Engineering news

Engineering

From lab to living room: Bionic arm enters first home trial

At age 16, Alexander "Avi" Davidson fell 35 feet (11 meters) from the top of a telephone pole, an accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down and led to the amputation of his left arm below the elbow. Today, 17 years ...

Robotics

Snapping rods let frog-like robot outrun rigid legs across six terrains

Roboticists at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the University of Michigan have shown that elastic rods can be bent and twisted to repeatedly snap between shapes, releasing built-up energy that enables small robots ...

Engineering

Construction exoskeletons may help workers spot hazards by reducing fatigue

Taking some of the physical strain off construction workers could do more than reduce fatigue. New research from Texas A&M University suggests it may also help them recognize hazards around them.

Engineering

A cooling device built to last: Sustainable refrigeration system maintains performance through one million cycles

Although invaluable to modern society, refrigeration faces challenges from traditional vapor-compression systems, which are energy-intensive and use refrigerants that exacerbate the greenhouse effect and damage the ozone ...

Engineering

NASA's X-59 aircraft flies supersonic for first time

NASA's experimental X-59 aircraft marked a major milestone Friday, June 5, when it flew faster than the speed of sound for the first time, setting the stage for demonstrating its quiet supersonic capabilities later this year.

Engineering

Jumping spiders inspire ultra-efficient 3D camera

By borrowing a trick from tiny jumping spiders, Northwestern University engineers have developed an extremely energy-efficient 3D camera. Called SpiderCam, the new device senses depth the same way that jumping spiders judge ...

Engineering

Supercharging the grid: How to free up 20% more power

Implementing effective monitoring measures could yield much more energy from the cable network—all without digging a single new trench. Just a dream scenario? No, it is entirely possible, say researchers.

Engineering

Dust-prone desert of the Southwest may be ideal for solar energy

Solar energy developers eyeing parts of southern New Mexico may have less to worry about than expected when it comes to dust. A new study led by University of Texas at El Paso researchers concludes that photovoltaic panels ...

Engineering

Carbon ratios in concrete can improve carbon accounting

For the first time, researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, have found out how to determine how much carbon dioxide (CO2) from either natural or anthropogenic sources can be absorbed by special concrete ...