Using sound vibrations and pulses of near-infrared light, a Rutgers University scientist has developed a new “virtual biopsy” device that can quickly determine a skin lesion’s depth and potential malignancy without using a scalpel. The ability to analyze a skin tumor non-invasively could make biopsies much less risky and distressing to patients, according to a…

Researchers at NVIDIA, University of Washington, Stanford University, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have recently developed a Rao-Blackwellized particle filter for 6-D pose tracking, called PoseRBPF. The approach can effectively estimate the 3-D translation of an object and its full distribution over the 3-D rotation. The paper describing this filter, pre-published on arXiv, will be…

Researchers at the Robert Bosch center for cyber physical systems in Bangalore, India, have recently proposed a simulation framework to systematically study the effects of spinal joint actuation on the locomotion performance of quadruped robots. In their study, outlined in a paper pre-published on arXiv, they used this framework to investigate the spine behaviors of a…

Swarms of small spacecraft could have a variety of interesting applications, particularly in terms of Earth observation, global positioning and communications. Compared to large spacecraft, small spacecraft provide greater apertures, allowing for better observation of both ground and space targets. Despite their remarkable advantages, effectively operating a large number of spacecraft at once has so far proved…