This week’s list of data news highlights covers February 12, 2022 to February 18, 2022 and includes articles on using a supercomputer to advance carbon capture technology research and flipping burgers with a robotic chef.
Researchers at DeepMind, a U.K.-based AI company, and the Swiss Plasma Center, a fusion research laboratory, have created an AI system that can control nuclear fusion. Nuclear scientists use magnetic coils to manipulate hydrogen atoms and plasma into useful configurations. The team trained the system to control the plasma by simulating changes to the settings of 19 coils in the Swiss Plasma Center’s nuclear facility. Scientists can use the AI system to advance research on fusion and nuclear power.
2. Tracking California’s Water Supply
The California Department of Water Resources has announced an expansion of their water supply modeling program. The state will deploy aircraft equipped with lidar technology that can collect data on the snowpack within two inches of accuracy and launch a data dashboard to inform residents of the snowpack, precipitation, groundwater, and watershed levels.
Researchers at the University of Bath have created two AI systems that can identify and classify hip fractures in x-ray images. The team trained the systems on 3,659 x-rays of hip fractures. In testing, the systems identified and classified hip fractures 19 percent more accurately than doctors.
4. Advancing Carbon Capture Technology
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have used a supercomputer to identify which geological characteristics make rocks suitable for carbon deposits. Carbon capture technology frequently uses porous rocks to hold carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. According to the simulations, a rock’s wettability, which is a measure of how carbon dioxide molecules stick to the rock, and the rate of carbon dioxide injection are most likely to affect its suitability.
Researchers at Michigan University have created a vascular deformation mapping technique that uses AI to measure growth in the thoracic aorta. The technique uses an image analysis system that can determine changes or growth in multiple CT scans. In tests, the system measured growth with higher accuracy than current leading techniques.
White Castle, a U.S.-based fast food chain, and Miso Robotics, a U.S.-based food technology company, have partnered to install a robotic chef named Flippy 2 in 100 White Castle locations. Flippy 2 has an AI system that can recognize food items and manipulate a robotic arm into cooking the food.
Researchers at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center have created an AI system that can predict treatment responses for patients with gastric cancer. The team trained the system with genetic data from over 5,000 patients. They then identified 32 genes that can affect a patient’s response to chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Researchers at Liverpool Hope University have built a sensor that can trigger robotic movement away from heat. The sensor mimics human withdrawal reflexes by responding to temperatures greater than 50 degrees Celsius within seconds. Researchers can use the sensor to advance thermo-sensitive robotic technology.
9. Predicting Treatment Outcomes
Researchers at the University of Florida have created an AI system that can predict treatment outcomes for patients with hepatitis C more accurately than current models. The team trained the model with medical data from almost 5,000 patients on a national hepatitis C registry.
Officials in South Korea have established a trial zone for sidewalk delivery robots in Suwon, a suburb of Seoul. Residents can use the robots to order food and other items from afar.
Image credit: The People Speak!
