power technologies, according to Third Way, a Washington, D.C.-based …Continue reading