ScienceDaily: Computers & Math News

In a new study, researchers describe a spatio-temporal model to predict trends in firearm prevalence on a state-by-state level by fusing data from two available proxies -- background checks per capita and suicides committed with a firearm in a given state. Calibrating their results with yearly survey data, they determined that the two proxies can be simultaneously considered to draw precise information regarding firearm ownership.

In a step toward robots that can learn on the fly like humans do, a new approach expands training data sets for robots that work with soft objects like ropes and fabrics, or in cluttered environments.

New research analyzes antibiotic resistance patterns, with the aim of finding trends that can help decide which treatment to apply to each type of patient and stop the spread of bacteria.

Sensing with levitated nanoparticles has so far been limited by the precision of position measurements. Now, researchers have demonstrated a new method for optical interferometry in which light scattered by a particle is reflected by a mirror. This opens up new possibilities for using levitated particles as sensors, in particular, in quantum regimes.

FuseBot is a new robotic system that fuses visual information and radio-frequency signals to efficiently find hidden items buried under a pile of objects, whether or not the targeted item has an RFID tag.