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05/19/2016 : 154749
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Minecraft and the Development of Smarter Thinking
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Posted by Okachinepa on 04/28/2025 @
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: Technische Universitat Berlin Science of Intelligence
The capacity to learn from others is an essential characteristic of humans. This type of social learning enables us to transmit knowledge through generations, facilitating our progress based on the findings of earlier individuals. It’s what enables accomplishments such as skyscrapers, space exploration, and groundbreaking medical innovations.
Nonetheless, the majority of scientific research on social learning has concentrated on basic, theoretical tasks that do not accurately represent our learning processes in intricate, real-world contexts. Consequently, we continue to understand quite a bit less about how individuals merge personal experience (asocial learning) with insights from others (social learning) in practical environments.
To investigate this, a global team of scientists from the Cluster of Excellence Science of Intelligence (SCIoI), the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, the University of Tübingen, and NYU created a virtual foraging study utilizing the video game Minecraft. Their research, released today (April 25) in Nature Communications, showed that adaptability, or the capability to fluidly alternate between social and individual learning methods, was the most significant predictor of success.
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: Technische Universitat Berlin Science of Intelligence
In the experiment, every participant manages an avatar that breaks Minecraft blocks to gather resources. Whenever a resource is found, a blue splash shows up, visible to other players, which may offer valuable social clues about where additional resources are located.
At the start of each round, the participants are notified if they will be operating individually or in a team of four individuals who can communicate with one another instantly. Furthermore, they are evaluated in two different types of settings. In “patchy” environments, resources are grouped together, allowing participants to discover multiple blocks with resources in proximity, whereas in “random” environments, resources are dispersed.
Consequently, social information is especially useful in “patchy” environments, as it can indicate the presence of other nearby rewards. Nevertheless, social information holds no value in "random" settings, as there is no discernible pattern of resource locations to learn. Every player aims to enhance their individual rewards rather than pursuing a common objective, thereby requiring them to efficiently discover rewards by balancing personal and social learning approaches.
“Utilizing a game such as Minecraft is beneficial as it replicates real-world difficulties.” “For example, because you can only view a limited section of the game world simultaneously, you have to decide whether to concentrate on exploring by yourself or observe the actions of other players to gain insights from them,” stated Ralf Kurvers, the lead author of the research.
"This implies that I am continually presented with a decision: should I trust my own intuition and explore independently, or should I use social cues (in this situation, the blue 'splashes') by trailing behind the players who have already discovered something, since they probably located a resource area?"
Utilizing a newly created computational technique to automate the transcription of visual field data, the researchers assessed which objects, events, and additional individuals were seen by each participant, captured at a frequency of 20 times per second. They developed a model that integrates where individuals gaze, how they navigate, and the decisions they make while foraging.
"In simpler terms, we can now forecast which block a participant will select next by integrating personal and social learning approaches, all within a single computational model," stated Charley Wu from the University of Tübingen. “This innovative method enables us to link the learning algorithms that drive contemporary AI with adaptable social learning mechanisms that learn from the successful actions of others.”
Overall, the research connects a lengthy gap that has existed for decades between the studies of individual and social learning. The findings indicate that humans are neither mere imitators nor rigid individual learners. Instead, they actively adjust these strategies; the adaptive processes of personal and social learning enhance each other and are propelled by a shared measure of individual success.
Moreover, the degree to which each person could modify their personal and social learning approaches was the strongest indicator of their success. This highlights that flexibility, instead of rigid tactics, is what propels human intelligence.
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In-Memory Processing with Ferroelectric RAM
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Posted by Okachinepa on 04/28/2025 @
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: Prof. Bobo Tian
In a recent study published in Nature Communications, scientists have created an in-memory ferroelectric differentiator that can execute calculations directly within the memory, eliminating the need for an additional processor.
The suggested differentiator offers energy efficiency, particularly for edge devices such as smartphones, self-driving cars, and surveillance cameras.
Conventional methods for activities such as image processing and motion detection require a series of energy-consuming steps. This starts with capturing data, which is sent to a memory unit, and then the data is sent to a microcontroller unit to carry out differential operations.
