A new study finds a visit from human-controlled robot encourages a positive outlook and improves medical interactions for hospitalized children. Robin is a social companion robot that stands at about 4 feet tall and has the capabilities to move, talk and play with others while being remotely controlled by humans. Specialists from UCLA Mattel Children’s…

How do social conventions change? Robotic engineers and marketing scientists joined forces to study this phenomenon, combining online experiments and statistical analysis into a mathematical model that shows how a committed minority can influence the majority to overturn long-standing practices. How does complex human behaviour take shape? This is studied in many ways, mostly relying…

Researchers have found that the physical texture of robots influenced perceptions of robot personality. Furthermore, first impressions of robots, based on physical appearance alone, could influence the relationship between physical texture and robot personality formation. This work could facilitate the development of robots with perceived personalities that match user expectations. Impressions of a robot’s personality…

Why do teapots always drip? This phenomenon has been studied scientifically for decades — now a research team has succeeded in describing the ‘teapot effect’ completely and in detail with an elaborate theoretical analysis and numerous experiments. This phenomenon has been studied scientifically for decades — now a research team at TU Wien has succeeded…

Tap water produces a natural protective shield against harmful microplastics, which can help prevent household products such as plastic kettles from releasing them. The research published in the Chemical Engineering Journal reveals that tap water contains trace elements and minerals, which prevent plastics from degrading in the water and releasing microplastics. Microplastics can carry a…

Skiers, hikers, soldiers and others exposed to extreme cold temperatures can experience frostbite — a painful injury that occurs when ice crystals form in the skin. Many extremely cold areas are also remote, and delays in frostbite treatment can result in severe wounds, scarring and even limb amputation. Now, researchers have developed a cream that…

A newly developed, low-cost sensor can detect and accurately measure the amount of the widely used and controversial herbicide, glyphosate, in droplets of liquid in a laboratory test. Engineers developed the low-cost sensor, which uses nano-sized tubes, and tested it on orange juice and rice beverage samples they spiked with the herbicide for the study.…

Researchers have created insecticide-free, mosquito-resistant clothing using textile materials they confirmed to be bite-proof in experiments with live mosquitoes. Ultimately, the researchers reported in the journal Insects that they were able to prevent 100 percent of bites when a volunteer wore their clothing — a base layer undergarment and a combat shirt initially designed for…

Researchers have come up with an alternative to conventional adaptive driving beam systems: a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) optical scanner that relies on the piezoelectric effect of electrically induced mechanical vibrations. An adaptive driving beam (ADB) can help to some extent. This advanced drive-assist technology for vehicle headlights can automatically adjust the driver’s visibility based on…

A new study provides evidence that construction workers, in particular, are at high risk of inadvertently tracking a host of other toxic metals into their homes. The study identifies and measures the highest number of metals —30— in construction workers’ homes, to date. Take-home exposures — toxic contaminants that are unintentionally brought from the workplace…