Scientists have developed an artificial version of cells in octopuses and squids that enable the marine creatures to match the colours and patterns of their surroundings, and disappear in an instant. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania believe this may lead to novel camouflage applications in robotics, architecture and other fields such as cryptography and optics. Chromatophores are special cells in octopuses and squids that can expand and retract internal reflective plates in response to external stimuli and allow these molluscs to camouflage with the surroundings as well as to communicate signs of aggression or readiness to mate, researchers explained. In their new study, published in the journal Nature Materials, engineers used thin, flexible membranes – made from a polymer network of liquid crystals – to build an artificial chromatophore that can change colours instantly from near-infrared to visible to ultraviolet, on command. The membranes are situated over tiny cavities arranged in a grid, each of which can be inflated to a precise pressure, and as a cavity inflates, the membrane is stretched, shrinking its thickness and shifting its apparent colour, the study noted.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has slammed the US government for its slow 5G rollout, arguing that the government's "dithering" has left America "well behind" China. Dr Schmidt penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal alongside Harvard government professor Graham Allison, saying that the US is "far behind in almost every dimension of 5G while other nations – including China – race ahead". The authors said the Biden administration must make 5G a "national priority". If not, "China will own the 5G future", they said. "The step up to real 5G speeds will lead to analogous breakthroughs in autonomous vehicles, virtual-reality applications like the metaverse, and other areas that have yet to be invented," Dr Schmidt and Dr Allison wrote.

Scientists have built a shape-shifting robotic drone that transforms from a ground vehicle to a quadcopter, an advance that may lead to novel machines that can perform diverse functions under different conditions and self-heal after being damaged. The researchers from Virginia Tech in the US first developed a multifunctional material that could change shape, hold the shape, and return to the original configuration, and to do this over many cycles. "One of the challenges was to create a material that was soft enough to dramatically change shape, yet rigid enough to create adaptable machines that can perform different functions," Michael Bartlett, assistant professor in mechanical engineering, said in a statement. The scientists then turned to the Japanese art of kirigami, which involves making shapes out of paper by cutting, to create a structure that could be morphed. Then they developed an endoskeleton made of a low melting point alloy (LMPA) embedded inside a rubber skin.

Tesla is recalling nearly 27,000 cars in the US due to windshield defrosting problems, according to a US safety regulator. The electric vehicle company is recalling 26,681 cars, including some 2021-2022 Model 3, Model S, Model X, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles, according to a safety recall report. In an acknowledgement letter from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) dated 8 February, Tesla informed the federal organisation that a software error linked to the vehicle's heat pump was behind the windshield defrosting. "A software error may cause a valve in the heat pump to open unintentionally and trap the refrigerant inside the evaporator, resulting in decreased defrosting performance," the letter said. The defrosting problem may reduce drivers' visibility and potentially increase the risk of a crash, the NHTSA noted.

Smart lights bring real convenience, enabling you to turn them off and on from your phone or with your voice. You can transform the atmosphere from bright to cosy in seconds, or turn on the house lighting from the other side of the world. There are smart light bulbs, which are the easiest to install as they simply replace the existing bulbs. There are also full-on smart lights which can replace table and floor lamps, for instance. If you have other smart gadgets then they can work together, so that on a voice command like "film night" you can dim lights, close the blinds and turn on the TV.

Robot dogs are being deployed to patrol the US's southern border with Mexico, attracting criticism that such a move will exacerbate "anti-immigrant dystopia" and the invasive and dehumanising conditions already prevalent in the region. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tueday said it was deploying robot dogs to patrol the country's southern border with Mexico to assist its Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel. The goal of the programme, it said, was to leverage technology to increase the presence of CBP at the borders and to reduce "human exposure to life-threatening hazards". "The southern border can be an inhospitable place for man and beast, and that is exactly why a machine may excel there," Brenda Long, programme manager of the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) at DHS, said in a statement. "This S&T-led initiative focuses on Automated Ground Surveillance Vehicles, or what we call'AGSVs.' Essentially, the AGSV program is all about… robot dogs," Ms Long added.

Scientists in China have created a robotic artificial intelligence system to monitor and care for human embryos growing in artificial wombs. The AI robot is being developed as a potential solution to population growth problems in the world's most populous country, with birth rates recently falling to their lowest level in six decades. Researchers at the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology in China's eastern Jiangsu province developed the robot to undertake the labour-intensive task of observing, documenting and manually adjusting the carbon dioxide, nutrition and other environmental inputs. It is also able to rank embryos by their development potential, according to the South China Morning Post, who first reported on the device. A research paper published in the Journal of Biomedical Engineering described how the robotic nanny has already been used to nurture animal embryos within an artificial womb environment.

A robot has operated on a pig without human help. The machine successfully performed keyhole surgery on a pig, attaching organs in a range of different animals. And it did so without the help of a human, for the first time. Scientists hope that it can help bring about fully automated operations on humans by similar robotic systems. The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (Star) carried out the delicate keyhole - laparoscopic - surgery, which involved connecting two ends of an intestine, in four animals.

Elon Musk has described Tesla's humanoid robot as the most important product it is developing in 2022, with the potential to be "more significant" than the company's car business. The as-yet unreleased Optimus robot is being built to serve as a general purpose robot, though early versions will have more limited factory-based applications. Mr Musk said during an earnings call on Wednesday that a working prototype of the Tesla bot will be unveiled at some point this year. The world's most valuable auto manufacturer is designing Optimus in a humanoid form in order for it to carry out everyday human tasks, such as shopping in a supermarket. "Essentially in the future, physical work will be a choice. If you want to do it you can, but you won't need to do it," Mr Musk said during the Tesla AI Day last August.

Scientists have developed a stretchable, self-powered thermometer, an advance that could potentially lead to next-generation soft robotics, smart clothing and medical devices compatible with the human body. While most components used traditionally for sensing in robots and smart clothing are rigid, researchers from Harvard University said their new soft sensors are highly sensitive with their ability to sense temperature unaffected by their stretchability. "We have developed soft temperature sensors with high sensitivity and quick response time, opening new possibilities to create new human–machine interfaces and soft robots in healthcare, engineering and entertainment," said Zhigang Suo, senior author of the study. Soft robots, mimicking animal or human motion, find applications in a range of fields including medical diagnostics and disaster management. Stretchable sensors make the development of such robots much more feasible, researchers said.