TECH

Shape-shifting seaweed yarn, robotic knits design the future of on-skin tech

The yarns made of seaweed, shrimp shells and gelatin concocted in the Hybrid Body Lab seemed to have serious defects. When exposed to water, the seaweed yarn swelled, the shrimp-shell yarn elongated in acidic conditions and the gelatin yarn disintegrated all together.

“But then we thought, ‘Maybe this could be an interesting effect,’” said Cindy (Hsin-Liu) Kao, associate professor of human centered design and director of the Hybrid Body Lab in the College of Human Ecology, who created the yarns with her students.

Their ability to imagine those supposed defects as design features resulted in AquaWeave, a library of woven textiles that morph into tubes, flaps, domes and extensions, some with openings created by the dissolving yarn – all with implications for human-computer interfaces.

“Let’s say your smartphone could change its shape. Maybe now it’s in the shape of a phone, but later, you wanted it to give you a neck massage. It could then morph into a massage pad,” said Kao, an expert in crafting technology for the body. “This is a concept that is very important in our field, and people are examining a lot of different methods.”

Using centuries-old weaving techniques, materials like living plants, and robotic textiles and smart tattoos, Kao is expanding the definition of wearable tech. Her on-skin devices conform not only to the complex topography of wearer’s body but also to their social and cultural identities.

Kao’s advisee, Jingwen Zhu, Ph.D. ’26, now assistant professor of design at University of California, Davis, is lead author of the AquaWeave research and presented it Nov. 4 at ACM UIST 2026, a premier conference in  human-computer interaction, in Detroit, Michigan.

Rather than focusing on a specific bioyarn material or weave pattern, the design menu systematically explores how different weave structures can produce distinct morphing behaviors, Zhu said. “I think this is particularly exciting because it shifts the focus from individual material demonstrations to a broader design space. It opens opportunities for researchers and practitioners to develop their own patterns and explore new possibilities for liquid-activated morphing textiles.”

The team is thinking about technologies that have a very intimate relationship with the body, Kao said. “How do we create them, so that they can also reflect the wearer’s personal identity, and the greater cultural context in which we live in?”

More territory to explore...In her lab, Kao leaned over her workbench and began building with the wearable tech equivalent of Lego bricks.

In just a few minutes, she made a device that wrapped snugly around her index finger and tracked the movement of her hand in real time.

Worn by an elderly person, the device could send a text alert if the person falls. Other modules can make a filigree necklace that improves wearers’ posture by vibrating when they slouch, and a face tattoo that acts like a flashlight and automatically brightens in a darkened room.

The modules are part of SkinLink, a toolkit for easily creating circuitry on the skin that can conform even to tricky body parts like elbows and knees. Before Kao developed SkinLink with Pin-Sung Ku, a doctoral student in her lab, it took experienced researchers hours to create a similar device, she said.

“There are just so many things you can do with it, because now it has become very easy put these sensors and actuator pairs together instead of having to fabricate one single device,” she said.

Current wearables are usually designed for the wrist. But there’s so much more territory to explore, she said, pointing to a yoga mannequin doing a handstand with a SkinLink device snaking around its back and thigh. “A lot of our work is thinking about some underexamined body locations,” she said.

Cindy (Hsin-Liu) Kao, associate professor of human centered design, wears a device that tracks the movement of her hand in real time. She made it in a few minutes using modules from SkinLink, her lab’s toolkit for easily creating circuitry on the skin. Ryan Young/Cornell University

Ancient inspiration...To make her devices fit those locations, she and her lab often turn to ancient crafts.

In 2018, Kao visited a 1,200-year-old Nishijin weaving workshop in Kyoto, Japan that is now in its ninth generation of weavers. The skills she witnessed there inspired her to think about how to integrate craft and expressiveness to on-skin interfaces.

When she joined the Cornell faculty in 2019, she learned how to weave from textile artists at Luna Fiber Studio in Trumansburg, New York, and also learned digital machine knitting, adapting knitting and weaving techniques to integrate circuitry into on-skin devices.

Kao and her team used a centuries-old weaving technique called Spanish lace to create the finger-joint regions of WovenProbe, a bandage-like device that detects changes in the wearer’s hand motions. The technique creates openings in the weave that allow the joints to move freely. That makes it easier for the wearer to go about their everyday activities unimpeded – an important component to making on-skin tech wearable.

“There are actually seven very small printed circuit boards in there, and over three dozen wires that are connecting these boards that are woven in,” Kao said. “It is a very intricate weaving process. What enabled us to do this was learning from a lot of weaving patterns dating back centuries, to solve some of the issues of these on-body devices, and to have circuitry on the body in a comfortable manner.”

Collaborating with artists...In addition to leveraging unusual techniques and materials, Kao also seeks out to unusual collaborators: artists of all kinds who she invites to experiment with her lab’s technologies.

She’s been collaborating with artists since 2021, when she received the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Award, which in part helped fund an artist residency program. “I was trying to convince the field that it’s very important for these on-body technologies to have perspectives outside of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), particularly from people who are experts in art and design on the scale of the body,” she said.

For the past four years, Kao has hosted artists who specialize in tattoos, make-up, nail art and hair. Each joined the Hybrid Body lab for up to two months, met students and brainstormed about how to integrate the lab’s technologies into their practice.

“A goal of mine was to rock the boat a little bit, because in academia, you can just get very comfortable working and thinking in a certain way” Kao said.

Most recently, hair artist Lauren Hooks created “Dancing Hair,” inspired by the lab’s Knitdema robotic textile. Hooks braided a wearer’s hair with green aventurine beads and integrated shape memory alloy coils that send programmed, rhythmic electrical signals to trigger compression within the coils and activate acupressure points at the head’s temples, apex and base.

