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AUSTIN – After Texas residents apply for FEMA assistance, a home inspection may be necessary to verify damage from the March 26-28 severe storms and flooding.

Homeowners and renters in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties can apply for FEMA assistance for losses not covered by insurance for the March storms.

Within 10 days after applying, a FEMA inspector may contact applicants to schedule an appointment. The call or text to schedule an inspection will probably come from an out-of-state phone number.

Information gathered during the inspection is one of several criteria used by FEMA to determine if applicants are approved for federal assistance. If survivors have already made repairs or replaced damaged items, although not required, it may be helpful to have pictures of the damage and receipts for repair or replacement. Applicants should also have their insurance policy available.

The housing inspector will consider:

The structural soundness of the home, both inside and outside.Whether the electrical, gas, heat, plumbing and sewer/septic systems are all in working order.Whether the home is safe to live in and can be entered and exited safely.

All FEMA representatives carry photo identification. Inspectors will never ask for or accept money. Their service is free. 

A home inspection may take up to 45 minutes to complete. After the inspection, applicants should allow seven to 10 days for processing. For questions about the status of an application, call

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Despite advances in machine vision, processing visual data requires substantial computing resources and energy, limiting deployment in edge devices. Now, researchers from Japan have developed a self-powered artificial synapse that distinguishes colors with high resolution across the visible spectrum, approaching human eye capabilities. The device, which integrates dye-sensitized solar cells, generates its electricity and can perform complex logic operations without additional circuitry, paving the way for capable computer vision systems integrated in everyday devices.

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Researchers have discovered that the mixing of small particles between two solid electrolytes can generate an effect called a ‘space charge layer,’ an accumulation of electric charge at the interface between the two materials. The finding could aid the development of batteries with solid electrolytes, called solid-state batteries, for applications including mobile devices and electric vehicles.

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Researchers have engineered a laser device smaller than a penny that they say could power everything from the LiDAR systems used in self-driving vehicles to gravitational wave detection, one of the most delicate experiments in existence to observe and understand our universe.

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