This week’s list of top data news highlights covers May 3, 2025 to May 9, 2025 and includes articles on streamlining construction permitting and combatting anxiety-inducing situations with VR.
Teralytic, an agricultural technology company based in Arizona, has developed a wireless soil probe that uses over 20 sensors to measure moisture, salinity, and nutrient levels. The data is transmitted via low-power, long-range radio waves to a cloud-based platform, where it’s analyzed and visualized in real time through an interactive dashboard. By automating and digitizing soil monitoring, the tool offers farmers faster, more accurate insights than traditional sampling methods.
2. Advancing Quantum Image Recognition
BlueQubit, a California-based quantum software startup, and the Honda Research Institute have developed a method for using quantum computers to classify images. They created three techniques to convert visual data into formats that quantum algorithms can process, then tested them on both classical and quantum hardware. One method enabled a quantum algorithm running on a quantum computer to classify images with about 94 percent accuracy, demonstrating early promise for quantum computing in computer vision tasks.
3. Streamlining Construction Permitting
Archistar, an Australian tech company, has created an AI-powered tool that uses machine learning and computer vision to automatically assess residential building plans for compliance with zoning and safety regulations. By interpreting local codes and evaluating project designs pre-submission, the platform helps reduce delays in the permitting process. Los Angeles County city officials are using the tool to accelerate housing approvals in wildfire-affected areas.
4. Training Robots for Extreme Conditions
IntuiCell, a Swedish AI startup, has developed Luna, a robot dog equipped with a digital nervous system that enables it to perceive, learn, and adapt to its environment. Luna uses sensor data and agentic AI models to interpret its environment and complete tasks without human control. The technology is designed for unpredictable, hard-to-reach environments such as rescue operations in volatile disaster zones or deep-sea exploration at depths inaccessible to humans.
GMV, a Spanish technology company, has developed a GPS-style navigation system for the Moon, designed to make lunar exploration as seamless as navigating streets on Earth. By leveraging signals from satellites orbiting the Moon, the system enables real-time location tracking for rovers and astronauts. This innovation helps overcome the latency and communication delays typically encountered when relying on Earth-based guidance for lunar positioning and terrain awareness.
Researchers at Ohio State University have developed a virtual reality therapy program that helps patients confront their fears in a safe, controlled setting. The system simulates anxiety-inducing scenarios—like flying or public speaking—and gradually increases in difficulty, giving users time to practice and build confidence over multiple sessions. After completing 10-15 sessions, many participants have since flown without anxiety, re-entered social situations, and restored personal relationships previously disrupted by fear.
Elmbrook Court, a care home in England, is using PainChek, a facial analysis app developed by an Australian software company, to assess pain in non-verbal patients. The app analyzes micro-expressions associated with pain and combines that with caregiver input, such as changes in behavior or activity levels, to generate a real-time pain score. This score helps guide treatment decisions and keeps caregivers and family members informed about a resident’s condition.
8. Simulating Pain in Virtual Patients
Researchers at the University of Oxford have created robotic patient simulators that mimic human pain responses based on real medical conditions. These digital twins flinch when touched on areas corresponding to injuries, allowing occupational therapy students to practice physical interactions and improve diagnostic skills without relying on live patients.
A multi-university research team from the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Nevada, and Virginia Tech has developed an AI system that classifies pollen using microscopic imagery. The team trained nine machine learning models to identify fir, spruce, and pine pollen, enabling precise tracking of allergenic species. The data supports urban planning and healthcare alerts during peak pollen seasons.
10. Monitoring Water Resources
The Haryana Water Resources Authority in India has launched the Haryana Water Resource Atlas, a geospatial platform that maps and analyzes the state’s water systems. The platform integrates real-time and long-term data on groundwater, canals, aquifers, and crop patterns into interactive layers. By identifying areas of water stress, it helps farmers and planners make more informed decisions on rainwater harvesting, crop selection, and infrastructure investments to better manage the region’s limited water resources.
