Innovative artificial muscles made from silicone and equipped with microbubbles can achieve programmable deformation in response to wireless ultrasound activation. Researchers at ETH Zurich have demonstrated an array of potential applications, from a gripper arm to stingray-inspired robots and tissue patches for use as drug delivery systems. While these uses remain limited to laboratory trials for the time being, the technology has potential uses in robotics and medicine.

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed a technology for real-time estimation of the valence state and growth rate of iron oxide thin films during their formation. This novel technology was realized by analyzing the full-wavelength data of plasma emission spectra generated during reactive sputtering using machine learning. It is expected to enable high-precision control of the film deposition process.

Researchers from SANKEN at The University of Osaka have successfully developed a groundbreaking “self-evolving” edge AI technology that enables real-time learning and forecasting capabilities directly within compact devices. This innovation, termed MicroAdapt, achieves unprecedented speed and accuracy. It processes data up to 100,000 times faster and achieves up to 60% higher accuracy compared to conventional state-of-the-art deep learning methods. This achievement represents a major advance toward next-generation real-time AI applications across manufacturing, automotive IoT, and medical wearables, addressing critical limitations of existing cloud-dependent AI.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have shown extraordinary potential in electrocatalytic reactions due to their unique structural and electronic properties. In a new review published in AI Mater., first author Chenchen Qi and colleagues from China University of Petroleum (East China), together with international collaborators, highlight how machine learning (ML) is revolutionizing the discovery, design, and performance prediction of 2D catalytic materials, providing a faster, data-driven pathway toward sustainable energy technologies.

An update in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that transcatheter arterialization of the deep veins using the LimFlow System is a reliable and long-lasting therapy helping patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia avoid amputation.