A team of researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder have created a revolutionary type of robotic muscles. They are strong and flexible at the same time, can feel the movements they perform and, whenever they suffer damage, they can self-heal. However, what is best about them is probably the fact that they are extremely cheap to manufacture.

The robotic muscles have been called actuators, and have drawn inspiration from real-life muscles. By creating robots equipped with this kind of actuators, researchers would allow them to perform movements just like human muscles.

To make the robotic muscles work, they filled some flexible material with electrodes(电极)and with liquid and oil. Then, they applied some electricity, and the liquid and oil started moving around the electrodes and powered them. This way, the robotic muscles started contracting and relaxing just like real muscles, but a lot quicker.

Researchers also took inspiration from the variety of human muscles, and created more types of actuators, each of them performing a different movement. They called these robotic muscles HASEL ( Hydraulically-Amplified Self-healing Electrostatic). However, they are superior to biological muscles as they are stronger, faster, and more flexible.

Even the researchers were amazed they could develop such technology. Eric Acome, the author of one of the studies, explained what is unique about the robotic muscles.

“The ability to create electrically powered soft actuators that lift a gallon of water at several times per second is something we haven't seen before.”

These muscles are special because they are also self-healing. This property is given by the liquid placed inside of them, which also gives them a lot more advantages than those mechanisms (机械)using solids. In the end, the material which keeps the liquid, the oil and the electrodes is extremely cheap. It is a type of polymer (聚合物)similar to the one used for potato chips bags, and can be manufactures for only 10 cents.

Machines equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) have performed better than human beings in a high-level test of reading comprehension. Two natural language processing tools received higher test scores than humans in recent exams.

One of the tools is a product of the American software maker Microsoft. The other was created by the Chinese online seller Alibaba Group. The company said that a deep-learning model developed by its Institute of Data Science of Technologies was the first to beat a human score in the reading comprehension test.

The test is called the Stanford Question Answering Dataset. It was developed by researchers at Stanford University in California. It has over 100,000 questions and answers. They are based on information found in over 500 stories from the Wikipedia website. The answers to all the questions come from the reading material.

The AI-powered machines were tested on whether they could provide exact answers to the questions after processing large amounts of information.

Alibaba said its deep neural (神经的) network model received an “Exact Match” score of 82.44 on the Stanford test. Microsoft reported that a team at Microsoft Research Asia had a score of 82.65. It said the human score on the same questions and answers was 82.304. Many research organizations also appeared on the list—all with scores below 82.

Alibaba said it has already used its reading comprehension model in different parts of its business. For example, the company is using machines to answer many incoming telephone calls from customers. The company says in the future, the technology could enable machines to guide visitors through museums or provide advice to medical patients.

Microsoft noted that, overall, people are still much better than machines at understanding the complexity and nuances (细微差别) of language.

The artwork — known as an NFT — is to be sold during an online auction on Tuesday. NFT is a piece of art that only exists on a computer technology known as blockchain. A blockchain is an online database containing information that can be used and shared within a large network open to the public. The technology permits blocks of information to be checked and stored safely. NFTs can exist in the form of images, video, music and text. They are usually bought with electronic money. While anyone can view NFTs, the buyer has official ownership rights over the objects.

Earlier this month, an artwork in the form of an NFT sold for nearly $ 70 million. The piece to be sold this week was a cooperative effort between a human-like robot, known as Sophia, and Italian artist Andrea Bonaceto. The company behind Sophia, Hanson Robotics, says the auction will be the first sale of a piece jointly created by a human artist, a robot and artificial intelligence(AI). In a video from the company's Hong Kong headquarters, Sophia said: “I hope that people like my work, and that humans and I can collaborate in new and exciting ways going forward.”

The artwork, called Sophia Instantiation, is a 12-second video file. It combines online and physical paintings from Sophia with elements from Bonaceto’s work. The artwork also includes influences from art history. Sophia described the process as a mix of algorithms and AI methods, and “other kinds of computational creativity.” “The result was an unusual creation that never existed in the world before,” the robot added.

The online auction is to be held by a company called Nifty Gateway. After the sale, Sophia will meet with the buyer to study his or her face, before adding a final element to the artwork. Sophia's creator, David Hanson, told Reuters news agency this part of the project will permit the new owner to have an unusual “personal connection” to the artwork.