Category: AI

Could AI predict the next pandemic?

Most of the emerging infectious diseases that threaten humans – including coronaviruses – are zoonotic, meaning they originate in another animal species. And as population sizes soar and urbanisation expands, encounters with creatures harbouring potentially dangerous diseases are becoming ever more likely. Identifying these viruses early, then, is becoming vitally important. A new study out … Continue reading Could AI predict the next pandemic?

Machine learning and solar energy

As we build a clean energy future, solar cell research is booming. Right now, typical silicon solar cells can only capture about 30% of the light energy that lands on them, so current research is aiming to identify new, cheaper and more efficient materials to make these cells. Cosmos spoke to Carl Belle, a researcher … Continue reading Machine learning and solar energy

Spyware unplugged

A major investigation conducted by news organisations has found that governments around the world may have been spied on by a malicious software called Pegasus. The software was developed by an Israeli company, NSO Group, and sold to government clients, but the spyware that came with it may have targeted journalists, politicians, government officials and human rights activists. It … Continue reading Spyware unplugged

Renewables make it into the grid better with AI

In a highly competitive market, all energy generators rely on highly accurate predictions of how much electricity they’ll be able to make. Australian researchers have figured out a way to improve these predictions for wind and solar farms, using artificial intelligence. The National Energy Market – “the grid” – requires automatic forecasts every five minutes … Continue reading Renewables make it into the grid better with AI

AI can spot anaemia from photos of eyelids

A team of US researchers have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm to spot anaemia from smartphone photos of eyelids. Anaemia, or low blood haemoglobin, affects more than 25% of the global population. While it’s easy to diagnose if one is near a hospital or pathology lab, anaemia is much more common in places with poor … Continue reading AI can spot anaemia from photos of eyelids

Addressing vertigo with AI

Vertigo is a common but under-treated medical condition that affects up to 40% of people at some point in their lives. Currently, the diagnosis and treatment of vertigo-causing conditions is done primarily by specialists who represent only 1% of the doctors in Australia, but AI could change this. Dr Allison Young has recently received a … Continue reading Addressing vertigo with AI

An algorithm that labels galaxies

Classifying galaxies currently needs to be done manually, requiring a lot of time from astronomers and citizen scientists. But a team of Australian astrophysicists has now developed a machine-learning algorithm that should speed the process up considerably. “Galaxies come in different shapes and sizes,” says Mitchell Cavanagh, a PhD candidate at the  University of Western … Continue reading An algorithm that labels galaxies

An AI that can diagnose endometriosis?

University of Adelaide researchers hope to develop an artificial intelligence algorithm that can eventually diagnose endometriosis via ultrasound, without the need for invasive surgery. One in nine Australian women will be diagnosed with endometriosis by the age of 44. The painful condition currently requires keyhole surgery to diagnose accurately, which means diagnosis is frequently delayed. … Continue reading An AI that can diagnose endometriosis?

A new way of building

Imagine a construction site, shrouded by the dark. Night works are underway to create an underpass through a busy intersection, and the site is buzzing with activity. A monitor watching live feeds of the work notes a risk: if one of the excavators reverses too quickly, it could hit machinery that’s not necessarily obvious to … Continue reading A new way of building

Artificial intelligence at the edge of chaos

Australian and Japanese scientists have discovered that an artificial network of nanowires may physically function at its peak at the ‘edge of chaos’, much like the human brain. The team, led by Joel Hochstetter of the University of Sydney, ran computer simulations to test how a random nanowire network, a type of artificial intelligence, best … Continue reading Artificial intelligence at the edge of chaos

Robot can sort soft plastics for recycling

Engineers at the University of Sydney are developing a robot that can sort soft plastics out of waste, simplifying recycling processes. In Australia, 94% of soft plastics were sent to landfill in 2017-18. They can’t be recycled through kerbside bins, because recycling facilities find them too difficult to work with. “Material recovery facilities cannot take … Continue reading Robot can sort soft plastics for recycling