We introduce a new dataset and algorithm for fast and efficient coastal distance calculations from Anywhere on Earth (AoE). Existing global coastal datasets are only available at coarse resolution (e.g. 1-4 km) which limits their utility. Publicly available satellite imagery combined with computer vision enable much higher precision. We provide a global coastline dataset at 10 meter resolution, a 100+ fold improvement in precision over existing data. To handle the computational challenge of querying at such an increased scale, we introduce a new library: Layered Iterative Geospatial Hierarchical Terrain-Oriented Unified Search Engine (Lighthouse). Lighthouse is both exceptionally fast and resource-efficient, requiring only 1 CPU and 2 GB of RAM to achieve millisecond online inference, making it well suited for real-time applications in resource-constrained environments.

Density Functional Theory (DFT) is the most widely used electronic structure method for predicting the properties of molecules and materials. Although DFT is, in principle, an exact reformulation of the Schrödinger equation, practical applications rely on approximations to the unknown exchange-correlation (XC) functional. Most existing XC functionals are constructed using a limited set of increasingly complex, hand-crafted features that improve accuracy at the expense of computational efficiency. Yet, no current approximation achieves the accuracy and generality for predictive modeling of laboratory experiments at chemical accuracy -- typically defined as errors below 1 kcal/mol. In this work, we present Skala, a modern deep learning-based XC functional that bypasses expensive hand-designed features by learning representations directly from data. Skala achieves chemical accuracy for atomization energies of small molecules while retaining the computational efficiency typical of semi-local DFT. This performance is enabled by training on an unprecedented volume of high-accuracy reference data generated using computationally intensive wavefunction-based methods. Notably, Skala systematically improves with additional training data covering diverse chemistry. By incorporating a modest amount of additional high-accuracy data tailored to chemistry beyond atomization energies, Skala achieves accuracy competitive with the best-performing hybrid functionals across general main group chemistry, at the cost of semi-local DFT. As the training dataset continues to expand, Skala is poised to further enhance the predictive power of first-principles simulations.

Inverse design of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) has traditionally relied on gradient-based optimization. However, this approach is prone to end up in local minima, which results in suboptimal design functionality. As interest in PICs increases due to their potential for addressing modern hardware demands through optical computing, more adaptive optimization algorithms are needed. We present a reinforcement learning (RL) environment as well as multi-agent RL algorithms for the design of PICs. By discretizing the design space into a grid, we formulate the design task as an optimization problem with thousands of binary variables. We consider multiple two-and three-dimensional design tasks that represent PIC components for an optical computing system. By decomposing the design space into thousands of individual agents, our algorithms are able to optimize designs with only a few thousand environment samples. They outperform previous state-of-the-art gradient-based optimization in both two-and three-dimensional design tasks. Our work may also serve as a benchmark for further exploration of sample-efficient RL for inverse design in photonics.

The reliance on distributed renewable energy has increased recently. As a result, power electronic-based distributed generators replaced synchronous generators which led to a change in the dynamic characteristics of the microgrid. Most critically, they reduced system inertia and damping. Virtual synchronous generators emulated in power electronics, which mimic the dynamic behaviour of synchronous generators, are meant to fix this problem. However, fixed virtual synchronous generator parameters cannot guarantee a frequency regulation within the acceptable tolerance range. Conversely, a dynamic adjustment of these virtual parameters promises robust solution with stable frequency. This paper proposes a method to adapt the inertia, damping, and droop parameters dynamically through a fuzzy neural network controller. This controller trains itself online to choose appropriate values for these virtual parameters. The proposed method can be applied to a typical AC microgrid by considering the penetration and impact of renewable energy sources. We study the system in a MATLAB/Simulink model and validate it experimentally in real time using hardware-in-the-loop based on an embedded ARM system (SAM3X8E, Cortex-M3). Compared to traditional and fuzzy logic controller methods, the results demonstrate that the proposed method significantly reduces the frequency deviation to less than 0.03 Hz and shortens the stabilizing/recovery time.

