For firefighters, one of the scariest aspects of entering a burning building is that it can be nearly impossible to see anything due to the heavy smoke. That’s why firefighters often crawl along the ground where the smoke isn’t as thick—although this hinders the ability to put out a fire or Read More...
It’s mind-boggling that while 40 percent of the food supply in the US ends up in the bin, millions of Americans are still food insecure. One of the main reasons behind this problem — which has been exacerbated by the pandemic — is poor logistics. “We probably have two to four times as much Read More...
In the world of biology, a great problem has stumped scientists for 50 years: how do you accurately predict the shape that a protein will fold into? For scientists, this question is important because predicting the shape that a protein will fold into determines their function. In fact, nearly all Read More...
Warmer waters off the California coast are encouraging more great white sharks to visit the shores, leaving marine biologists scrambling to understand the shifting behavior and protect both sharks and beachgoers. To help solve the dilemma, Douglas J. McCauley, marine biology professor and Read More...
When blind or vision-impaired people compete in races, they usually have to be tethered to a human guide or a guide dog to help them run the course. In the near future, however, these same runners could compete independently thanks to a new artificial intelligence system from Google called Project Read More...
Cats like to meow loudly at us when they want something, but deciphering what exactly they want isn’t always an easy task. If you’re a dedicated cat owner with some extra time on your hands and space on your phone, you can download the new MeowTalk app which uses AI to determine what your cat Read More...
When it comes to conservation, tracking specific animals usually involves collars or tags, but when software developers Ed Miller and Mary Nguyen saw the fast growth of AI for human facial recognition, they thought, “why can’t this be used for conservation efforts too?” This idea, combined Read More...
While we often use GPS systems to navigate unknown areas on land, GPS is not an option for underwater vehicles such as submarines. That’s because water impedes and scatters the radio waves GPS depends on, which is why submarines rely on sonar rather than radar to probe their surroundings. Read More...
Much of our anxiety surrounding the climate crisis is driven by the feeling that we can do little to influence the rapidly changing climate. So, if you’re looking for a hands-on way to contribute to conservation, we’ve got a solution for you. And you don’t even have to leave your couch to Read More...
While artificial intelligence (AI) is nowhere near ready to tackle the complicated task of designing an actual city, it can assist city planners, especially when it comes to the quantitative aspects of urban planning. In order to improve the urban planning abilities of AI, programmers are turning Read More...