Brain Waves Synchronize when Humans Interact

Researchers are discovering synchrony in humans and other species, and they are mapping its choreography (its rhythm, timing and undulations) to better understand what benefits it may give us. They are finding evidence that interbrain synchrony prepares people for interaction and beginning to understand it as a marker of relationships. Given that synchronized experiences are often enjoyable, researchers suspect this phenomenon is beneficial: it helps us interact and may have facilitated the evolution of sociality. This new kind of brain research might also illuminate why we don't always click with someone or why social isolation is so harmful to physical and mental health.

Looking at synchrony between bands of brain waves is one way of understanding what's going on between interacting brains. Another is to look at the activity of specific neurons. Using a technology called microendoscopic calcium imaging, which measures changes in induced fluorescence in individual neurons, researchers looked at hundreds of neurons at the same time. In pairs of interacting mice, they established that synchrony appeared during an ongoing social interaction. Further, synchrony in mouse brains arose from separate populations of cells in the prefrontal cortex. With synchrony and other levels of neural interaction, humans teach and learn, forge friendships and romances, and cooperate and converse.

More information:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/brain-waves-synchronize-when-people-interact/

Smaller and Cheaper LiDAR

A team of researchers at University of Washington has developed a much smaller and less costly form of LiDAR that has no moving parts, a breakthrough that could soon be a real game-changer for many technologies. Like radar, which is an analogous radio wave-based means of sensing, LiDAR scans across an area and the reflected signal is then received and interpreted. The research team developed a way to use quantum effects to create LiDAR on a chip, a lightweight approach that needs no moving parts.

Safe for eyes, the beam passes just barely above the surface of the chip. At the same time, an interdigital transducer (IDT) is used to excite acoustic waves on the chip. The generated vibrations steer the beam back and forth, with the movement occurring either continuously or in steps. The beam subsequently reflects off objects in the environment, returning to the LiDAR where a detector receives the beam. Software then interprets the information, building up an image of the reflected object.

More information:

https://www.geekwire.com/2023/university-of-washington-researchers-develop-smaller-cheaper-form-of-lidar-technology/

Virtual Testing of Autonomous Cars

Vehicle-in-Virtual-Environment (VVE) software developed by Ohio State University (OSU) researchers allows the testing of driver-less vehicles in completely safe virtual settings. The researchers found autonomous cars can learn to avoid potential collisions, boost pedestrian safety, and respond to infrequent or extreme traffic events because of VVE-facilitated immersion.

They substituted simulated data for high-resolution sensor output in a vehicle to link its controls to a realistic three-dimensional environment. The team demonstrated that the vehicle acted as if the simulation was its actual surroundings in real time. Researchers said the software provides the flexibility to modify the model for any situation.

More information:

https://news.osu.edu/testing-real-driverless-cars-in-a-virtual-environment/