In 2023, tattoo artist Joe George created the on-face flashlight with the Hybrid Body Lab’s technology. He also made Thermaldermal, a flexible strip of black heating coils that can be manipulated into a tattoo-like line drawing and emits heat when applied to the skin. He envisioned it as a “tramp stamp” tattoo, a more artistic alternative to traditional square or oval heating patches and “a wearable patch that is both physically and conceptually hot.”

The residencies, Kao said, are “an important way of bringing together two very different cultures – academic culture versus body art culture – and learn from each other.”

For the AquaWeave project, the team recruited weavers from a conference in Norway celebrating the 30th anniversary of the TC2 jacquard loom. About the size of a large upright piano, the loom is computerized, manually controlled and designed specifically for creators who want to do rapid product development. It enables Kao and her students to weave textiles with complex circuitry, wiring and biodegradable yarns.

“It’s much quicker for prototyping and trying weird things,” Kao said.

For the AquaWeave project, the team first did tests to characterize the properties of each kind of yarn – how they each morphed and under what conditions – and created parameters and prototypes to figure out how to best work with the materials. Then the weavers used the bioyarns to make textiles leveraging the yarn’s design features.

One particularly interesting observation, Zhu said, was how familiar they were with using water in their existing textile practices, from dyeing and washing to finishing. “This familiarity made liquid activation feel like a natural extension of their existing practices, rather than an entirely new form of interaction,” she said. “It shows the potential of liquid activation as an intuitive actuation mechanism for bio-integrated textiles.”

One weaver created a ribbed texture from the seaweed yarn’s tendency to swell; another used her textile’s tendency to curl to create a pattern; a third created a three-layered textile with bioyarn in the middle layer that deformed and made the internal structure visible.

“They bring a deep understanding of the craft of weaving and a remarkable level of material intuition,” Kao said of the weavers. “We love seeing the creative ways people outside our fields work with these bioyarns. We learn so much from them, too, and that kind of cross-disciplinary exchange helps move the field forward.”

Additional co-authors for AquaWeave are doctoral student Eddie Zhu, Emily Fan ’26, Megan Wu ’27 and Samantha Chang ’26.

Shape-shifting seaweed strands and robotic meshes are replacing rigid plastic and silicon wearables because they conform seamlessly to moving skin, respond naturally to body chemistry, and dissolve safely without creating electronic waste. Research from Cornell University's Hybrid Body Lab shows how natural fibers and traditional weaving techniques turn everyday wearables into soft, adaptive interfaces.

Programmable bio-yarns:

Instead of relying on bulky motors, researchers use organic materials that naturally change their physical state when exposed to liquids or skin chemistry.

• Swelling seaweed strands. Seaweed-based yarns absorb moisture and expand, allowing flat textiles to curl or puff into protective domes and massage pads.

• Acid-reactive shrimp shells. Yarns spun from shrimp shells elongate in acidic conditions, enabling fabrics to stretch and tighten in response to sweat or changing pH levels.

• Dissolving gelatin fibers. Gelatin strands break down completely upon contact with water, creating temporary openings or allowing a device to detach from the skin after use.

• Biodegradable footprints. Projects like AquaWeave rely on compostable biological polymers, reducing the microplastic and battery pollution left behind by conventional sensors.

Robotic meshes and traditional weaving:

Integrating electronics into centuries-old textile patterns solves the biggest hurdle of on-skin technology: keeping circuitry comfortable over bending joints.

• Joint-friendly openings. Intricate woven meshes create intentional gaps over high-movement areas like elbows, knuckles, and knees so wearers can move unimpeded.

• Embedded micro-actuators. Devices like EdemaFlex weave dozens of tiny wires and circuit boards directly into a knitted mesh, delivering gentle, targeted compression to reduce hand swelling.

• Modular skin circuitry. Toolkits such as SkinLink snap sensors and actuators together like building blocks, allowing rapid assembly of posture-correcting necklaces or fall-alert finger wraps

Traditional Wearables vs. Bio-Robotic Meshes:

Feature	Rigid Wearables (Smartwatches/Patches)	Seaweed & Robotic Meshes
Core Materials	Hard plastics, silicon, and lithium batteries	Seaweed, shrimp shells, gelatin, and conductive threads
Movement & Fit	Flat and rigid; struggles over bending joints	Woven openings flex naturally with skin tension lines
Actuation	Mechanical motors and electrical pumps	Passive swelling from moisture, pH shifts, or micro-wires
End of Life	Generates persistent electronic and plastic waste	Largely biodegradable or modularly reusable

mundophone

 

TECH

The virtual model assists Wi-Fi 7 in making improved decisions within crowded networks

A strong Wi-Fi signal doesn't always mean a fast connection. In busy places like offices, apartment buildings, and airports, neighboring Wi-Fi networks often compete for the same radio channels. To prevent interference, devices may need to pause before transmitting, even if they could communicate simultaneously.

Researchers at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), in collaboration with InterDigital, have created a method to help Wi-Fi 7 networks make smarter choices: does another transmission truly require waiting? Their system creates a virtual view of the environment. Using Ultra-Wide-Band (UWB) technology, it determines the precise locations of connected devices, while computer models forecast how radio signals will propagate through the space. This combined data allows the network to understand not only device positions but also how their signals might overlap. This virtual model, called a digital twin, can guide Wi-Fi on signal direction and timing, enabling nearby devices to communicate simultaneously without causing too much interference. The research was published in IEEE Communications Magazine.

Crowded Wi-Fi doesn't necessarily mean slow Wi-Fi...As connected devices increase, managing wireless communication becomes more critical. Applications like AR, real-time gaming, and autonomous systems demand fast, dependable connections with minimal delays. Simultaneously, devices and networks compete for limited wireless spectrum.

Current Wi-Fi incorporates mechanisms to handle this competition. Devices listen before transmitting, and newer Wi-Fi standards improve by directing signals and coordinating with neighboring networks. However, detecting another transmission doesn't always predict whether it will cause issues.

