Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers develop a novel edge-highlighting visualization technique for more comprehensible 3D-scanned objects. Improvements in three-dimensional (3D) scanning have enabled quick and accurate scanning of 3D objects, including cultural heritage objects, as 3D point cloud data. However, conventional edge-highlighting visualization techniques, used for understanding complex 3D structures, result in excessive line clutter, reducing clarity. Addressing these issues, a multinational team of researchers have developed a novel technique, involving independent rendering of soft and sharp edges in 3D structures, resulting in improved clarity and depth perception.

Recent advances in three-dimensional (3D) scanning, particularly in photogrammetry and laser scanning, have made it possible to quickly and accurately scan complex 3D objects in the real world. These techniques generate detailed models by collecting large-scale point cloud data, representing the object’s surface geometry through millions of individual points. This technology has applications in different fields, such as the 3D scanning of cultural heritage objects. By preserving these objects in digital formats, researchers can analyze their structures in greater depth. However, the complexity of data is often significant, especially when the scanned object has internal 3D structures, like rough edges.

Edge-highlighting visualization is a technique used to improve the clarity of complex 3D structures by emphasizing the object’s edges, making its shape and structure more distinguishable. However, existing methods struggle when applied to highly complex objects. These methods draw too many lines, which decreases clarity by impairing resolution and depth perception.

In the early days of Silicon Valley’s 3D graphics boom, Nvidia stood out as the only company to survive out of about 200 competitors.

The key to its success was a relentless focus on semiconductor technology and a commitment to improving processors every year, even when customers didn’t ask for it.

The company believed that true innovation meant anticipating future needs, not just responding to what people wanted at the time. This vision ultimately helped Nvidia become a leader in the industry.

Google is committing $20 million in cash and $2 million in cloud credits to a new funding initiative designed to help scientists and researchers unearth the next great scientific breakthroughs using artificial intelligence (AI).

The announcement, made by Google DeepMind co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis during a fireside chat at the closed-door AI for Science Forum in London today, feeds into a broader push by Big Tech to curry favor with young innovators and startups, a strategy that has included acqui-hires, equity investments, and cloud partnerships — some of which has attracted the attentions of regulators.

This latest announcement, via Google’s 19-year-old philanthropic arm Google.org, is different in that it centers on non-equity funding for academic and non-for-profit institutions globally. But similar to other Big Tech funding and partnership initiatives, this will go some way toward helping Google ingratiate itself with some of the leading scientific minds, through direct cash injections and by providing infrastructure to power their projects. In turn, this positions Google well to acquire future customers — particularly those currently on the cusp of doing great things, working on projects that require significant AI tooling and compute, which Google can provide.

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich have developed the first-ever fully functional mechanical qubit. This incredible quantum innovation is a two-in-one system combining the abilities of a mechanical oscillator and a superconducting qubit.

Compared to the traditional virtual qubits that are created using multiple physical qubits and error-correcting codes to protect quantum information, mechanical qubits are real, physical systems that don’t need this extra layer of protection.

In a new study, researchers at Osaka University have created the world’s first compact, tunable-wavelength blue semiconductor laser, a significant advancement for far-ultraviolet light technology with promising applications in sterilization and disinfection.

This innovative laser employs a specially-designed periodically slotted structure in nitride semiconductors, making possible a blue wavelength laser that is both practical and adaptable for various disinfection technologies. The work is published in the journal Applied Physics Express.

The research team had previously demonstrated second-harmonic generation at wavelengths below 230 nm by using transverse quasi-phase-matching devices crafted from aluminum nitride and vertical microcavity wavelength conversion devices incorporating SrB₄O₇ nonlinear optical crystals.

People with a phobia of needles may soon experience relief with an innovative blood sampling method inspired by leeches.

The Semperis Hybrid Identity Protection conference kicked off today in New Orleans, gathering identity security experts, practitioners, and thought leaders to explore the evolving world of hybrid identity. This year’s conference, more relevant than ever, highlights a fundamental shift in how organizations approach identity—not just as a tool for managing user access but as a critical layer of cybersecurity that shapes an organization’s defensive posture. In an era of remote work, cloud adoption, and advanced cyber threats, identity has become the new perimeter, making events like HIP essential for fostering innovation, resilience, and collective knowledge in the industry.

Historically, identity management was an IT utility—a straightforward way to grant employees access to necessary resources. However, as digital transformations swept through organizations, the role of identity shifted dramatically. Identity is now central to security strategies, especially with the explosion of SaaS applications, remote access, and mobile workforces. For many organizations, identity is not just about provisioning accounts; it’s the first and last line of defense against unauthorized access and data breaches.

This transition has led to a realignment within organizations, where identity management is increasingly overseen by CISOs rather than traditional IT teams. CISOs recognize that identity management is a security function with direct implications on risk mitigation, compliance, and resilience.

Unveiling faster and smarter reasoning in AI:*

https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.

Researchers have introduced a breakthrough in AI reasoning, specifically for Large Language Models (LLMs), with a method called*.

Continue reading “Interpretable Contrastive Monte Carlo Tree Search Reasoning” »

Addressing the challenge of controlling electronic states in materials, the scientific community has been exploring innovative methods. Recently, researchers from Peking University, led by Professor Nanlin Wang, in collaboration with Professor Qiaomei Liu and Associate Research Scientist Dong Wu, uncovered how ultrafast lasers can manipulate non-volatile, reversible control over the electronic polar states in the charge-density-wave material EuTe4 at room temperature.