Image used with permission by copyright holderWe’ve always assumed that robots derive their marching orders from us humans and our programming skills, but sometimes, we’re just unnecessary. Such is the case, at least, with the minuscule autonomous robots that are now being implemented to repair broken circuits too microscopic for the naked human eye to see. Abiding by the rules of Mother Nature, these nanobots act at the whims of their environment, and now, scientists are indirectly leveraging that obedience to our human advantage.
Built by Joseph Wang of the University of California at San Diego and Anna Balazs of the University of Pittsburgh, the two scientists looked to our own biology in order to develop these mini bots. Hoping to create machines that work much like our blood platelets (which immediately rush to the site of a cut to begin healing the wound), the team took gold and platinum Janus particles and poured them into a hydrogen peroxide solution. Once this happens, the reaction between the platinum and hydrogen peroxide causes oxygen to be released so quickly that it essentially shoots the nanobots forward with jet-like propulsion.
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This process sends the little robots into desired locations, where the gold particles are able to effectively “heal” cracks in electrical wiring.
Image used with permission by copyright holder
To test their new invention, Wang and Balazs poured the hydrogen peroxide solution (containing the mini robots) onto a broken circuit. The root of the problem was a tiny scratch less than a tenth the width of a human hair that prevented a battery from turning on an LED light. Once the nanobots were sent into battle, the scientists found that when they turned the battery on, the light was working again.
While humans didn’t directly fix the circuit in this case, Quartz notes that this was no random accident, either. Rather, “Wang and Balazs think that the scratch created differences in the surface energies that the gold-side of the nanobots could ‘sense.’ These energy differences (created by changes in the molecular forces) drove the nanobots to the broken circuit and the geometry of the gap trapped them there.”
The implications behind such a discovery are extensive, as scientists can now look for ways in which nature can power little robots, rather than relying on code to do the job. So don’t think that your only exposure to automatons will be through computer science. You could even major in chemistry and find yourself controlling some of these little guys.
Let there be no doubt: CES isn’t just alive in 2023; it’s thriving. Take one glance at the taxi gridlock outside the Las Vegas Convention Center and it’s evident that two quiet COVID years didn’t kill the world’s desire for an overcrowded in-person tech extravaganza -- they just built up a ravenous demand.
From VR to AI, eVTOLs and QD-OLED, the acronyms were flying and fresh technologies populated every corner of the show floor, and even the parking lot. So naturally, we poked, prodded, and tried on everything we could. They weren’t all revolutionary. But they didn’t have to be. We’ve watched enough waves of “game-changing” technologies that never quite arrive to know that sometimes it’s the little tweaks that really count.
CES is more than just a neon-drenched show-and-tell session for the world’s biggest tech manufacturers. More and more, it’s also a place where companies showcase innovations that could truly make the world a better place — and at CES 2023, this type of tech was on full display. We saw everything from accessibility-minded PS5 controllers to pedal-powered smart desks. But of all the amazing innovations on display this year, these three impressed us the most:
Samsung's Relumino Mode
Across the globe, roughly 300 million people suffer from moderate to severe vision loss, and generally speaking, most TVs don’t take that into account. So in an effort to make television more accessible and enjoyable for those millions of people suffering from impaired vision, Samsung is adding a new picture mode to many of its new TVs.
[CES 2023] Relumino Mode: Innovation for every need | Samsung
Relumino Mode, as it’s called, works by adding a bunch of different visual filters to the picture simultaneously. Outlines of people and objects on screen are highlighted, the contrast and brightness of the overall picture are cranked up, and extra sharpness is applied to everything. The resulting video would likely look strange to people with normal vision, but for folks with low vision, it should look clearer and closer to "normal" than it otherwise would.
Excitingly, since Relumino Mode is ultimately just a clever software trick, this technology could theoretically be pushed out via a software update and installed on millions of existing Samsung TVs -- not just new and recently purchased ones.
AI turned Breaking Bad into an anime — and it’s terrifying
These days, it seems like there's nothing AI programs can't do. Thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence, deepfakes have done digital "face-offs" with Hollywood celebrities in films and TV shows, VFX artists can de-age actors almost instantly, and ChatGPT has learned how to write big-budget screenplays in the blink of an eye. Pretty soon, AI will probably decide who wins at the Oscars.
Within the past year, AI has also been used to generate beautiful works of art in seconds, creating a viral new trend and causing a boon for fan artists everywhere. TikTok user @cyborgism recently broke the internet by posting a clip featuring many AI-generated pictures of Breaking Bad. The theme here is that the characters are depicted as anime characters straight out of the 1980s, and the result is concerning to say the least. Depending on your viewpoint, Breaking Bad AI (my unofficial name for it) shows how technology can either threaten the integrity of original works of art or nurture artistic expression.
What if AI created Breaking Bad as a 1980s anime?
Playing over Metro Boomin's rap remix of the famous "I am the one who knocks" monologue, the video features images of the cast that range from shockingly realistic to full-on exaggerated. The clip currently has over 65,000 likes on TikTok alone, and many other users have shared their thoughts on the art. One user wrote, "Regardless of the repercussions on the entertainment industry, I can't wait for AI to be advanced enough to animate the whole show like this."
