Engineering news
Robotics
Humanoid robots that 'catch themselves' instead of falling: What a new walking algorithm changes
While the statement, "Humanoid robots are coming," might cause anxiety for some, for one Georgia Tech research team, working with humanlike robots couldn't be more exciting. The researchers have developed a new "thinking" ...
Feb 20, 2026
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Engineering
Physics-aware AI algorithm uses Newton's third law to keep simulations stable
A team of EPFL researchers has developed an AI algorithm that can model complex dynamical processes while taking into account the laws of physics—using Newton's third law. Their research is published in the journal Nature ...
Feb 20, 2026
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Shipping damage, measured in real time: How wireless origami cushioning could improve logistics
Origami, the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, has received considerable attention in engineering. By applying paper-folding principles, researchers have created compact structures that are flexible, lightweight, ...
Feb 20, 2026
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Tackling uplift resistance in tall infrastructure sustainably
Tall structures like radio towers experience high wind loads that generate uplift forces at their foundations, a challenge that is increasing burden, as natural occurrences like typhoons and tornadoes become more frequent ...
Feb 20, 2026
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New gel electrolyte points to stronger, safer anode-free lithium batteries
Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a new gel electrolyte that both improves the lifetime and safety of anode-free lithium batteries, an emerging battery architecture that could dramatically boost energy density ...
Feb 19, 2026
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Engineering
Resilient nylon-11 film generates electricity from pressure and survives repeated runovers
RMIT University researchers have developed a flexible nylon-film device that generates electricity from compression and keeps working even after being run over by a car multiple times, opening the door to self-powered sensors ...
Feb 19, 2026
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Engineering
Why city street surveys miss methane leaks, and what that means for safety
The complexities of urban environments—like variable winds off tall buildings or surfaces—significantly impair the ability to detect natural gas leaks from underground pipelines, a new study shows. SMU researchers found ...
Feb 19, 2026
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Engineering
Laser-etched glass can store data for 10,000 years, Microsoft says
Thousands of years from now, what will remain of our digital era? The ever-growing vastness of human knowledge is no longer stored in libraries, but on hard drives that struggle to last decades, let alone millennia.
Feb 18, 2026
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Engineering
3D printing platform rapidly produces complex electric machines
A broken motor in an automated machine can bring production on a busy factory floor to a halt. If engineers can't find a replacement part, they may have to order one from a distributor hundreds of miles away, leading to costly ...
Feb 18, 2026
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Engineering
Repairable infrared lens can cut costs and bring thermal imaging to more devices
The days of dropping a thermal imaging camera and replacing an expensive lens are coming to an end with a new repairable lens developed by Flinders University scientists. The high-performance lens for infrared cameras invented ...
Feb 18, 2026
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Engineering
Safer batteries for storing energy at massive scale: A new electrolyte with proton-hopping conductivity
Among the enduring challenges of storing energy—for wind or solar farms, or backup storage for the energy grid or data centers—is batteries that can hold large amounts of electricity for a long time. In addition to having ...
Feb 18, 2026
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Engineering
Safer railroads through ultrasound: Beamforming algorithms can improve track safety inspections
Advances in ultrasound—the same imaging technology that uses sound waves to allow doctors to monitor babies in utero—are being applied by engineers at the University of California San Diego to make railroad track inspection ...
Feb 18, 2026
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Engineering
Ultrafast 3D printing method creates complex objects in under a second
High-speed 3D printing has just gotten a lot faster. Researchers from Tsinghua University in China have developed a new high-speed printing technology capable of creating complex millimeter-scale objects in just 0.6 seconds. ...
Engineering
The giant fire tornado that could save our oceans
In the frantic hours following an offshore oil spill, emergency responders face a destructive decision: let the oil spread or ignite it. Once ignited, it creates an "in-situ" fire pool that stops the oil from spreading and ...
Feb 17, 2026
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Engineering
Hydrogen-bond networks boost all-perovskite solar cell efficiency
The use of solar cells, devices that can convert sunlight into electricity, has grown exponentially over the past decades. These devices are enabling the production of clean and renewable energy, which could contribute to ...
Engineering
New electrolyzer turns plastic-waste syngas into ethylene with less energy
For every ton of ethylene created, one ton of carbon dioxide is produced. With more than 300 million tons of ethylene produced each year, the production system has a huge carbon footprint that scientists and engineers are ...
Feb 17, 2026
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Engineering
Can AI build a machine that draws a heart? What automated mechanism design could mean for mechanical engineering
Can you design a mechanism that will trace out the shape of a heart? How about the shape of a moon, or a star? Mechanism design—the art of assembling linkages and joints to create machines with prescribed motion—is one ...
Feb 17, 2026
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Engineering
SpaceX to compete in Pentagon contest for autonomous drone tech
Elon Musk's SpaceX and wholly owned subsidiary xAI are competing in a secretive new Pentagon contest to produce voice-controlled, autonomous drone swarming technology, according to people familiar with the matter.
Feb 17, 2026
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Engineering
Woven nickel-titanium structures unlock new flexibility in 3D-printed shape-memory materials
At first glance, few materials would seem to have less in common than metals and textiles. And yet, by manufacturing nickel-titanium alloys as a highly deformable, interwoven material, more similar to fabric than a typical ...
Feb 16, 2026
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Engineering
Review finds 1–2 nm closed pores can boost hard carbon sodium storage
As the global transition toward clean energy accelerates, the demand for sustainable, low-cost, and scalable energy storage technologies continues to grow. While lithium-ion batteries have dominated the market for decades, ...
Feb 16, 2026
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Engineering
Rule-breaking discovery reveals new way to strengthen metal in extreme conditions
There's a reason why blacksmiths fire metals before hammering them. Heat always softens metal, making it more malleable and easier to reshape. Or does it? In a surprising new study, Northwestern University engineers discovered ...
Feb 13, 2026
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Engineering
'Dynamic plastic delocalization' can slow metal alloy cracking, engineers find
Metal alloys crack and fail through a mechanism called "fatigue" when repeatedly loaded and strained. While it is well known how to design alloys to withstand static loads and pressures, it is very difficult to design resistance ...
Feb 13, 2026
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Engineering
Why metal microstructures matter: AI pinpoints stress hotspots to guide safer designs
Metals are made of randomly oriented crystals at the microscopic-length scale. The alignment of the crystal faces creates an infinite number of configurations and complex patterns, making simulations of specific patterns ...
Feb 13, 2026
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Robotics
The insect-inspired bionic eye that sees, smells and guides robots
The compound eyes of the humble fruit fly are a marvel of nature. They are wide-angle and can process visual information several times faster than the human eye. Inspired by this biological masterpiece, researchers at the ...
Engineering
New sound-based 3D-printing method enables finer, faster microdevices
Concordia researchers have developed a new 3D-printing technique that uses sound waves to directly print tiny structures onto soft polymers like silicone with far greater precision than before. The approach, called proximal ...
Feb 12, 2026
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