Consider several conversations in a large room: if everyone stays silent whenever others speak, communication stalls. Usually, people can talk simultaneously without interference, and researchers aim to replicate this in Wi-Fi. By providing the network with enough environmental information, it can better decide when to wait.

Digital twins, used in other wireless fields to predict signal paths and enhance beamforming, are now applied to dense Wi-Fi 7 networks. This approach uses UWB to locate devices and ray tracing to simulate signal paths around obstacles, creating a comprehensive digital mirror of the environment.

Rather than just indicating busy airwaves, the system gathers detailed data about each transmission's source, destination, and interference risks. This helps direct signals more efficiently and allows nearby Wi-Fi networks to transmit simultaneously when possible, a concept known as spatial reuse.

“Digital twins have already shown potential across wireless communications. What we are exploring is how a more detailed picture of the surroundings could help Wi-Fi make a practical decision: when does another transmission really mean you have to wait?” said Gökhan Seçinti, an Assistant Professor in the Computer Engineering Department at Istanbul Technical University.

Testing Wi-Fi in crowded networks...The researchers evaluated the concept through computer simulations of crowded Wi-Fi settings. They created models of two neighboring Wi-Fi networks serving a total of 20 mobile devices, comparing traditional methods with networks enhanced by a digital twin. These tests were performed in environments of various sizes to assess performance under different network densities. The results indicate that providing the network with more information about its physical and wireless environment can improve the efficiency of airwave utilization. In the simulations, their combined approach achieved a 24.6% increase in overall network throughput compared to standard beamforming techniques. Additionally, it decreased a technical metric related to congestion by 15.4%, suggesting devices spent less time fighting for transmission opportunities.

While promising, these findings are based on simulations rather than actual Wi-Fi systems. Implementing a real-world version will involve challenges like accurate device localization and maintaining synchronization between the virtual model and dynamic physical environments. The researchers also emphasize the importance of precisely modeling building materials and their impact on radio signals.

“The goal is not simply to add more wireless capacity, but to make better use of what is already available,” said Gökhan Seçinti. “If Wi-Fi has a better picture of its surroundings, it can make better decisions about which devices need to wait and which can communicate simultaneously.”

Building upon previous work by the ITU team using UWB positioning to direct Wi-Fi 7 signals to connected devices, this new research introduces a virtual model of radio signal behavior through environments. This broader perspective aids in managing multiple neighboring networks. The researchers aim to investigate more complex settings, such as multi-room offices where signals pass through various materials. They also see potential in integrating this approach with other emerging wireless technologies. Ultimately, the goal is to develop Wi-Fi networks that do more than just detect busy airwaves; by understanding device locations and signal travel patterns, future networks can optimize sharing and improve overall performance.

A virtual model—often referred to as a "digital twin"—helps Wi-Fi 7 make smarter decisions in crowded networks by creating a detailed, real-time digital replica of the physical environment and signal behavior.

A virtual model (digital twin) based on Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology and ray tracing helps Wi-Fi 7 manage congested networks, increasing throughput by 24.6% compared to traditional beamforming.

The research was conducted by a team led by Gökhan Seçinti at Istanbul Technical University...Key system highlights:

• Environment Mirroring: The model uses UWB to locate physical devices and ray tracing to simulate signal paths and obstacles, creating an accurate digital replica of the network environment.

• Intelligent Decision-Making: Rather than simply identifying that the wireless medium is congested, the system analyzes the origin, destination, and interference risk of each transmission.

• Spatial Reuse: With this information, nearby Wi-Fi networks can transmit data simultaneously and securely, reducing unnecessary wait times.

• Performance Gains: Simulations show a 24.6% increase in Wi-Fi 7 throughput compared to conventional beamforming methods.

• Practical Challenge: The primary obstacle to real-world adoption is keeping the virtual model synchronized with the constant changes occurring in the physical environment.

How the virtual model improves decision-making:

• Precise spatial mapping: It uses technologies such as UWB (Ultra-Wideband) to locate devices, and ray tracing to simulate how radio waves bounce off or are blocked by obstacles and walls.

• Understanding interference risks: Rather than simply perceiving a radio channel as "busy," the system identifies the origin, destination, and actual interference risk of each transmission.

• Spatial reuse optimization: It helps the network determine—with pinpoint accuracy—when it is truly necessary to wait, and when nearby Wi-Fi networks can transmit simultaneously without causing conflicts.

• Beam steering: It allows signal beams to be directed toward connected devices with significantly greater efficiency.

Research shows that this digital twin approach increased Wi-Fi 7 throughput by 24.6% in simulated comparisons against traditional beamforming within congested environments.

mundophone

 

DIGITAL LIFE

European banking customers want technology, but also human interaction

European banking customers—including those surveyed in Portugal—are increasingly open to financial advice powered by artificial intelligence, yet they still insist on having a human involved in the management of their finances, according to a study by the consultancy firm Oliver Wyman released today.

The study, based on a survey of 6,878 individuals across nine European countries (including 756 in Portugal), finds that "despite the accelerated adoption of new technologies, the expertise of professionals remains highly valued by customers, especially in complex or high-risk situations."

The research indicates that 79% of respondents are open to receiving financial advice via artificial intelligence, provided that a human is also involved in managing their finances.

When faced with a banking issue, 86% of the customers surveyed would turn to a bank representative in person, and 67% would reach out to a human agent via chat. Only 33% indicated they would use an application like ChatGPT.

Residents of Portugal appear to be the most receptive to artificial intelligence (AI) in banking. On average, 49% of European customers are willing to use AI to receive personalized financial advice—a 10-percentage-point increase from a year ago—with that figure rising to 55% in Portugal.

In Portugal, 15% of respondents already use artificial intelligence for financial advice, which is above the 11% average and represents the highest proportion among the nine European countries surveyed (France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom).