AI's exponential growth intensifies computational demands and energy challenges. While practitioners employ various optimization techniques, that we refer as "knobs" in this paper, to tune model efficiency, these are typically afterthoughts and reactive ad-hoc changes applied in isolation without understanding their combinatorial effects on energy efficiency. This paper emphasizes on treating energy efficiency as the first-class citizen and as a fundamental design consideration for a compute-intensive pipeline. We show that strategic selection across five AI pipeline phases (data, model, training, system, inference) creates cascading efficiency. Experimental validation shows orthogonal combinations reduce energy consumption by up to $94.6$% while preserving $95.95$% of the original F1 score of non-optimized pipelines. This curated approach provides actionable frameworks for informed sustainable AI that balance efficiency, performance, and environmental responsibility.

--Multi-robot systems are emerging as a promising solution to the growing demand for productivity, safety, and adaptability across industrial sectors. However, effectively coordinating multiple robots in dynamic and uncertain environments, such as construction sites, remains a challenge, particularly due to unpredictable factors like material delays, unexpected site conditions, and weather-induced disruptions. T o address these challenges, this study proposes an adaptive task allocation framework that strategically leverages the synergistic potential of Digital Twins, Integer Programming (IP), and Large Language Models (LLMs). The multi-robot task allocation problem is formally defined and solved using an IP model that accounts for task dependencies, robot heterogeneity, scheduling constraints, and re-planning requirements. A mechanism for narrative-driven schedule adaptation is introduced, in which unstructured natural language inputs are interpreted by an LLM, and optimization constraints are autonomously updated, enabling human-in-the-loop flexibility without manual coding. A digital twin-based system has been developed to enable real-time synchronization between physical operations and their digital representations. This closed-loop feedback framework ensures that the system remains dynamic and responsive to ongoing changes on site. A case study demonstrates both the computational efficiency of the optimization algorithm and the reasoning performance of several LLMs, with top-performing models achieving over 97% accuracy in constraint and parameter extraction. The results confirm the practicality, adaptability, and cross-domain applicability of the proposed methods. Ith rising demands for faster project delivery and improved efficiency, automation is becoming an essential solution for the construction industry [1]-[3]. Robotics, particularly the use of coordinated teams of robots, offers a promising approach that could revolutionize traditional construction practices. Robotic systems are being employed on construction sites to assist with tasks such as material delivery [4], assembly [5]-[7], and installation [8], [9], with the potential to significantly improve efficiency [10], [11] and safety [12]. Min Deng is with the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA (e-mail: mindeng@ttu.edu) Bo Fu is with Amazon Robotics, North Reading, MA 01864, USA (e-mail: bofu@amazon.com) Lingyao Li is with the School of Information, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA (e-mail: lingyaol@usf.edu) Xi Wang is with the Department of Construction Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA (e-mail: xiwang@tamu.edu)

--Multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UA Vs) play a vital role in monitoring and data collection in wide area environments with harsh conditions. In most scenarios, issues such as real-time data retrieval and real-time UA V positioning are often disregarded, essentially neglecting the communication constraints. In this paper, we comprehensively address both the coverage of the target area and the data transmission capabilities of the flying ad hoc network (F ANET). The data throughput of the network is therefore maximized by optimizing the network topology and the UA V trajectories. The resultant optimization problem is effectively solved by the proposed reinforcement learning-based trajectory planning (RL-TP) algorithm and the convex-based topology optimization (C-TOP) algorithm sequentially. The C-TOP maximizes the data throughput of the network while simultaneously constraining the neighbors and transmit powers of the UA Vs, which is shown to be a convex problem that can be efficiently solved in polynomial time. Simulations and field experimental results show that the proposed optimization strategy can effectively plan the UA V trajectories and significantly improve the data throughput of the F ANET over the adaptive local minimum spanning tree (A-LMST) and cyclic pruning-assisted power optimization (CPAPO) methods. ONITORING tasks are generally demanding in forest, desert, alpine tundra and other wide-area environments, where infrastructure and human resources are scarce. However, relying solely on manpower to complete these tasks can be challenging and time consuming. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UA Vs) are therefore introduced as a substitute for humans, and multiple UA Vs compose a flying ad hoc network (FANET) to cover a wide area. FANET has attracted significant interest and found many applications in electric power inspection, security, urban mapping, and so on.

