Pro

Hackernews.

The database — the first of its kind in the nation — will vastly expand public access to internal affairs records that disclose how law enforcement agencies throughout the state handle misconduct allegations as well as uses of police force that result in death or serious injury. The database, funded by the State of California, currently has records from nearly 12,000 cases, including thousands involving police shootings. Every record in the database was released by a law enforcement agency after being redacted in compliance with California’s public records laws. As a result, journalists and members of the public will now be able to search statewide for particular types of misconduct and use-of-force. Police chiefs will be able to use the data to aid in hiring decisions. Researchers will be able to identify trends and patterns.

Hackernews.

Hackernews.

Actuators are an essential part of a robot, creating movement between the robot and its environment. Actuators with thin and flexible shapes can operate in a wider variety of environments, and actuators with multiple degrees of freedom can generate more complex movements. Here, we propose a soft pneumatic actuator in the form of a thin, flexible sheet that can generate different motion vector fields on its surface. The actuator contains dozens of thin pneumatic chambers and multi-channel pneumatic circuits connecting them in its thin body, converting input pressure into complex surface movements. Depending on the pressure sequence, it can produce surface movements in six different directions, at different speeds, and over different distances. The versatility of the proposed actuator is demonstrated through tasks such as obstacle removal in narrow pipes, in-hand manipulation, and underwater object transport.