When researching products such as loans, savings accounts, or credit cards, 24% of respondents in Portugal already rely on AI-powered assistants, a figure that surpasses the use of product comparison websites (19%). On the other hand, the Portuguese are the most concerned about fraud. Among those surveyed, 39% cited this fear—the highest percentage in the study (the European average is 29%).

As for the penetration of digital banks, it is significant in Portugal; however, respondents still prefer traditional banks for core banking functions.

While nearly half of the respondents in Portugal hold an account with an exclusively digital bank—surpassing the European average (45%)—traditional banks remain the preferred choice for receiving salaries (73%), paying daily expenses (53%), and obtaining credit (58%).

In Portugal (as in Spain), access to physical bank branches is valued more highly than in other European countries.

Among those surveyed in Portugal, 93% consider it important to have access to a physical branch (compared to a European average of 87% and 78% in Germany), and only 38% would be willing to use a bank without branches in exchange for better fees or rates (compared to 50% in Germany).

This study was based on a survey of 6,878 individuals across nine European countries (France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). In Portugal, 756 people participated in the survey.

Artificial intelligence is becoming more accepted in banking customer service, but European consumers are not yet convinced that automated systems can replace human relationships. The latest EOS Banking AI Barometer suggests that customers value AI for its speed and accessibility while remaining less confident in its ability to understand their needs and resolve problems effectively.

According to the study, 46% of respondents say AI has improved customer communication, while 11% perceive a decline in service quality. The findings indicate that acceptance depends partly on whether the technology delivers practical benefits rather than simply automating existing interactions.

Consumers also appear increasingly comfortable discussing sensitive financial matters with AI. Nearly 29% of respondents would prefer speaking with an AI system rather than a human employee about sensitive banking issues. Among people aged 18 to 34, the proportion rises to 38%.

However, willingness to interact with AI does not necessarily translate into confidence in its decision-making. Only 35% to 36% of respondents trust AI to understand their needs, act accurately and solve problems effectively, according to the supplied study findings.

Convenience outpaces confidence in AI services...The strongest acceptance of banking AI centers on straightforward service functions. More than half of respondents, 54%, value AI for helping them find information. Another 51% appreciate faster communication and the availability of support around the clock.

These use cases offer banks a relatively clear starting point for automation. AI assistants can help customers navigate services, retrieve information and obtain responses outside traditional support hours. Such capabilities may also allow human employees to concentrate on complex cases that require judgment, empathy or individualized assistance.

Yet the findings reveal a significant limitation: 60% of respondents miss the human element in AI-powered communication.

Marwin Ramcke, CEO of EOS Group, interprets the results as evidence that banks should use AI to improve service rather than replace customer relationships. The challenge for financial institutions is to combine automated assistance with meaningful access to human employees when customers need more than a quick answer.

This distinction is particularly important in banking, where interactions can involve financial vulnerability, personal circumstances and consequential decisions. A system that retrieves information efficiently may not necessarily provide the reassurance or nuanced judgment required in a difficult situation.

The EOS Banking AI Barometer also points to opportunities for more proactive, AI-powered financial support.

According to the study, 61% of respondents want alerts warning them about potential overdrafts. Meanwhile, 51% value AI-generated payment-plan suggestions when dealing with outstanding receivables.

These preferences suggest that consumers may welcome systems that identify potential problems before they escalate. Rather than waiting for customers to contact support, banks could use AI-enabled services to flag financial risks, explain available options and help customers consider appropriate next steps.

Such capabilities could extend digital banking beyond transactional assistance into personalized financial guidance. Early warnings about possible overdrafts, for example, could help customers review their balances and upcoming payments before incurring additional costs.

However, proactive financial assistance introduces responsibilities beyond those associated with basic chatbots. Banks would need to ensure that alerts are timely, recommendations are appropriate, customer information is handled securely and automated suggestions do not misrepresent a customer’s financial options.

The study also reports that people who have previously experienced payment difficulties are more receptive to AI-powered banking support than the general population. This suggests that customers facing financial challenges may value accessible, nonjudgmental assistance, although the supplied findings do not quantify the difference between these groups.

The findings point toward a hybrid approach in which AI handles routine inquiries and early warnings while human employees remain available for sensitive or complex situations.

For banks, the competitive opportunity lies not simply in deploying AI but in making it useful, trustworthy and appropriately integrated into customer service. Accuracy, transparency, privacy and clear escalation paths will be essential to sustaining adoption.

The EOS Banking AI Barometer suggests that consumers are open to more intelligent banking services, including proactive financial support. But the 60% who miss human interaction provide an important counterpoint: convenience alone may not deliver a satisfying banking relationship.

For financial institutions, the next phase of AI adoption will depend on balancing automation with human judgment. The objective is not necessarily to eliminate personal advice, but to make support more accessible while preserving the human connection customers continue to value.

Market landscape...Banks are expanding their use of AI to improve customer support, automate routine interactions and personalize digital services. The EOS Banking AI Barometer suggests that consumers are receptive to these applications when they improve speed and access to information.

The next opportunity is proactive financial assistance, including overdraft alerts and payment-plan suggestions. However, consumer confidence remains a constraint: the reported trust levels for AI’s ability to understand needs and resolve problems are substantially more limited than acceptance of basic information services.

Financial institutions will need to balance automation with privacy safeguards, reliable recommendations and human escalation options. The results are based on the supplied study summary; sample size, fieldwork dates, country breakdowns and methodology were not provided, limiting conclusions about representativeness across Europe.

Banking customers in Europe seek a balanced combination of technological convenience and the personal touch of human interaction, as both approaches address distinct psychological and operational needs within their financial lives.

Why customers want technology (Digital and AI):

• Daily agility and convenience: Digital channels and mobile apps allow for quick, functional tasks—such as checking balances, making payments, and tracking transactions—at any time and with minimal effort.

• Efficiency and automation: Technology reduces the red tape involved in repetitive processes, such as filling out credit applications or receiving proactive alerts about the risk of a negative balance.

