We use robots for tasks like building cars and sorting mail, but can we use them as standup comedians（单口相声演员）in the future?One robot called RoboThespian has been trying out some jokes.

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London organized RoboThespian's performances to test whether it could be as funny as a human.

The electronic comedian went on stage for a show with British comedians Andrew O'Neill and Tiernan Douieb, performing the same jokes as Douieb but with a few changes—it is a robot after all. The robot has some advantages over human comedians, too.

"We used computer vision and audio software to notice the response of each audience member, something a human comedian cannot do, " said Kleomenis Katevas, the robot's programmer." The machine used this information to decide who to look at and which gestures to use."

The robot also has other advantages over human comedians. Impressions of other people and sounds are very popular ways for performers to get laughs, and according to New Scientist reporter Celeste Biever, the robot can perform recorded sound by simply playing it back.It can also act out programmed pieces from Shakespeare or just about anything else.

"Another of the robot's advantages is more surprising. Because I feel less empathy(同感)for RoboThespian than for the human comedians, I feel more relaxed during his performances," Biever added. And of course, RoboThespian is unlikely to feel as nervous as other comedians, or be affected too badly by an audience member shouting at it.

The Queen Mary researchers say they're most interested in how audiences can be part of live performances. So in the future, we may be watching robots performing exactly the show we want to see. Do you think it's time for the robot to write some more jokes?

Many owners of electric cars have wished for a battery pack that could power their vehicle for more than a thousand miles on a single charge. Researchers have developed a lithium-air battery that could make that dream a reality. The new battery design could also one day power airplanes and trucks. The main new component in this lithium-air battery is a solid electrolyte instead of the usual liquid variety.

Batteries with solid electrolytes are not subject to safety problems with the liquid electrolytes used in lithium-ion and other battery types, which can overheat and catch fire. More importantly, the solid electrolyte can potentially boost the energy four times, which translates into longer driving range.

For over a decade, scientists have been working overtime to develop a lithium battery that makes use of the oxygen in air. The lithium-air battery has the highest energy of any battery technology being considered for the next generation of batteries beyond lithium-ion.

The new solid electrolyte is composed of a material made from relatively inexpensive elements, compared with the past designs. Besides, the chemical reaction in lithium-ion only involves one or two electrons stored per oxygen molecule, while that for lithium-air battery involves four electrons. More electrons stored means higher energy.

The new design is the first lithium-air battery that has achieved a four-electron reaction at room temperature. It also operates with oxygen supplied by air from the surrounding environment. The capability to run with air avoids the need for oxygen tanks to operate, a problem with earlier designs. “With further development, we expect our new design for the lithium-air battery to reach a record of 1200 watt-hours per kilogram,” said Curtiss, a researcher. “That is nearly four times better than lithium-ion batteries.”

Teens are really good at ignoring（忽视）their parents’ messages, which is why Nick Herbert, a father from London, created an app called ReplyASAP.

Nick came up with the idea for ReplyASAP after realizing that simply giving his son a mobile phone didn't make getting in touch with him easier. He wasn’t answering Nick's messages as fast as Nick had expected. It was driving the father crazy, so he set out to create a messaging app that would make reaching kids easier for parents. It took eight months and a lot of money to complete the project, but Nick thinks ReplyASAP could really take off, as it is likely to give parents some peace of mind.

ReplyASAP is designed with parents in mind. It lets them know if their child has seen their message,or if their phone is turned off. However, most importantly, it makes it impossible for kids to ignore messages. When they receive a text from their parents, the app basically locks their phone, taking over the home screen and sounding an alarm until the message is answered.

It seems that ReplyASAP will become teenagers’ biggest nightmare（噩梦）, by making it impossible to ignore their parents. Nick agrees that it’s a possibility, but adds that his app shouldn't be parents' most important way of communicating with their children.

ReplyASAP is free to download(下载),but offers a series of plans, depending on how many people you are planning to get in touch with. It works only on Android now. But that's only a short-term shortcoming(缺点), as Nick wants to make ReplyASAP be found on the Apple Store as soon as possible.