MAROKO133 Update ai: Nurses, patients and Cornell engineers collaborate to design healthca

📌 MAROKO133 Hot ai: Nurses, patients and Cornell engineers collaborate to design h

A Cornell Tech-led research team spent 14 weeks exploring how healthcare robots change when hospital staff, patients, artists, engineers, and craftspeople help design them together. The study found that user-driven collaboration produced more practical and human-centered robots than systems developed in isolation. The findings were presented at the 2026 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

Led by Angelique Taylor, assistant professor at Cornell Tech, the study documented a co-design project where 22 participants—including nurses, doctors, patients, artists, engineers, and craftsmen—met weekly at Cornell Tech’s MakerLAB over three months. Their mission: to imagine and physically build robots tailored for real-world healthcare settings.

Designing for real pain points

Rather than beginning with a list of features, the team started by asking what frustrates healthcare workers and what stresses patients. This approach turned the usual design process on its head.

Taylor noted that while healthcare facilities often struggle with patient management, there has been little research into how robot design could directly solve the daily challenges faced by staff and patients.

The MakerLAB environment was central. Co-author Niti Parikh, director of MakerLABs at Cornell Tech, described digital fabrication as an “instrument of thought,” enabling non-technical participants to move from passive observers to active contributors in shaping complex AI tools.

Three settings, three problems

Teams focused on three healthcare settings: an emergency department, a sleep disorder clinic, and a long-term rehabilitation facility. Through brainstorming, cardboard mockups, and full-size prototypes, practical challenges emerged that interviews alone never revealed. Building life-size robots highlighted real-world issues—like hallway width, patient comfort, noise, hygiene, and safety—that sketches and interviews often miss.

In the ER, a bear-shaped robot was designed to deliver medical kits to patient rooms ahead of doctors, reducing pressure on nurses. A sleep clinic team built a gentle, concierge-style robot with calming lights to guide patients through nighttime procedures. For long-term rehab, participants created a robot offering entertainment, schedules, and social connection to help residents feel less isolated.

Researchers found the robots worked best when handling repetitive, non-clinical tasks—freeing up human staff for the empathy-driven, judgment-based work only people can do.

Breaking down barriers

The MakerLAB’s neutral, hierarchy-free atmosphere encouraged experimentation and made it safe to make mistakes. This psychological safety helped non-technical participants gain confidence and contribute meaningfully as their understanding of robotics grew.

Artists shaped the robots’ look and feel, residents flagged when machines might overstep, and healthcare workers spotlighted workflow issues tech often misses.

The team calls the result a framework for “considerate embodied AI”—robots tuned to social norms, spatial constraints, and human needs, not just efficiency. Physical prototypes became a shared language between caregivers and engineers. As hospitals face staffing shortages and burnout, the study argues those closest to the problems should help build the solutions.

🔗 Sumber: interestingengineering.com

📌 MAROKO133 Hot ai: New ballistic munition that can strike at longer distances des

Two French companies have successfully tested a new type of ballistic munition. Thales and ArianeGroup recently conducted the first firing of the FLP-t 150 ballistic munition.

The weapon has an operational range of 92 miles (150 kms) and has strong potential for precise terminal maneuvers.

This test confirms the design choices, technologies, and performance capabilities of the ballistic munition FLP-t 150.

Improved capability

The system is aimed at replacing the Unitary Rocket Launchers (LRU). The ballistic munition meets the current requirements of the French forces for high-intensity combat. The munition paves the way for longer-range ballistic missiles with improved capability to penetrate defence systems.

“This firing marks a decisive milestone for long-range land strikes and is the result of collaborative work between Thales and ArianeGroup,” said Hervé Dammann, Executive Vice-President, Land and Air Systems, Thales. ​

“The key differentiators of our joint offering are the reliability of the solution and our ability to deliver quickly and to ramp up production. In a high-intensity context, the sovereign, versatile and resilient X-Fire launcher represents a clear asset for the armed forces.”

Thales is responsible for the development of the overall system – including the ground launcher, fire control and launch system – while ArianeGroup develops the propulsion and guidance systems for the munition.

Propulsion, control derived from ballistic missile systems

The FLP-t 150 ballistic munition represents the upper echelon of artillery systems. Its technologies – propulsion, guidance, and control – are derived from ballistic missile systems. The guided rocket can deliver the precision and robustness required even in GNSS-jammed environments, according to a press release.

The companies are also preparing the X-Fire launcher for the trial.

The versatile, interoperable X-Fire launcher will conduct its first demonstration firings by the end of May 2026. Its rapid-deployment capability makes it highly compatible to current operational needs of the armies. Extremely mobile, it can be quickly deployed, which makes it particularly suitable for current missions. The X-Fire system and its FLP-t 150 ballistic munition combines sovereignty, interoperability and resilience, according to a press release.

“With its apogees reaching several tens of kilometres, its largely supersonic speeds, and the trajectory and maneuvering constraints during both the powered and terminal phases, the FLP-t 150 rocket requires technologies derived from our expertise in ballistic systems,” said Vincent Pery, Director of Defense Programs at ArianeGroup.

“It is within this technological continuity that ArianeGroup brings its unique European expertise to the service of ​ sovereign defence. This first successful firing at the DGA-EM test site on Ile du Levant demonstrates the quality of our offering and our ability to effectively continue system development with our partner Thales in the next phase of the FLP-t programme.”

Pery also revealed that the test opens a new perspective for establishing a conventional ballistic sector that addresses tactical, operational, and strategic capability needs.

🔗 Sumber: interestingengineering.com