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Learning dance moves could help humanoid robots work better with humans

University of California San Diego engineers have trained a humanoid robot to effortlessly learn and perform a variety of expressive movements. These include simple dance routines (from videos) and gestures that can range from high-fiving to hugging.

The robot movements are directed by a human operator using a game controller, which dictates speed, direction and specific motions. The team envisions a future version equipped with a camera to enable the robot to perform tasks and navigate terrains autonomously.

The team will present their work at the 2024 Robotics: Science and Systems Conference July 15 to 19 in Delft, Netherlands.

Citation: Xuxin Cheng et al. Expressive Whole-Body Control for
Humanoid Robots. UC San Diego. https://expressive-humanoid.github.io/resources/Expressive_Whole-Body_Control_for_Humanoid_Robots.pdf (open access)

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Generative AI for databases

MIT researchers have developed a new tool that makes it easier for database users to perform complicated statistical analyses of tabular data, without the need to know what’s going on behind the scenes.

GenSQL, a generative AI system for databases, could help users make predictions, detect anomalies, guess missing values, fix errors, or generate synthetic data with just a few keystrokes.

GenSQL combines a tabular dataset with a generative probabilistic AI model, which can account for uncertainty and adjust their decision-making based on new data.

GenSQL can also produce and analyze synthetic data that mimic the real data in a database—useful where sensitive data cannot be shared, such as patient health records, or when real data are sparse.

Extending SQL

This new tool is built on top of SQL, a programming language for database creation and manipulation that was introduced in the late 1970s and is used by millions of developers worldwide.

Compared to popular, AI-based approaches for data analysis, GenSQL is faster and also produces more accurate results, the researchers say. Also, the generated models are explainable, so users can read and edit them.

Next, the researchers want to apply GenSQL more broadly to conduct large-scale modeling of human populations. With GenSQL, they can generate synthetic data to draw inferences about things like health and salary while controlling what information is used in the analysis.

ChatGPT-like AI expert

In the long run, the researchers want to enable users to make natural language queries in GenSQL. Their goal: develop a ChatGPT-like AI expert one could talk to about any database, which grounds its answers using GenSQL queries.   

The research was recently presented at the ACM Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation. It is funded in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Google, and the Siegel Family Foundation.

Citation: Mathieu Huot et al., 20 June 2024, Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages, Volume 8, Issue PLDI, https://doi.org/10.1145/3656409 (open access)

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First mouse model with complete functional human immune system

Scientists have created a humanized mouse model with a human immune system, which could create antibody responses from a fully developed and functional human immune system.

The aim of the multi-year project: overcome the limitations of currently available in vivo human models by creating a humanized mouse with a human-like gut microbiome  (community of microorganisms).

The breakthrough promises new insight into immunotherapy development and disease modeling. which will appear in the August 2024 issue of Nature Immunology,

The scientists were led by Paolo Casali, MD, University of Texas Ashbel Smith Professor and Distinguished Research Professor, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine. Casali has five decades of biomedical research experience in immunology and microbiology and is a leading researcher in molecular genetics and epigenetics of the antibody response.

“Humanized” mouse model

Mice are widely used in biological and biomedical research because they are small, easy to handle, and share many immune elements and biological properties with humans. But many of the more-than 1,600 immune response mouse genes are limited.

The new humanized mice, called “TruHuX” (for truly human) or THX), possess a fully developed and fully functional human immune system, including lymph nodes, germinal centers, thymus human epithelial cells, human T and B lymphocytes, memory B lymphocytes, and plasma cells making highly specific antibody and autoantibodies identical to those of humans.

Wide range of new experiments and developments

The THX mouse discovery opens the possibilities for human in vivo experimentation, development of immunotherapeutics such as cancer checkpoint inhibitors, development of human bacterial and viral vaccines, and modeling of many human diseases. (Casali also hopes the new approach could make obsolete the use of non-human primates for immunological and microbiological biomedical research.)

The Casali lab is also investigating the in vivo human immune response to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

Citation: Chupp, D. P., Rivera, C. E., Zhou, Y., Xu, Y., Ramsey, P. S., Xu, Z., Zan, H., & Casali, P. (2024). A humanized mouse that mounts mature class-switched, hypermutated and neutralizing antibody responses. Nature Immunology, 1-18. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-024-01880-3 (open access)

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Robots learn better by also listening

For robots to move into homes, they’ll need to learn to listen, suggests MIT Technology Review.

“Researchers at the Robotics and Embodied AI Lab at Stanford University have built a system for collecting audio data, consisting of a GoPro camera and a gripper with a microphone.

“Thus far, robots have been training on videos that are muted,” says Zeyi Liu, a PhD student at Stanford and lead author of the study. “But there is so much helpful data in audio.”

