Inspired by the traditional Japanese art form of origami, researchers from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have figured out how to take flat sheets of specialized paper and plastic and make it self-fold into a complex machine that can “get-up and go”. The robot starts as a flat sheet with embedded electronics, which can then transform autonomously into a functional machine. This is done using shape-memory composites that fold themselves along embedded hinges to recreate fundamental folded patterns. The origami-inspired robot can fold itself in 4 minutes and walk away without human intervention. This demonstrates the potential for both complex self-folding machines and autonomous, self-controlled assembly. “This is a new […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF)‘s Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program has announced two Frontier-scale projects, part of a $74.5 million investment to support foundational cybersecurity research and education and address grand challenges in cybersecurity science and engineering. SaTC’s Frontier awards are part a diverse $74.5 million portfolio of more than 225 new projects in 39 states. These projects have the potential for broad economic and scientific impact. They are aimed at minimizing the misuses of cyber-technology, bolstering education and training in cybersecurity, establishing the science of security, and transitioning promising cybersecurity research into practice. The first of the Frontier awards helps establish the Center for Encrypted Functionalities (CEF). CEF’s goal is to use new […]

The University of Maryland’s Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR) has received five years of funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, to develop the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS). NDEWS system will scan social media and web platforms and collect data to identify new emerging illicit drug trends. These trends will be monitored by health experts so they can respond quickly to potential outbreaks.  From the NIH news release: “NDEWS will generate critically needed information about new drug trends in specific locations around the country so rapid, informed, and effective public health responses can be developed precisely where needed,” said NIDA […]

As the number and scale of West Coast wildfires continue to increase, threatened communities are struggling to figure out what to do. High winds can shift the direction of a fire causing emergency evacuations of communities. Until now, it has been hard to predict how fires will spread.  WIFIRE, a new cyberinfrastructure system can monitor, predict, and visualize where wildfires are headed.  Supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), WIFIRE is led jointly by the University of California (UC), San Diego, and the University of Maryland. WIFIRE merges observations with computational techniques in order to monitor environmental conditions and predict where and how fast a wildfire will spread. As WIFIRE develops it […]

The next WATCH Talk is scheduled for July 17 at noon EDT. Crispin Cowan will reflect on decades of defending imperfect software. Dr. Cowan works for Microsoft adding security to existing operating systems, including the recent Windows 8.1 release. He is especially interested in usable security and effective sandboxing.  Abstract:  “Perfect” (bug-free) software is impractically expensive and slow to produce, and so the vast bulk of consumer and enterprise software products are shipped when they are “good enough” but far from bug-free. As a consequence, there has been a constant struggle to keep attackers from exploiting these chronically inevitable bugs. Much of that attention has been on memory corruption attacks against […]

  We often hear about the dearth of women in computer science and engineering fields. Many organizations are working hard to attract and retain women in these fields. In an article titled 22 Most Powerful Women Engineers In the World, Business Insider showcases powerful women engineers.  From the article: There’s a huge push these days to encourage more girls to learn to code and to hire more women engineers once they graduate. The tech industry knows it can’t fill all the jobs it has while discouraging half the population from joining the industry. It also knows that it can’t do a good job of designing new tech products for women if women aren’t part of the […]