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Study co-author Agnieszka Wykowska poses with the “self-aware” iCub robot. (Image credit: Italian Institute of Technology) (opens in a new tab) A human-like robot that has been programmed to interact socially with human companions is tricking people into thinking that mindless machines are self-aware, according to a new study. The digital cheater, which the researchers dubbed the “iCub,” is a child-sized humanoid robot created by the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa to study social interactions between humans and robots. This state-of-the-art Android, which is 3.6 feet (1.1 meters) tall, has a human-like face, camera eyes that can maintain eye contact with people, and 53 degrees of freedom that allow it to complete complex tasks and mimic human behavior. Researchers can program iCubs to act very much like humans, as demonstrated in his 2016 appearance on Italy Has Talent (opens in a new tab) when the robot performs Tai Chi moves and wows ...

MIT scientists have observed that when several starfish embryos spin to the surface, they are attracted to one another and spontaneously assemble into organized crystal-like structures. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers, colored by MIT News In the early stages, long before growing their signature appendages, starfish embryos resemble tiny beads, spinning in the water like miniature ball bearings. Now, MIT scientists have observed that when several starfish embryos spin onto the surface of the water, they are attracted to one another and spontaneously assemble into surprisingly organized crystal-like structures. Even more curiously, these collective “living crystals” can exhibit a peculiar elasticity, an exotic property in which the spinning of individual units—in this case, the embryo—creates much larger ripples throughout the structure. The researchers found this rippling crystal configuration can persist for a relatively ...