About Us
Founded in 1944, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and advances its mission of science for the benefit of humanity.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/scientists-are-developing-robotic-rats/
Feb 11, 2008...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—February 11, 2008—A new initiative, bringing together nine research groups from seven countries, including teams of robotics and brain researchers from Europe, Israel, and the U.S., has recently been set up with the aim of imitating nature.
Based on principles of active sensing that are widely adopted in the animal kingdom, the multinational team is developing innovative touch technologies, including a "whiskered" robotic rat. The whiskered robot will be able to quickly locate, identify, and capture moving objects. "The use of touch in the design of artificial intelligence systems has been largely overlooked, until now," says Prof. Ehud Ahissar of the Weizmann Institute of Science's Neurobiology Department, whose research team is one of the groups participating in the multinational project.
Feb 17, 2016...
The ability of computers to recognise faces, text and objects has opened up a range of new technologies from smart CCTV to self-driving cars.
But the machines still have some way to go before they will be able to rival human eyes.
Researchers have shown that when it comes to spotting detail, we still have the edge that may prevent computers from taking over from us entirely.
Scientists have found that despite great leaps in artificial intelligence and learning, computer vision is still no match for human eyes when it comes to recognising objects from a tiny part of an image. The pictures above are some of the examples used in the study - are you able to identify the objects in the images above?
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/steady-metal-hands/
Jan 30, 2019...
A robotic-assisted hysterectomy performed in 2014 at miVIP Surgery Center, in Los Angeles, California.
Pharmaceutical and consumer-goods company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) sees a lot of robotic surgery in its future. “We’re taking an outlook that digital surgery will be an important dynamic for the next five, 10 and 15 years,” chairman Alex Gorsky said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Jan. 22. The same day, Bloomberg reported that J&J is looking to buy $2 billion medical robotics company Auris Health, which would add to its already-sizable robotics surgery investment; in 2015, for example, J&J partnered with Alphabet’s Verily Life Sciences to create the startup Verb Surgical, focused on robotic-assisted tools for surgeons.
Feb 25, 2019...
Machine learning is being applied to an ever-widening variety of fields, including biology and chemistry, and is becoming increasingly crucial to Israel’s high-tech success.
REHOVOT, Israel — For years, Israeli scientist Tamar Flash has been fascinated with the octopus, and the unusual way the invertebrate’s eight arms propel it effortlessly through the water.
Her interest is no mere hobby. A renowned professor who does research in artificial intelligence at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Flash is using the octopus as a model for methods of diagnosis and treatment of disorders from Parkinson’s disease to autism.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/feature-stories/20m-d-dan-and-betty-kahn-foundation-gift/
Oct 15, 2018...
Consider a future in which robots work alongside humans to search for disaster survivors and sensors monitor their response to bacterial infections in real time.
A $20 million gift from the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation of Michigan will expand collaboration among researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, the University of Michigan, and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology to help enhance quality of life through advancements in robotics and precision health.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/scientists-are-developing-robot-rats/
Feb 12, 2008...
REHOVOT, Israel, Feb. 12 (UPI)—A group of Israeli, European and U.S. robotics and brain researchers are developing robotic "rats" that can aid during rescue missions.
Based on principles of active sensing adopted widely in the animal kingdom, the multinational team is developing touch technologies, including a "whiskered" robotic rat. The whiskered robot will be able to quickly locate, identify and capture moving objects.
Apr 23, 2019...
For years, Israeli neurologist Tamar Flash has had a fascination with the octopus, and the way the invertebrate’s eight arms propel it effortlessly through the water.
She’s convinced this has major implications for diagnosing and treating Parkinson’s disease — and possible other disorders as well.
“My major interest is the brain’s representation of movement, or the principles underlying the organization, control, and perception of movement by humans,” she recently told Parkinson’s News Today. The octopus has no bones. It’s totally soft. It’s just made of muscles.”
Dec 08, 2022... Can the Collective Wisdom of Bugs Help Solve Human Problems?
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