Category Physics

Shrinking AI for Personal Devices: An efficient small language model that could perform better on smartphones

An Android demo of PhoneLM capability. (Left) Chatting; (Right) Device control through intent invocation. Demo and code are available at https://github.com/UbiquitousLearning/mllm. Credit: Yi et al.

Large language models (LLMs), such as Open AI’s renowned conversational platform ChatGPT, have recently become increasingly widespread, with many internet users relying on them to find information quickly and produce texts for various purposes. Yet most of these models perform significantly better on computers, due to the high computational demands associated with their size and data processing capabilities.

To tackle this challenge, computer scientists have also been developing small language models (SLMs), which have a similar architecture but are smaller...

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Integrated Multimodal Sensing and Learning System could give Robots New Capabilities

A new multi-modal sensing and learning platform that could enhance robot manipulation
Soft robot fingers equipped with tactile sensors grasping an egg. The bottom-right images show the tactile sensing results. Credit: Binghao Huang.

To assist humans with household chores and other everyday manual tasks, robots should be able to effectively manipulate objects that vary in composition, shape and size. The manipulation skills of robots have improved significantly over the past few years, in part due to the development of increasingly sophisticated cameras and tactile sensors.

Researchers at Columbia University have developed a new system that simultaneously captures both visual and tactile information...

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Novel Physical Reservoir Computing Device Mimics Human Synaptic Behavior for Efficient Edge AI Processing by Tokyo University of Science

The future of edge AI: Dye-sensitized solar cell-based synaptic device
The novel physical reservoir computing device with controllable time constants mimics human synaptic behavior for efficient edge AI processing. The device can accurately detect human movement while consuming significantly low power. Credit: Takashi Ikuno / Tokyo University of Science, Japan

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly useful for the prediction of emergency events such as heart attacks, natural disasters, and pipeline failures. This requires state-of-the-art technologies that can rapidly process data. In this regard, reservoir computing, specially designed for time-series data processing with low power consumption, is a promising option.

It can be implemented in various frameworks, among which physical reservoir computing (PRC) is the most popular...

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Discovery of van Hove Singularities could Lead to Novel Materials with Desirable Quantum Properties

Discovery could lead to novel materials with desirable quantum properties
The electronic topology in the chiral fermion conductors RhSi and CoSi. Credit: Nature Physics (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-022-01892-6

Strong interactions between subatomic particles like electrons occur when they are at a specific energy level known as the van Hove singularity. These interactions give rise to unusual properties in quantum materials, such as superconductivity at high temperatures, potentially ushering in exciting technologies of tomorrow.

Research suggests topological materials that allow electrons to flow only on their surface to be promising quantum materials. However, the quantum properties of these materials remain relatively unexplored.

A study co-led by Nanyang Asst Prof Chang Guoqing of NTU’s School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences identified two ty...

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