In this study, to perform the robotic stroke motions following the shape of the human back similar to the stroke motions by humans, in contrast to the conventional robotic stroke motion with a linear trajectory, we propose a trajectory generation method for a robotic stroke motion following the shape of the human back. We confirmed that the accuracy of the method's trajectory was close to that of the actual stroking motion by a human. Furthermore, we conducted a subjective experiment to evaluate the psychological effects of the proposed stroke motion in contrast to those of the conventional stroke motion with a linear trajectory. The experimental results showed that the actual stroke motion following the shape of the human back tended to evoke more pleasant and active feelings than the conventional stroke motion.

Artificial Intelligence and machine learning have automated processes, streamlined operations and have also started making intelligent decisions. This proliferation of technology has stoked the fear of cold and calculated robots replacing human interaction. Despite these concerns, a recent study has found that 93% of people are ready to take orders from a robot and more than a third of employees believe that AI will enable better customer and employee experiences. Even then, only 6% of HR teams are actively deploying AI and machine learning solutions. This chasm reveals the missed opportunity for AI to help HR meet evolving employee expectations for a personalised, relevant work environment.

Is it possible to make artificial intelligence more trustworthy by inserting a human being into the decision process of machine learning? It may be, but you don't get something for nothing. That human being better be an individual who knows a lot about what the neural network is trying to figure out. And that presents a conundrum, given that one of the main promises of AI is precisely to find out things humans don't know. It's a conundrum that is sidestepped in a new bit of AI work by scientists at the Technische Universität Darmstadt in Germany.

Blue Origin said it will no longer go-it-alone on the development of a lander designed to bring humans back to the lunar surface. In a press conference from the Jeff Bezos-owned aerospace company, Brent Sherwood, vice president of advanced development programs, said Blue Origin will team up with legacy defense and aerospace contractors like Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, and Draper to bring its lander, called Blue Moon, to fruition. It's partnership with those companies will help expedite the Blue Moon's production and also increase the odds that Blue Origin meets an ambitious 2024 deadline to return to the moon set by NASA. 'This is the kind of thing that is so ambitious, it needs to be done with partners,' said Bezos, who owns e-taling stalwart Amazon, at the 70th International Astronautical Congress held this week in Washington. 'This is the only way to get back to the Moon fast.'

A synthetic mesh could give robots a sense of touch that is delicate as the skin on out backs, researchers have claimed. The material forms a linked sensory network similar to that of a biological nervous system -- one that could help robots feel their interactions with the environment. The lattice is made of flexible polyurethane that contains stretchable optical fibres with sensors than can detect how the fibres are being deformed. The device -- a sort-of stretchable optical lace -- was developed by roboticists Patricia Xu and Rob Shepherd of Cornell University and colleagues. 'We want to have a way to measure stresses and strains for highly deformable objects, and we want to do it using the hardware itself, not vision,' said Professor Shepherd.

Once billionaire Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin lander makes it to the moon, the Amazon CEO says it won't have to go very far to re-fuel. In a space summit in Boston, Bezos told an audience that his somewhat mysterious moon lander will use ice harvested from the lunar surface to create fuel. 'We know things about the moon now we didn't know about during the Apollo days,' Bezos said at the conference as reported by CNBC. 'We can harvest that ice and use to make hydrogen and oxygen, which are rocket propellants.' Jeff Bezos says a recently discovered trove of water and ice in the moon's surface could fuel a lunar lander owned by his company Blue Origin.

In this article, Part 1 of the latest in his series exclusive to Data Makes Possible, Dr. Kirk Borne, Principal Data Scientist for Booz Allen Hamilton, explains the importance and value proposition of improving the human experience in the digital enterprise, and why the year of experience must include customers, end-users, employees, and any other stakeholders. A few years ago, I heard someone describe their data product in this way: "analytics at the speed of your business." Well, no disrespect intended, but I think they got the message backwards. Because business is no longer able to keep up with the flood of data that is coming in, from forces and sources everywhere: social, mobile, internet, intranet, images, video, audio, and documents. Consequently, what you really need is business at the speed of your data!

In this, the second part of the latest in a series exclusive to Data Makes Possible, Dr. Kirk Borne, Principal Data Scientist for Booz Allen Hamilton, adds onto his explanation of the value proposition of improved human experience in the digital enterprise. If you missed Part 1, read it here. There is a lot of science in here! In Part 1, we mentioned the "nudge" theory of behavioral economics. We won't elaborate on that, but recommend that topic to you for further investigation.

It is widely regarded as one of the greatest human achievements ever made, but putting a man on the moon was no cheap undertaking. The Apollo missions to send just 12 men onto the dusty lunar surface cost 25 billion ( 17 billion) – estimated to be worth around 170 billion ( 120 billion) in modern monetary value. But it appears we may be able to send humans back to our rocky satellite and set up a permanent base where they could live for just a fraction of the cost. The cost of building a base on the moon could be a fraction of what has been previously expected. Scientists say it may be possible to build a permanent base (illustrated) housing 10 people within the next five to seven years for around 10 billion.