The results, published in a paper on arXiv: “When using vision alone in the dice test, the robot could tell 27% of the time if there were dice in the cup, but that rose to 94% when sound was included.”

Citation: Zeyi Liu et al. ManiWAV: Learning Robot Manipulation from
In-the-Wild Audio-Visual Data. arXiv https://arxiv.org/pdf/2406.19464 (open access)

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How to drink water from the air

An innovative “Hydropanel” device that distills water directly from water vapor in the atmosphere, using only sunlight power, has been developed by Source, a Scottsdale, Arizona company.

After distillation, the water is mineralized for ideal pH and TDS (total dissolved solid contaminants), resulting in “safe, premium-quality drinking water,” the company says. The process also mineralizes the water with essential magnesium and calcium to increase body absorption and refine alkalinity and taste.

“Each Hydropanel can produce up to three liters of drinking water a day, about the average daily intake for one person,” according to Cody Friesen, an Associate Professor at the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy at Arizona State University.

Other larger solar-powered devices for producing water are also commercially available.

The company also plans to offer a can version.

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Ant selectively amputates infected limbs of wounded nestmates

Scientists have found that Florida carpenter ants selectively treat the wounded limbs of fellow nestmates by either wound cleaning or amputation to aid in recovery—based on the injury.

“When we’re talking about amputation behavior, this is literally the only case in which a sophisticated and systematic amputation of an individual by another member of its species occurs in the animal Kingdom,” says first author Erik Frank (@ETF1989), a behavioral ecologist from the University of Würzburg In a study published July 2 in the journal Current Biology.

Assessing the type of injury to choose treatment

In a paper published in 2023, it was discovered that a different group of ants, Megaponera analis, use a special gland to inoculate injuries with antimicrobial compounds meant to quell possible infections. But what makes Florida carpenter ants (Camponotus floridanus) stand out is that because they have no such gland; they appear to be using only mechanical means to treat their nestmates.

The researchers found that this mechanical care involves one of two routes: perform wound cleaning with just their mouthparts or perform a cleaning followed by the full amputation of the leg. To select which route they take, the ants appear to assess the type of injury to make informed adjustments on how best to treat.

“The fact that the ants are able to diagnose a wound, see if it’s infected or sterile, and treat it accordingly over long periods of time by other individuals—the only medical system that can rival that would be the human one,” Frank says.

So how are these ants capable of such precise care?

“When you look at the videos where you have the ant presenting the injured leg and letting the other one bite off completely voluntarily, and then present the newly made wound so another one can finish cleaning process—this level of innate cooperation to me is quite striking,”

Citation: Frank et al. July 02, 2024. Wound-dependent leg amputations to combat infections in an ant society. Current Biology. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)00805-4 (open access)

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AI model finds cancer clues at lightning speed

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have developed an AI model that’s faster and better at detecting cancer than the current semi-manual method.

Glycans (structures of sugar molecules in cells) can be measured by mass spectrometry to detect cancer. However, the data must be carefully analyzed by one of the few experts in the world—taking up to days per sample.

Detecting cancer in seconds

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have now developed an AI model named “Candycrunch” that does it in just a few seconds per test, as reported in the journal Nature Methods.

“The AI model was trained using a database of more than 500,000 examples of different fragmentations and associated structures of sugar molecules in 90 percent of cases,” said Daniel Bojar, Associate Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics at the University of Gothenburg in a statement.

Detects biomarkers missed by human analyses

That means the AI model could soon reach the same levels of accuracy as the sequencing of other biological sequences, such as DNA, RNA or proteins. In addition, the AI model is fast and accurate in its answers, so it can accelerate the discovery of glycan-based biomarkers for both diagnosis and prognosis of a cancer.

The Candycrunch model is also able to identify low concentrations of biomarkers, which are often missed by human analyses.

Citation: Urban, J., Jin, C., Thomsson, K. A., Karlsson, N. G., Ives, C. M., Fadda, E., & Bojar, D. (2024). Predicting glycan structure from tandem mass spectrometry via deep learning. Nature Methods, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-024-02314-6 (open access)

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Soft, stretchy wearable electrode simulates touch sensations for VR, other uses

A team of researchers led by the University of California San Diego has developed a soft, stretchy electronic device capable of simulating the feeling of pressure or vibration when worn on the skin, for use in virtual reality, medical prosthetics and wearable technology.

Wearable on a sticker on the fingertip or forearm

The idea is to create a wearable system that can deliver haptic (feeling) touch sensations (pressure or vibration) using electrical signals, but without causing pain for the wearer. (Existing technologies that recreate a sense of touch through electrical stimulation often induce pain due to the use of rigid metal electrodes, and do not conform well to the skin.)

This device, reported in Science Robotics, consists of a soft, stretchable electrode attached to a newly designed silicone patch (based on PEDOT:PSS and PPEGMEA) that can be worn like a sticker on the fingertip or forearm as either pressure or vibration. The electrode, in contact with the skin, is also connected to an external power source via wires.