• Access to immediate answers: Industry research shows that many customers use artificial intelligence to address initial or sensitive questions privately, avoiding the sense of being judged that might arise in a direct, face-to-face conversation.

Why customers still require human interaction (see below):

• Complexity and critical life moments: High-impact financial decisions—such as securing a mortgage, retirement planning, debt restructuring, or resolving fraud—are often fraught with emotion, uncertainty, and real-world risk.

• The need for empathy and deep listening: When a genuine or unusual problem arises, customers want to be heard by someone capable of demonstrating emotional intelligence, creative problem-solving, and a supportive attitude—qualities that algorithms cannot truly replicate.

• The "5% rule": While the vast majority of routine interactions (95%) can be handled digitally, that remaining 5%—comprising critical moments or exceptions—requires robust human support to solidify trust in the institution. How the sector is responding

Major financial institutions are joining forces through a hybrid strategy: they leverage artificial intelligence and technological copilots to handle high volumes and routine tasks, freeing up frontline professionals to focus on personalized advisory services and the human touch when it is needed most.

mundophone

 

TECH

AI helps digital humans move more naturally as they speak

People communicate with more than words. A raised hand, a change in posture or a facial expression can help convey meaning and emotion. Now, researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can translate speech into coordinated movements of the body, hands and face, potentially making digital characters and virtual presenters more expressive and lifelike.

Developed by researchers at Tohoku University and the University of Hong Kong, DynaConTalk generates three-dimensional (3D) human movements that correspond to spoken content. Unlike approaches that generate only individual gestures, the system coordinates different parts of the body while maintaining smooth movement over longer speeches. Users can also guide the generated motion by specifying poses or providing reference examples.

Generating realistic full-body movement from speech presents several challenges. Large changes in body posture can overshadow smaller movements, such as finger gestures and facial expressions, making them difficult for AI models to learn. This can result in repetitive gestures or unnatural shaking. Another problem occurs when separately generated movement segments are joined together, sometimes creating noticeable changes in speed or rhythm.

To address these issues, DynaConTalk separates movement into slower and faster components while keeping them synchronized. This is similar to separating sound into low- and high-frequency components. By learning these different types of movement together, the system can capture both broad changes in posture and subtle, brief gestures. It also dynamically adjusts how much it relies on different features of speech, including rhythm, voice characteristics and spoken words, as it generates movement.

The system also uses information from previously generated movements to guide the next segment. This allows it to maintain continuity across longer sequences, reducing abrupt transitions and helping produce more natural movement during extended speeches.

The researchers evaluated DynaConTalk using two publicly available datasets of speech and human movement, BEAT2 and SHOW. They also conducted a study in which 30 participants compared videos generated by three different systems across 15 speech examples. DynaConTalk received the highest average ratings in all four evaluation categories: naturalness, correspondence with spoken content, synchronization and movement diversity. Automated evaluations further showed that its generated movements more closely resembled the distribution of recorded human movements.

The technology could have applications in character animation for video games and films, virtual presenters, online education and remote communication. For example, creators could specify a character's initial pose or provide a reference movement, then let the AI generate the surrounding gestures and expressions. This offers a more flexible way to create animated characters whose movements complement what they are saying.

A sequence of poses generated by DynaConTalk from speech. The changing posture, hand gestures and facial expressions illustrate how the system coordinates movement across the body over time. ©Yifei Zhu et al.

The team hopes to extend the approach to a wider range of whole-body movements, including walking. However, existing datasets contain relatively limited examples of large-scale movement, while speech alone does not provide enough information to determine how a person should move through space. The researchers plan to explore larger motion datasets and additional guidance about movement paths to address these limitations.

Researchers at Tohoku University and the University of Hong Kong have developed an AI system called DynaConTalk that translates human speech into lifelike, coordinated 3D movements across a digital character's body, hands, and face.

AI helps digital humans (avatars) move more naturally while speaking by translating speech, text, and audio cues into coordinated whole-body, hand, and facial movements.

Key AI techniques and methods:

• Diffusion Models and Wavelet Constraints: Newer frameworks—such as research from Tohoku University—utilize specialized diffusion models (like wavelet-constrained diffusion) to generate long-form, controllable 3D co-speech motions for the entire body, hands, and face instead of isolated gestures.

• Multimodal Speech-to-Motion Mapping: AI analyzes the rhythm, pitch, pauses, and phonemes of spoken audio alongside language semantics. This allows the avatar to naturally time its nods, hand shrugs, weight shifts, and eye contact to match the emotional flow of the conversation.

• Lip-Sync and Facial Alignment: Advanced decoders analyze audio or speech transcripts to map out mouth shapes—prioritizing clear lip-sync milestones first and filling in contextual transitions—so facial expressions align tightly with the spoken words.

• Real-Time LLM Orchestration: Platforms like UneeQ use real-time large language model (LLM) orchestration to coordinate language generation, voice synthesis, and physical movement simultaneously within milliseconds, enabling fluid, interactive live conversations.

• Reference-Based and Pose Guidance: Creators can specify an initial pose or reference movement, letting the AI procedurally generate surrounding gestures, expressions, and posture shifts that complement the dialogue

How DynaConTalk works...Generating realistic full-body motion from audio is difficult because large posture shifts often drown out subtle finger gestures or facial expressions, leading to robotic shaking or repetitive loops. DynaConTalk solves this through a few key innovations:

• Frequency Separation. The system splits motion into slower and faster components—much like separating audio into low and high frequencies. Learning them together allows the AI to capture broad posture changes alongside rapid, subtle hand and facial movements.

• Dynamic Speech Balancing. As the AI generates animation, it continuously adjusts how heavily it relies on different speech cues, including vocal rhythm, voice characteristics, and the actual spoken words.

• Long-Form Continuity. To prevent awkward jumps or speed changes during long speeches, the model uses previously generated motion segments to guide upcoming frames.

