Many robots track objects by “sight” as they work with them, but optical (视觉的) sensors can’t take in an item’s entire shape when it’s in the dark or partially blocked from view. Now a new low-cost technique lets a robotic hand “feel” an unfamiliar object’s form — and skillfully handle it based on this information alone.

Roboticist, Xiaolong Wang in University of California, San Diego and his team wanted to find out if complex coordination (协调) could be achieved in robotics using only simple touch data. The researcher attached 16 contact sensors, each costing about $12, to the palm and fingers of a four -fingered robot hand. These sensors simply indicate if an object is touching the hand or not. “While one sensor doesn’t catch much, a lot of them can help you capture different aspects of the object,” Wang says. In this case, the robot’s task was to rotate (旋转) items placed in its palm.

The researchers first connected a large volume of touch data as a virtual robot hand practiced rotating objects, including ball. Using binary contact information (“touch” or “no touch”) from each sensor, the team built a computer model that determines an object’s position at every step of the handling process and moves the fingers to rotate it smoothly and stably.

Next they transferred this capability to operate a real robot hand, which successfully manipulated (操纵) previously unencountered objects such as apples, tomatoes, soup cans and rubber ducks. Transferring the computer model to the real world was relatively easy because the binary sensor data were so simple; the model didn’t rely on accurate measurements.

Digging into what the robot hand perceives, Wang and his colleagues found that it can re-create the entire object’s form from touch data, informing its actions. He and his team are set to present thier handiwork at an international conference called Robotics: Science and Systems.

New York University’s Lerrel Pinto, who studies robots’ interactions with the real world, wonders whether the system would become less effective at more complicated tasks including opening a bottle cap. Wang’s group aims to tackle more complex movements in future work as well as to add sensors in places such as the sides of the fingers. The researchers will also try adding vision to improve touch data for handling complicated shapes.

Scientists have found that floating solar panels (太阳能板) could provide a huge amount of electricity if they were placed on lakes and other bodies of water around the world. Floating solar panels could also help save water and protect land.

Solar panels—also known as “photovoltaic” panels—are used to turn sunlight into electricity. Most solar panels are placed on land in large collections called solar farms. But recently people have begun to explore putting floating solar panels on water. Because these panels float, some people call them “floatovoltaics”.

The researchers behind the new study looked at 114,555 reservoirs (水库) worldwide. They used computer programs to figure out how much electricity could be produced yearly by covering 30% of these reservoirs with floating solar panels. The answer was surprisingly large - more than twice the amount of energy the United States generates in a year. And 10 times as much energy as all the solar power currently being generated in the world. The researchers described the results as “remarkable”.

The scientists found that floatovoltaics would be especially conducive when reservoirs were near smaller cities(50,000 people or less). The researchers say there are about 6,256 small cities around the world where floating solar panels could provide all the electricity the cities need.

Floatovoltaics can also help save water by limiting evaporation (蒸发) from reservoirs. The scientists say that solar panels covering just 30% of the reservoirs’ surfaces could save as much water as 300 million people would use in a year. There are several other reasons that make floatovoltaics a good idea. Photovoltaic panels work better when they’re not extremely hot. The water helps cool the panels so that they create more energy. Putting solar panels on water also means that there’s no need to clear land for a solar farm. That’s more and more important as countries work to fight climate change and protect natural spaces for wild animals.

Time, wars and natural disasters have a bad effect on the artistic and cultural objects in the world. More than 1,000 years ago, a fire destroyed the Library of Alexandria in Egypt. In 1755, an earthquake destroyed Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal, along with artworks inside. In modern times, the Taliban destroyed the huge Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan.

As we all know, museums play an important part in our daily lives. They keep evidence of culture and history and exhibit great works. A major goal of most museums in the world is to make sure that important historical objects do not disappear forever. The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, holds 1,250 pieces of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. These objects have inspired artists and historians for many years. So the museum is working to make a complete and permanent record of the artworks so that the generations in the future will enjoy them as well.

The project is an effort of both the museum and the scientists from Indiana University in the United States. The team is using technology to create digital copies of the Uffizi’s ancient sculptures (雕像).

The process is called photogrammetry. At one time, this process was slow and expensive. But not anymore, said Professor Robert Frischer. He said photogrammetry is now much faster and cheaper. Now they can gather 3D data on a life-size sculpture in half an hour and they can process the data just in a couple of hours.

The images allow the viewer to examine the sculpture from all sides. And when the viewer zooms in (放大), the image becomes clearer. The Uffizi hopes to have the collection completed and available on the Internet by 2022.