Step 5 Preview is StepFun's flagship model for agentic work, built on a sparse Mixture-of-Experts architecture (27B active / 600B total parameters). It performs strongly in software engineering and professional...
Published: 08/10/2026
https://openrouter.ai/stepfun/step-5-preview
Claude Haiku 5.5 is Anthropic's small, fast model for high-volume, cost-sensitive work such as summarization, subagents, and browser use. It succeeds Claude Haiku 4.5 with stronger coding, computer use, and...
Published: 07/10/2026
https://openrouter.ai/anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5
Nano Banana 2.1 (Gemini Nano Banana 2.1) is Google's image generation and editing model on the Flash tier, succeeding Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro. It improves product recontextualization,...
Published: 06/10/2026
https://openrouter.ai/google/gemini-nano-banana-2.1
Robots – that is, self-guided mechanisms interacting with or changing their environments – exist in the popular imagination as large, blocky, metallic beings like R2D2 or TARS from Interstellar. But the field of soft robotics offers a vast array of robotic limbs, sensors, and body types that greatly expand our understanding of what shapes a robot can manifest and what tasks it can perform. Continue Reading Category: Robotics , Engineering Tags: North Carolina State University , Soft Robotics , l...
Source: newatlas.com • Published: Mon, 28 Sep 2026 02:43:49 GMT
The scalable robot ScaFi. 2026 CREATE Lab EPFL. CC BY SA-4.0. Propeller-powered underwater vehicles have long helped scientists explore and monitor aquatic environments. But they’re limited by their own mechanics: spinning blades can snag on vegetation, stir up sediment, and startle the wildlife they’re often sent to study, making them poorly suited to shallow creeks, […]
Source: robohub.org • Published: Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:24:15 +0000
In a win for pollinator conservation, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have identified chemical compounds that can safely repel honey bees from pesticide-treated crops. The research offers a potential solution to one of agriculture’s most urgent challenges: pesticides leading to the ongoing decline of honey bees. Biologist Anandasankar Ray, an expert on insect […] The post CA Researchers Identify Odors That Repel Honeybees From Pesticides appeared first on Good News ...
Why this is uplifting: This story highlights positive developments and offers reasons for hope and optimism.
Published: Sun, 27 Sep 2026 22:50:42 +0000
A newly identified frog-like creature that lived before the dinosaurs has been named by the student scientists who discovered it—and they named it after their moms. Allison Sefcovic and Payton Kohlberg described the early amphibian that lived in what is now the United States over 300 million years ago, and then named it in honor […] The post Newly Identified Frog-like Creature Named by Student Scientists After Their Moms appeared first on Good News Network .
Why this is uplifting: This story highlights positive developments and offers reasons for hope and optimism.
Published: Mon, 28 Sep 2026 03:00:01 +0000
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There’s a kind of workday most of us know too well. You’re logged on early, you barely step away for lunch, and by 6 pm you’re not entirely sure what you have to show for it. The calendar was full. The inbox moved. But the work you wanted to […] The post Soft productivity is the smarter way to work, and here’s how to start first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News .
Why this is uplifting: This story highlights positive developments and offers reasons for hope and optimism.
Published: Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:59 +0000
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Two million square meters of former airport land in the southern suburbs of Athens are being converted into The Ellinikon Park. The park is designed to actively lower surrounding air temperatures, process 100 percent of its own rainfall on site, and keep more than 520 plant species alive through […] The post Athens’ former airport is becoming Europe’s largest coastal urban park first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News .
Why this is uplifting: This story highlights positive developments and offers reasons for hope and optimism.
Published: Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:17 +0000
With a focus on living wages, better fabrics and sustainability, one clothing brand is pushing to transform the fashion industry The post The ethical fashion brand championing change across the industry appeared first on Positive News .
Why this is uplifting: This story highlights positive developments and offers reasons for hope and optimism.
Published: Mon, 28 Sep 2026 09:05:56 +0000