• Creator Control. Animators can input a specific starting pose or reference movement, and the AI generates the surrounding gestures and expressions to match.

Key results & applications:

• Human & Automated Testing. Evaluated on the BEAT2 and SHOW motion datasets and tested with 30 human participants, DynaConTalk outperformed competing systems in naturalness, speech synchronization, content relevance, and gesture diversity.

• Practical Uses. The system is designed to streamline character animation for video games, films, virtual presenters, online education, and remote communication.

• Publication & Future Work. Published in ACM Transactions on Graphics in November 2026 and scheduled for presentation at SIGGRAPH Asia 2026, the team next plans to expand the model to handle full-body spatial movements like walking. You can explore technical demos and code details on the official DynaConTalk Project Page

mundophone

 

DOSSIER

TECH

US facing extreme power transmission crisis, experts warn

The U.S. needs more power. And more ways to move it. Demand for electricity is surging, driven by the electrification of transportation and industry and the rise of data centers.

The White House has declared a national emergency to secure the country’s bulk-power system against foreign threats, but there’s another fundamental problem not being addressed. The U.S. isn’t building enough transmission.

The gap is stark: The continental U.S. has been adding only about 500 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines a year. Studies suggest that through 2050, roughly 5,000 miles a year may be needed.

David Victor, a distinguished professor in the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy and director of the Deep Decarbonization Initiative, studies energy and climate policy. In a new Science Policy Forum, “Fixing the power transmission crisis,” Victor and coauthors examine why that gap is so large – and what it will take to close it. So we asked him:

Why isn’t the U.S. building the power lines it needs? Victor: The short answer is that there is no national strategy. The high-voltage transmission system is essentially the interstate highway system of the electric grid, moving power over long distances and between regions. But decisions about what gets built are dispersed among utilities and regional grid operators, as well as state and federal governments.

As it stands, we have a system with lots of veto points and weak incentives to build the projects that deliver the greatest value across regions. Utilities are generally rewarded for investments inside their own service territories. Once a line crosses utility or state boundaries, more players get involved, approvals become more complicated and fights break out over who pays and who benefits.

Technology can help smooth some of the politics. We can upgrade existing transmission lines to carry more power, and newer high-voltage direct-current technologies make it possible to bury lines over long distances. That creates opportunities to use existing rights-of-way along highways and railroads, where infrastructure is already in place and opposition may be lower. In that sense, technology can make the politics of building transmission easier.

But technology alone won’t create a national strategy. One of the proposals we make is for a Presidential-Congressional Transmission Commission to help develop one – not a single federal master plan for the grid, but a framework for aligning federal and state rules, reducing barriers and creating stronger incentives for high-value projects to actually get built.

America is hurtling toward a power grid crisis...This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections...A crisis is brewing for the U.S. electricity grid – one that could make your electric bill skyrocket and thwart efforts to address climate change.

To understand the problem, think of transmission lines – the poles and wires that transport electricity from power plants to homes and businesses – as an interstate highway system for electrons. Like too many cars on the road, too many electrons traveling across power lines can cause traffic jams.

These sorts of jams haven’t been a problem until just recently, as power-hungry data centers proliferate and demand from electric vehicles, heat pumps, and air conditioning grows.

As a result, Americans’ electricity rates, which already spiked by more than one-third over the past five years, are poised to keep rising.

Read: Home electricity bills are skyrocketing. For data centers, not so much.

What’s more, when rising demand meets inadequate grid capacity, that slows efforts to address climate pollution. When new clean power sources are stymied by too much traffic on power lines, existing fossil fuel power plants are forced to remain in service and burn gas and coal more often. And when data centers are unable to connect to the grid, they often build dirty on-site natural gas power generation instead.

Adding more transmission lines to the grid would ease congestion, but on average, permitting and building a new transmission line in the U.S. takes a decade. Some big multistate transmission lines have taken over three decades to complete. And the Trump administration recently axed Congress’ attempts to accelerate the process.

A bipartisan group of senators just released a bill that would reform permitting for transmission lines and other large projects, speeding up the process for constructing new lines. But time is running short in this session of Congress, and the stakes of inaction are high.

"Failing to pass permitting reforms would have real consequences for all of us,” said Zach Zimmerman, director of research and policy for Grid Strategies, a power sector consulting firm, in an email. “Every year that major transmission projects are delayed means higher system costs and less ability to move power where it is needed during extreme weather. Without reform, we will continue to pay more for the grid.”

The U.S. has struggled to modernize its grid...The demand for electrons on the U.S. power grid remained relatively flat for decades, increasing by a mere 5% between 2005 and 2023.

Now that’s changed: Analysts at the consulting firm ICF forecast that U.S. residential electricity rates could rise another 15% to 40% over the next five years and double by 2050, with power grid traffic jams being a root problem.

U.S. electricity demand from 2000 to 2025 (blue) in terawatt-hours (TWh) and the range of forecasts (green) by various groups. (Image credit: created by Dana Nuccitelli with data from Ember, Princeton REPEAT, American Clean Power, Bank of America Institute, Enverus Intelligence Research, and McKinsey & Company)

In 2024, the Department of Energy concluded that the U.S. would need between a doubling and quadrupling of its transmission capacity by 2050 in order to affordably meet growing power demand and maintain grid reliability.

To create that capacity would require a build-out of roughly 5,000 miles per year of high-capacity regional transmission, plus additional miles of interregional transmission, according to Grid Strategies. But it took the U.S. nine years, from 2017 through 2025, to build the last 5,000 miles of transmission lines, Grid Strategies estimated.

The only recent year that came close to the 5,000-mile target was 2013, when Texas built close to 3,000 miles of transmission lines. That was the result of a 2005 Texas state law that encouraged building transmission lines in areas with high potential for wind power, known as “competitive renewable energy zones.”

U.S. transmission build-out has since stagnated, averaging just 600 new miles per year since 2017.