Because differential operations are crucial for various computing tasks, the researchers utilized the characteristics of ferroelectric material to develop their device.
The base of contemporary computing is rooted in the von Neumann architecture. In these systems, the processing and memory units are distinct, resulting in considerable inefficiency.
The exchange of data between memory and processing units results in latency and consumes significant energy. This phenomenon is referred to as the von Neumann bottleneck and represents one of the more urgent challenges in contemporary computing architecture.
Moreover, for specific tasks such as image and video processing, the memory needs are high since both the current and previous frames are necessary to execute operations.
The researchers tackled these concerns by utilizing the dynamic properties of ferroelectric materials.
Ferroelectric materials possess a natural polarization in the absence of an external electric field, which can be inverted when the electric field is introduced.
Because of this dynamic behavior, ferroelectric materials are capable of storing and preserving information in their polarization or alignment of dipoles. This is referred to as domain switching, where domain signifies an area of the material exhibiting a specific polarization.
"During the switching of ferroelectric domains, measurable current signals are produced, since the switching of ferroelectricity fundamentally involves a change in the polarization of the dipole, which necessarily generates electric current." "This occurrence is uncommon in other non-volatile substances, where alterations in parameters can solely be identified through a subsequent read operation," Prof. Duan elaborated.
Consequently, the researchers opted to utilize ferroelectric capacitors as their distinguishing devices. Capacitors naturally represent changes over time through their charge storage characteristics, making them well-suited for differential functions.
Additionally, the manner in which a capacitor accumulates and discharges charge resembles memory. The capacitor retains the amount of charge it has until it is discharged, which means it stores information as voltage levels across its terminals.
This gadget is referred to as ferroelectric RAM, abbreviated as FeRAM. It is non-volatile, similar to flash memory, indicating the device retains information even when powered off through polarization.
The team built a 40x40 passive crossbar grid consisting of 1,600 ferroelectric polymer capacitors. This indicates that the device lacks any additional active components such as transistors.
The capacitors can execute computations directly, acting as both RAM and CPU in one unit, removing the requirement for data transfer.
"Interestingly, the switching of domains in a ferroelectric capacitor can produce currents that are detectable on a macroscopic level in the circuit." "According to Prof. Tian, when the orientation of the ferroelectric domains is utilized to store data, the switching of these domains provides in-situ differential information."
This indicates that the researchers utilize the current as a signal, directly showing a change between consecutive inputs. In essence, the device can recognize variations among inputs without needing extra calculations while simultaneously recording new information to memory.
The researchers showcased this ability by effectively detecting motion in video processing and computing both first and second-order derivatives.
The in-memory ferroelectric differentiator showed energy efficiency, using roughly 0.24 femtojoules (fJ) for each differential computation while functioning at a frequency of 1 MHz (megahertz).
The researchers state that their device is five to six orders of magnitude more efficient than current CPUs and GPUs, especially the Intel 12900 and NVIDIA V100.
Thanks to their remarkable efficiency, these devices may be ideal for edge computing uses, including video and image processing, as well as biomedical devices for the instantaneous processing of ECG/EEG data.
The scalability of the technology seems to be encouraging as well.
Prof. Duan explained, "The lack of scaling limitations, due to silicon-compatible ferroelectric materials like hafnia-based or aluminum nitride-based ferroelectrics, enables the mass production of ferroelectric arrays (＞1Gbit) that can execute intricate differential computations."
The researchers indicated that their overarching goal is to shift from data processing to computing physical laws at the edge, utilizing ferroelectric arrays that inherently solve differential equations related to real-world phenomena.
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Solar Cells Targeting Battery Replacement in Low-Power Devices
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Posted by Okachinepa on 04/27/2025 @
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: Ambient Photonics
The fundamental technology of Ambient Photonics's solar cells is so straightforward that it is commonly put together as a high school science project. In laboratories throughout the U.S., students trap the strong pigment of blackberries between glass to produce dye-sensitized cells that can capture energy from the sun.
The process at Ambient Photonics is more technologically advanced, featuring an automated assembly line that transports window pane-sized glass sheets through a bright factory located in Scotts Valley, California. The cells it produces can capture sufficient sunlight to substitute for coins and various small batteries.
