Date Time
Talking Points: Role of Computer Voice in Future of Speech-Based Human-Computer Interaction
In the modern day, our interactions with voice-based devices and services continue to increase. In this light, researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology and RIKEN, Japan, have performed a meta-synthesis to understand how we perceive and interact with the voice (and the body) of various machines. Their findings have generated insights into human preferences, and can be used by engineers and designers to develop future vocal technologies.
As humans, we primarily communicate vocally and aurally. We convey not just linguistic information, but also the complexities of our emotional states and personalities. Aspects of our voice such as tone, rhythm, and pitch are vital to the way we are perceived. In other words, the way we say things matters.
Ice core data show why air pollution is dropping more slowly in US and Western Europe despite lower sulfur emissions
The air in the United States and Western Europe is much cleaner than even a decade ago. Low-sulfur gasoline standards and regulations on power plants have successfully cut sulfate concentrations in the air, reducing the fine particulate matter that harms human health and cleaning up the environmental hazard of acid rain.
Despite these successes, sulfate levels in the atmosphere have declined more slowly than sulfur dioxide emissions, especially in wintertime. This unexpected phenomenon suggests sulfur dioxide emission reductions are less efficient than expected for cutting sulfate aerosols.
Ice Core Data Shows Why Air Pollution is Reducing Slower than Sulfur Emissions Reductions
Written by AZoCleantechJun 1 2021
Ice core data obtained from Greenland indicates why air pollution has been decreasing slower compared to reductions in sulfur emissions.
The researchers in the drilling operation (left) and the drilled samples (right). Image Credit: Hokkaido University
When cloud droplets turn out to be less acidic, the chemical reaction that converts sulfur dioxide into sulfate aerosol becomes more effective. These findings can enhance the models that predict climate change and air quality.
In the United States and Western Europe, the air is much cleaner compared to how it was a decade ago. Low-sulfur gasoline standards and regulations on power plants have been successful in cutting sulfate concentrations in the air, thereby decreasing the fine particulate matter that tends to impact human health and cleaning up the environmental risk of acid rain.
In the modern day, our interactions with voice-based devices and services continue to increase. In this light, researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology and RIKEN, Japan, have performed a meta-synthesis to understand how we perceive and interact with the voice (and the body) of various machines. Their findings have generated insights into human preferences, and can be used by engineers and designers to develop future vocal technologies.
Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) created a novel type of material that combines the structural flexibility of van der Waals materials with the endless tuning possibilities of high-entropy alloys. In their paper, they explore the properties of these new materials and the many promises they hold in electronics applications.