Congress has failed to speed up transmission line permitting...Like Texas, Congress passed a law in 2005 in an effort to spur more transmission lines, but with far less success.

One challenge transmission projects face is obtaining permits in every state and local jurisdiction along their proposed path. That can be an onerous and time-consuming process with many potential veto points. In contrast, Congress in the 1938 Natural Gas Act gave the entity now known as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the authority to act as a one-stop shop for interstate natural gas pipeline permits.

Lawmakers tried to establish a similar process for interstate transmission lines in the 2005 Energy Policy Act. That law instructed the Department of Energy to establish “National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors.” These are areas where it would be in the nation's interest to build electrical transmission lines relatively quickly, for example, to relieve traffic jams on the grid. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would then have the authority to permit transmission lines along these corridors in consultation with states.

But for over 15 years, the Department of Energy was unable to designate any such corridors due to a series of court decisions in favor of states, landowners, and environmental groups, ruling that the bill’s language was insufficiently clear. Congress subsequently tried to clarify its intent in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

And that effort seemed to succeed. In December 2024, the Department of Energy finally advanced three proposed National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors in the areas identified as having the greatest need for additional transmission capacity.

Energy policy experts warn that the United States is facing an extreme power transmission crisis because the pace of building new high-voltage power lines is falling drastically short of surging electricity demand. In a November 2026 Science Policy Forum paper titled "Fixing the power transmission crisis," researchers from UC San Diego and Carnegie Mellon University highlight that the continental U.S. adds only about 500 miles of new high-voltage lines per year, while roughly 5,000 miles per year are needed through 2050.

Core drivers of the crisis:

• Surging Electricity Demand. After remaining relatively flat for nearly two decades, U.S. power consumption is spiking due to the rapid expansion of AI data centers, industrial electrification, and electric vehicles.

• Jurisdictional Gridlock. Experts note the fundamental obstacle is regulatory rather than technical, as authority is fragmented across federal, state, and private utility entities. When a transmission line crosses state or utility boundaries, disputes over permitting and cost allocation allow individual stakeholders to stall nationally vital projects.

• Supply Chain Bottlenecks. Critical grid hardware faces severe shortages, with roughly 85% of power transformers manufactured outside the U.S. and average wait times stretching to 128 weeks.

Recent grid stress and economic impacts:

• Emergency Grid Orders. In mid-October 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a federal emergency order for PJM Interconnection, the nation's largest regional grid serving over 60 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C., after unseasonable heat coincided with routine fall plant maintenance. A similar emergency authorization was required in July 2026 during extreme summer heat to allow the curtailment of power to large data centers.

• Rising Consumer Costs. Grid congestion and transmission bottlenecks are projected to drive U.S. residential electricity rates up by 15% to 40% over the next five years, potentially doubling by 2050 if capacity is not expanded.

Expert-recommended solutions:

To overcome the stalemate, the UC San Diego and Carnegie Mellon researchers outline a three-point action plan:

• Deploying Modern Grid Technologies. Upgrading existing lines via advanced reconductoring and burying high-voltage direct current (VSC-HVDC) cables along existing highway and railroad rights-of-way can double or triple capacity while bypassing local siting opposition.

• Exercising Federal Authority. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Department of Energy can use existing statutory powers to designate national-interest transmission corridors and break state-level permitting impasses.

• Creating a National Framework. Establishing a Presidential-Congressional Transmission Commission and adopting international regulatory best practices can help align state and federal rules on how transmission costs and benefits are shared.

Power transmission crisis in world...Outdated power grids are a major hurdle in the transition to renewable energy, since older systems often can't absorb all the electricity from new, cleaner sources.

This threatens global efforts to curb climate change by reducing fossil fuels and switching to renewable energy such as solar and wind. At U.N. climate talks kicking off this week, co-hosts Turkey and Australia want more ambitious goals to slash fossil fuels, install renewables and upgrade grids.

Grid concerns are gaining urgency this year as nations race to improve their energy security following the Iran war. The U.N. recently launched a new initiative to rally funding for grid upgrades in Africa and Southeast Asia.

"There needs to be a massive, massive, massive scaling up of investments into grids if we are going to get close to meeting our climate, energy and development goals," Selwin Hart, special adviser to the U.N. secretary-general on climate action, said.

Climate talks address grid bottleneck...At the U.N. climate talks, hosted in the Turkish resort city of Antalya, organizers describe modern and reliable electric grids as "the backbone of the clean energy system."

But billions of dollars are needed to upgrade out-of-date grids. These steep costs could hinder further renewable energy installations.

During the U.N. General Assembly in September, the global body launched a Global Grids Accelerator to speed up international funding for electricity infrastructure in Africa and Southeast Asia.

"We're very confident that the long-term trend is an acceleration of the pace of the energy transition, but we need the infrastructure, grids and storage, to really keep pace," Hart said.

Annual investment in electricity generation, such as building new power plants, has risen by almost 70% since 2015, reaching $1 trillion a year, according to the International Energy Agency. Yet the agency noted annual grid spending has risen at less than half that pace.

To meet electricity demand through 2030, the IEA calculates annual grid investment must increase by about 50% from today's $400 billion per year. Any delays will substantially increase global emissions by prolonging reliance on fossil fuels, the IEA warns.

"Power grids have not been readied enough for the scaleup of renewable electricity generation," said Jan Rosenow, a professor of energy and climate policy at Oxford University. "We have been complacent in the past and now the grid has become a real bottleneck."

Old grids slow energy transition...Power grids deliver electricity from power plants to homes through a network of transmission and distribution lines, substations and transformers.

Originally designed around large, centralized power plants, many of today's power grids were built like one-way roads, with producers sending electricity to consumers. These older one-directional grids are being overwhelmed by demand surges and a boom in renewables.

Grids have a maximum capacity of electricity that they can safely store, transport and distribute. If a grid is already at capacity, solar and wind farms can be instructed to limit their electricity output, a process known as curtailment.