The firm is implementing the technology to energize what Chief Executive Officer Bates Marshall refers to as the "immense universe" of low-power gadgets, such as remotes, store shelf displays, sensors, and a newly released keyboard from Lenovo Group Ltd.
In a world that generated an unprecedented 62 million tons of e-waste in 2022—the most recent year with data—and with an increasingly vast range of electronic devices and sensors proliferating worldwide, the need to minimize the usage of carbon- and resource-heavy batteries has never been more crucial.
Ambient Photonics has secured financing that enabled the establishment of its initial factory in Scotts Valley, California, situated just across the mountains from Silicon Valley, in a space that previously produced components for mountain bikes and motorsports.
Currently, it produces dye-sensitized solar cells. Although they perform the same function as rooftop silicon photovoltaics—transforming photons into energy—these cells depend on an alternative process and different materials. They employ dye infused with a special blend of molecules situated between two slender glass sheets to trap the photons.
The method resembles photosynthesis, where the dye functions similarly to chlorophyll. When photons strike it, electrons are emitted and transmitted to a glass plate covered with a conductive layer. Marshall stated that those and other materials "are developed in our lab" to enhance energy-harvesting efficiency, enabling the cells to function in lower light levels than traditional outdoor panels.
In the 1980s, although small electronics such as calculators used solar cells, they were very inefficient. Ambient Photonics's iteration collects three times more energy. This enables a broader range of uses, encompassing products as large as Lenovo's keyboards. The Chinese laptop and electronics maker refused to share specific information regarding the keyboard or its association with Ambient Photonics.
Marshall stated that Ambient Photonics aims to align the cost of current battery technology. "You need to align with the economic realities," he stated, yet he chose not to elaborate further.
One aspect where the dye-sensitized cells may excel over batteries is their ecological impact. Marshall stated that the firm hired an external entity to conduct a life cycle assessment, discovering that the cells produce 90% less carbon dioxide for each unit of energy they generate when compared to batteries.
However, although dye-sensitized cells generate fewer emissions compared to batteries for every unit of power produced, they may occasionally need extra hardware as well. According to Mahmoud Wagih, a researcher in green electronics at the University of Glasgow, those additional components can produce a significant environmental impact during production, concerning carbon emissions and the usage of essential raw materials and minerals.
These cells might lower emissions through different means, like removing the necessity to swap out used batteries. Reducing that maintenance—such as shipping batteries and sending personnel for installation—would decrease the "unnoticed footprint" of devices, Wagih noted. "The real carbon impact of battery-operated devices is found in the logistics involved in replacing a battery in certain situations."
Due to its extended lifespan compared to conventional batteries, the technology might also create a novel market for sensors and devices linked to the internet, enhancing processes such as factory operations. "Particularly in commercial and industrial settings, the battery is significantly hindering market expansion due to the high costs of replacing all those batteries," Marshall stated.
For devices such as phones and laptops, the cells generate insufficient power to be considered a viable alternative to batteries. However, at the factory, Marshall unveiled prototypes of mice, remotes, and small digital displays for grocery products that he referred to as "champion archetypes," intended to ignite potential buyers' creativity regarding the applications of dye-sensitive cells.
Ambient Photonics manufactures the cells in the U.S., but often they find their way into electronic products made in Asia, especially China.
That might create an issue after a trade conflict initiated by President Donald Trump. After imposing 145% tariffs on China, the nation retaliated with 125% tariffs on U.S. products and cautioned other countries against striking agreements with the U.S.
Trump has created an exception for consumer electronics, although his administration claims it's merely a short-term measure. The clock is also running out on the 90-day extension Trump provided to other countries, such as significant electronics producers like Japan and South Korea.
"It's challenging to make plans when changes are happening so quickly," Marshall remarked. Rather than attempting to predict changes in the political climate, the company chose to establish its factory in California, allowing its engineers and specialists to enhance automation to reduce production expenses, he stated.
In addition to minimizing the chances of political instability, he noted that concentrating the entire company's efforts on its initial plant will enable it to guarantee that future facilities can be established anywhere and serve as plug-and-play. Marshall stated that Ambient Photonics aims to construct a second facility, preferably adjacent to its existing one due to the regional expertise, and it has submitted a loan request to the Department of Energy to create a "super fab," a significantly larger high-tech plant compared to its current setup.