Accurately modeling and predicting complex dynamical systems, particularly those involving force exchange and dissipation, is crucial for applications ranging from fluid dynamics to robotics, but presents significant challenges due to the intricate interplay of geometric constraints and energy transfer. This paper introduces Geometric Contact Flows (GFC), a novel framework leveraging Riemannian and Contact geometry as inductive biases to learn such systems. GCF constructs a latent contact Hamiltonian model encoding desirable properties like stability or energy conservation. An ensemble of contactomorphisms then adapts this model to the target dynamics while preserving these properties. This ensemble allows for uncertainty-aware geodesics that attract the system's behavior toward the data support, enabling robust generalization and adaptation to unseen scenarios. Experiments on learning dynamics for physical systems and for controlling robots on interaction tasks demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

Continual learning systems face the dual challenge of preventing catastrophic forgetting while maintaining energy efficiency, particularly in resource-constrained environments. This paper introduces Pathway-based Progressive Inference (PaPI), a novel theoretical framework that addresses these challenges through a mathematically rigorous approach to pathway selection and adaptation. We formulate continual learning as an energy-constrained optimization problem and provide formal convergence guarantees for our pathway routing mechanisms. Our theoretical analysis demonstrates that PaPI achieves an $\mathcal{O}(K)$ improvement in the stability-plasticity trade-off compared to monolithic architectures, where $K$ is the number of pathways. We derive tight bounds on forgetting rates using Fisher Information Matrix analysis and prove that PaPI's energy consumption scales with the number of active parameters rather than the total model size. Comparative theoretical analysis shows that PaPI provides stronger guarantees against catastrophic forgetting than Elastic Weight Consolidation (EWC) while maintaining better energy efficiency than both EWC and Gradient Episodic Memory (GEM). Our experimental validation confirms these theoretical advantages across multiple benchmarks, demonstrating PaPI's effectiveness for continual learning in energy-constrained settings. Our codes are available at https://github.com/zser092/PAPI_FILES.

High-quality training data is critical to the performance of machine learning models, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs). However, obtaining real, high-quality data can be challenging, especially for smaller organizations and early-stage startups. Synthetic data generators provide a promising solution by replicating the statistical and structural properties of real data while preserving privacy and scalability. This study evaluates the performance of six tabular synthetic data generators from two widely used open-source libraries: SDV (Gaussian Copula, CTGAN, TVAE) and Synthicity (Bayesian Network, CTGAN, TVAE). Using a real-world dataset from the UCI Machine Learning Repository, comprising energy consumption and environmental variables from Belgium, we simulate a low-data regime by training models on only 1,000 rows. Each generator is then tasked with producing synthetic datasets under two conditions: a 1:1 (1,000 rows) and a 1:10 (10,000 rows) input-output ratio. Evaluation is conducted using two criteria: statistical similarity, measured via classical statistics and distributional metrics; and predictive utility, assessed using a "Train on Synthetic, Test on Real" approach with four regression models. While statistical similarity remained consistent across models in both scenarios, predictive utility declined notably in the 1:10 case. The Bayesian Network from Synthicity achieved the highest fidelity in both scenarios, while TVAE from SDV performed best in predictive tasks under the 1:10 setting. Although no significant performance gap was found between the two libraries, SDV stands out for its superior documentation and ease of use, making it more accessible for practitioners.