China and India, which have installed impressive amounts of renewables, can't take full advantage of the massive buildout for this reason.

China curtailed 360 terawatt-hours — close to the equivalent of the United Kingdom's annual electricity demand — of wind and solar electricity in the first half of 2026, according to Global Energy Monitor and the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

India curtailed 11 terawatt-hours of solar generation — enough electricity to power about 10 million homes — over the course of 15 months spanning 2025 and 2026 because of insufficient transmission and storage capacity, according to the energy think tank Ember.

Curtailing solar and wind generation while fossil fuels continue to supply electricity is a blow to climate efforts, especially since China and India are among the world's largest emitters, said James Abraham, with the New Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water.

To transition away from fossil fuels, he said, "you need a grid changeover. You need a grid transformation."

mundophone

 

TECH

Round smartwatch with Bosch gas sensor and open-source software launches 2027

Next year, the Bangle.js 3 will hit the market as a brand-new smartwatch that combines a round color display with an open-source operating system and a modern design. The manufacturer has now confirmed the key specifications in advance.

The Bangle.js 2 from 2021 is finally getting a successor with a much more modern look. The team behind the open-source smartwatch has published images and extensive details about the Bangle.js 3's specifications ahead of its expected launch in summer 2027, although pricing details have yet to be announced.

The predecessor's small, rectangular display is being replaced by a round display with much thinner bezels, using a 1.2-inch LCD with a resolution of 240 x 240 pixels that can display 64 colors. Combined with a metal bezel, this makes the watch look significantly more modern than the Bangle.js 2. The watch features speakers, microphones, a vibration motor and a heart rate sensor.

The screen measures 1.2 inches across at 240 by 240, putting out 64 colors. It renders into a square frame buffer, so the corners of that buffer simply aren’t visible on the round panel. Williams sized the case to take the same straps as the Bangle.js 2 and to sit at the same height on the wrist. The new case runs slightly thicker and wider than the old one, though

One sensor stands out from the spec list. Bosch’s BME690 is a smart gas sensor that can fingerprint specific smells, detecting gases in the air around the watch, and no mainstream smartwatch offers anything like it.

Williams flags the catch himself, though: sourcing that sensor at a sensible price is still an open question this far out. He’s spent the whole project adding features without letting the price jump, and this is the one line item still fighting him

Nothing on the case is glued. The rear cover unscrews, and inside sit test points placed there so owners can bolt on custom hardware of their own. Williams also plans to release the CAD files for a deeper back, an open invitation for someone to print a case back with room for a much bigger battery.

A four-pin connector hides behind the top strap. It handles charging, SWD programming and debug UART output, plus two analog-capable GPIO pins and a switched 3-volt output. For a watch, that’s an unusual amount of access, and it’s there on purpose. It’s, in effect, a tiny bench supply and debug header riding under the strap

A Nordic nRF54L15 runs the watch, an Arm Cortex-M33 ticking at 128 MHz, with Bluetooth LE handling the phone link. Wi-Fi arrives through a separate ESP32-C2 chip at 2.4 GHz, and that chip can even turn its hand to 2.4 GHz SDR work. Storage is 32 MB of flash memory.

The sensor stack runs long: an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a magnetometer track motion, a barometer and an air temperature sensor watch the weather, and a heart rate sensor covers the wearer. Add a speaker, a microphone and a vibration motor. Then add a torch, an RGB indicator LED, and an infrared transmitter and receiver that can work a TV remote’s job.

While more advanced health sensors, a GPS module and an NFC chip are missing, the watch offers a Bosch gas sensor designed to detect certain smells. An LED flashlight is also said to be on board. The roughly 200 mAh battery is charged wirelessly. One distinctive feature of the Bangle.js 3 is that the watch uses an open-source operating system, allowing the community to expand its functionality.

In keeping with this, the case can be easily opened with a few screws, while four pins on the case provide both power and data connections for diagnostic and programming purposes. With an ARM Cortex M33 (nRF54L15) processor with clock speeds of up to 128 MHz, Bluetooth Low Energy and only 32 MB of memory, the smartwatch is not particularly powerful, but should offer relatively long battery life.

Display	1.2-inch round, 240 x 240, 64 colors
Processor	Nordic nRF54L15, Arm Cortex-M33 at 128 MHz
Wireless	Bluetooth LE, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi via ESP32-C2
Memory	32 MB flash
Buttons	4 (1 left, 3 right)
Bezel	Metal front bezel
Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, magnetometer, barometer, air temperature, heart rate
Gas sensor	Bosch BME690, not confirmed for the base model
Battery	Around 200 mAh, wireless charging
Case	Unscrewable rear cover, internal test points
Connector	4-pin: charging, SWD programming, debug UART, 2 analog GPIO, switched 3V output
Extras	Speaker, microphone, vibration motor, torch, RGB LED, infrared transmitter and receiver
Straps	Same straps as the Bangle.js 2
Availability	Summer 2027, expected

Compatibility work is already underway. Existing Bangle.js 2 apps are being brought across to the round screen, and widgets currently draw inside a square while the port settles. Most apps should just work once they’ve been updated for the round layout.

That’s the deal with this line: the  watches run Espruino, open-source software, and the app library owners have built up around the square  watch is the library the round one inherits. Keeping that library alive is a design goal here, not an afterthought.

An email signup is open now for anyone who wants an alert the day the watch goes on sale

Battery capacity lands around 200 mAh. That’s much the same as the current watch, and charging is wireless. Rain and hand washing are fine, per Williams. Swimming isn’t advised, and there’s no water resistance rating to quote, because he hasn’t published one.

Expect the watch in summer 2027, if the current plan holds. A pre-order is likely, but only once Williams has mostly final pre-production units in hand and trusts the timescales. Pricing isn’t set yet, and neither is the final sensor list. The one guide he’s offered is that it’ll land a little above the current model’s price.

mundophone