The office responsible for issuing those loans became inactive during Trump's first term, and it is still uncertain if it will provide new loans in his second term after being quite active under former President Joe Biden.
At this time, Ambient Photonics claims it has ample room for expansion from its existing factory. It's finalizing the last automation details, and production will increase to hundreds of thousands of cells monthly this year, aiming for millions by 2026. The firm is also seeking to secure a Series B funding round.
Marshall stated that the startup has delivered its first shipment to Lenovo as part of what he referred to as "mass production-level" quantities and "to three or four other significant customers" whom he chose not to identify. "This is truly our year for stepping into the spotlight."
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By Analyzing Materials, New Spectroscopy Extends Device Life
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Posted by Okachinepa on 04/27/2025 @
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit:CHIBA University
High-resolution, full-color display devices like foldable smartphones and ultra-thin TVs depend on organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In comparison to other display technologies, OLEDs offer unique benefits such as flexibility, self-lighting capability, lightweight design, ultra-thin forms, elevated contrast ratios, and low-voltage functionality. These characteristics have made OLEDs progressively more appealing in recent times.
An OLED is made up of multiple layers of very thin organic films sandwiched between two electrodes. Every layer has a distinct function in the operation of the device. When voltage is applied, electric charges build up and light is emitted, typically at the boundaries between these organic layers. Although the multilayer design permits accurate regulation of charge buildup, charge movement, and light production, the same mechanisms that facilitate OLED operation can also lead to the deterioration of the organic layers as time progresses. This decline restricts the longevity and performance of OLED devices.
Comprehending the behavior of the electronic structure at these interfaces during operation continues to be a considerable challenge. To address this problem, Professor Takayuki Miyamae, along with Mr. Tatsuya Kaburagi and Dr. Kazunori Morimoto from Chiba University in Japan, utilized a second-order nonlinear spectroscopic technique called sum-frequency generation (SFG). This method allowed them to explore the vibrational and electronic characteristics at the interfaces of functioning OLEDs, providing fresh insights into their performance under actual conditions.
Once voltage is applied to an OLED system, light is produced through the recombination of charges at the organic interfaces. This modifies the SFG output, enabling researchers to investigate how charge builds up and the electronic structural changes that take place at interfaces under various operating conditions. This groundbreaking, nondestructive spectroscopic method for examining charge dynamics within OLEDs was made available online by the team in the esteemed Journal of Materials Chemistry C.
In this research, three distinct multilayer OLEDs featuring various types and combinations of organic layers were utilized. Electronic SFG (ESFG) spectroscopy was performed on three OLED devices to investigate spectral variations caused by charge dynamics and the electronic structure at the interfaces. "We investigated the variations in electric field strengths within the OLED devices according to the voltage dependence of the ESFG spectra." “This elucidates the impact of variations in field strength on the ease of internal charge flow and the characteristics of light emission for the first time,” states Prof. Miyamae regarding the team’s research.
ESFG spectral bands related to each organic layer were determined by analyzing the absorption spectra and layer configurations across the three OLED devices. The researchers noted variations in spectral signal intensities when voltages were applied to the OLED devices, which corresponded to alterations in the electric field and charge dynamics within the OLEDs.
When voltage was applied, the spectral signal strength rose at the absorption band of the hole transport material (which contains positive charge carriers within the OLED), while the signal strength diminished at the absorption band of the light-emitting layer. This indicates that the internal charge movement through the organic layers in the OLEDs varies, resulting in alterations in the spectra.
The group likewise used square-wave pulse voltages on these devices to examine how the electric fields generated within them changed over time. They discovered that incorporating BAlq (a substance utilized for electron transport in OLEDs) alters the location of light emission in OLEDs. This change in emission impacts both the hue and form of the emitted light, as well as the efficiency with which the device transforms electricity into light.
“According to Prof. Miyamae, the ESFG technique is a new, exceptionally efficient, nondestructive, and non-invasive spectroscopic method for analyzing the electric field produced by injected charges in solid-state thin-film devices,” regarding this groundbreaking research.