The work was supported by the National Science Foundation Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering program.

Citation: Blau, R., et al. (2024). Conductive block copolymer elastomers and psychophysical thresholding for accurate haptic effects. Science Robotics. 10.1126/sci-robotics.adk3925

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First realistic robot faces

University of Tokyo researchers have found a way to bind engineered skin tissue to the complex forms of humanoid robots, taking inspiration from human skin ligaments.

In addition to better lifelike appearance, potential benefits to robotic platforms include increased mobility, self-healing abilities, and embedded sensing capabilities, according to Professor Shoji Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo in a statement. Their research could also be useful in the cosmetics industry and to help train plastic surgeons.

Binding skin to complex structures

Takeuchi is a pioneer in the field of biohybrid robotics, where biology and mechanical engineering meet. So far, his Biohybrid Systems Laboratory has created mini robots that walk using biological muscle tissue with 3D-printed lab-grown meat and engineered skin that can heal.

“By mimicking human skin-ligament structures and by using specially made V-shaped perforations in solid materials, we found a way to bind the skin to complex structures. The natural flexibility of the skin and the strong method of adhesion mean the skin can move with the mechanical components of the robot without tearing or peeling away,” Takeuchi said.

Any shape of the surface can have living skin applied to it—think of the possibilities

2D facial robot with living-skin smile created by activating anchors (credit ©2024 Takeuchi et al. CC-BY-ND)

Previous methods to attach skin tissue to solid surfaces involved things like mini anchors or hooks, but these limited the kinds of surfaces that could receive skin coatings and could cause damage during motion. By carefully engineering small perforations instead, essentially any surface shape can have skin applied to it.

The trick: use a special collagen gel for adhesion, which is naturally viscous so difficult to feed into the minuscule perforations. But using a common technique for plastic adhesion called plasma treatment, they managed to coax the collagen into the fine structures of the perforations while also holding the skin close to the surface in question.

Imagine super-self-healing robots with humanlike dexterity and realistic skin

“Manipulating soft, wet biological tissues during the development process is much harder than people outside the field might think, said Takeuchi. “For instance, if sterility is not maintained, bacteria can enter and the tissue will die. However, now that we can do this, living skin can bring a range of new abilities to robots.

“Self-healing is a big deal. Some chemical-based materials can be made to heal themselves, but they require triggers such as heat, pressure or other signals, and they also do not proliferate like cells. Biological skin repairs minor lacerations as ours does, and nerves and other skin organs can be added for use in sensing and so on.”

Major implications for cosmetic and surgical procedures

“A face-on-a-chip could be useful in research into skin aging, cosmetics, surgical procedures, plastic surgery and more. And if sensors can be embedded, robots may be endowed with better environmental awareness and improved interactive capabilities,” Takeuchi said.

“We believe that creating thicker and more realistic skin can be achieved by incorporating sweat glands, sebaceous glands, pores, blood vessels, fat and nerves. And creating humanlike expressions by integrating sophisticated actuators, or muscles, inside the robot.

“Creating robots that can heal themselves, sense their environment more accurately and perform tasks with humanlike dexterity is incredibly motivating.”

Citation: M. Kawai, M. Nie, H. Oda, S. Takeuchi. “PERFORATION-TYPE ANCHORS INSPIRED BY SKIN LIGAMENT FOR THE ROBOTIC FACE COVERED WITH LIVING SKIN,” Cell Reports Physical Science, https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(24)00335-7 (open access) 

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Ketamine slow-release at-home tablet reduces symptoms of severe depression

A new tablet form of ketamine has shown promise in treating severe depression, offering a take-at-home alternative to existing clinic-based treatments, which can be expensive and lacking in convenience for some patients.

Professor Paul Glue of the University of Otago and colleagues from other research institutions in Australia and New Zealand ran a randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of ketamine tablets to treat depression compared with placebo. The results were published today (June 24) in Nature Medicine.

No tripping required

Unlike injectable and nasal spray alternatives, the new slow-release tablet form can be taken safely at home without medical supervision and with negligible side effects. The researchers say the new tablet challenges beliefs about how ketamine works in helping people successfully overcome depression: the psychedelic-assisted therapy model, which says changing your brain circuit functioning in a very profound way gives you new insights that help you to break out of your way of thinking.

The new drug requires further research and is not yet approved by the FDA in the US or the TGA in Australia. (We hope our down-under readers keep us advised.)

Citation: Glue, P., Loo, C., Fam, J., Lane, H., Young, A. H., & Surman, P. (2024). Extended-release ketamine tablets for treatment-resistant depression: A randomized placebo-controlled phase 2 trial. Nature Medicine, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03063-x

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