By utilizing this technique, material scientists are able to create OLEDs that offer enhanced device longevity, better energy efficiency, and lower costs, ultimately boosting the prevalence of ultrathin organic devices in our daily routines. “Additionally, this study can significantly reduce and streamline materials development research, which currently relies on trial-and-error methods and extensive degradation testing to evaluate device performance and longevity,” states Prof. Miyamae.
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From Citrus Waste to Clean Energy: Pomelo Peel Electricity Generators
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Posted by Okachinepa on 04/27/2025 @
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: University of Illinois College of Agricultural , Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Pomelo, a sizable citrus fruit commonly grown in Southeast and East Asia, features a notably thick rind that is usually thrown away, leading to considerable food waste. In a recent study, scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examined ways to utilize this pomelo peel biomass to create devices that can energize small electronic gadgets and track biomechanical movements.
The pomelo peel consists of two primary sections – a slender external layer and a dense, white internal layer. The white section is soft and has a sponge-like texture when you press on it. Certain individuals have utilized pomelo peels to extract substances for essential oils or pectin, but we aimed to leverage the natural porous and spongy texture of the peel. "By upcycling the peel into higher-value products rather than discarding it, we can decrease waste from pomelo production, consumption, and juice production while simultaneously generating more value from food and agricultural waste," stated study co-author Yi-Cheng Wang, an assistant professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition within the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.
An average pomelo has a weight range of 1 to 2 kilograms (2 to 4.5 pounds), with the peel making up 30% to 50% of the overall weight. In their research, the scientists isolated the peel from the fruit, eliminated the outermost layer, and subsequently processed the dense white inner peel. They sliced it into smaller chunks and freeze-dried it to maintain its distinctive three-dimensional porous structure. The samples were subsequently kept under different humidity levels for additional analysis.
Through the analysis of the peel's chemical makeup and mechanical traits, the research team effectively designed devices that transform mechanical energy into electrical energy. These gadgets also operated as motion sensors with self-generated power.
"These devices utilize the concept of contact electrification." It might seem complicated, but in reality, it's quite simple and we encounter it frequently. For instance, when we grasp a doorknob, particularly during winter, we occasionally experience a jolt. The core process is contact electrification, also known as triboelectrification – ‘tribo’ refers to friction. When two substances are rubbed together, static electricity may develop from the exchange of charges between them. “We aimed to investigate whether we could gather and make use of that electricity,” Wang stated.
The scientists utilized pomelo-peel biomass and a plastic (polyimide) film as two triboelectric layers that make contact under the influence of an external force. They connected a copper-foil electrode to every one of these layers and assessed the effectiveness of the resulting device in converting external mechanical energy into electrical energy.
Courtesy of SynEvol
Credit: University of Illinois College of Agricultural , Consumer and Environmental Sciences
By merely touching these triboelectric devices made from pomelo peel with a finger, they could illuminate around 20 light-emitting diodes (LEDs). They additionally showed that a calculator or sports watch can operate entirely on these mechanical forces, without relying on external electricity, when the device is combined with a power-management system featuring an energy-storage unit.
"This app holds significant potential to turn energy that would otherwise be lost into valuable electricity." We discovered that the naturally porous structure of pomelo peel enables triboelectric devices made from it to be very responsive to both force and force frequency. "This motivated us to create sensing devices that can be affixed to the human body for biomechanical tracking," Wang clarified.
When affixed to different body areas, the researchers’ proof-of-concept sensors successfully tracked biomechanical movements including joint motions and gait patterns. This occurred because the movements of various body parts can create contact electrification among the triboelectric layers, producing unique electrical signals that relate to different motions. This ability holds significant promise for offering important insights to healthcare and physical rehabilitation experts.
“This study emphasizes thrilling possibilities to convert food waste into valuable products and materials.” "By possibly substituting or enhancing non-renewable alternatives and minimizing waste, it may greatly aid in achieving long-term sustainability, and we will keep investigating further possibilities for upcycling food and farming waste,” Wang stated.
The researchers have submitted a provisional patent for their triboelectric devices made from pomelo peels.
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