Engineering news
Engineering
Small modular reactor potential lies in industry, not grid power
A technoeconomic assessment of small modular reactor (SMR) development across the United States suggests stakeholders should shift focus from the power sector to industry, according to a University of Michigan Engineering ...
7 hours ago
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Engineering
Autonomous robots gain high-resolution radar that avoids 88% of unnecessary computations
Radar, a key sensor for autonomous mobile robots, uses radio waves to determine the distance, speed and direction of surrounding obstacles. Because it operates reliably even under adverse weather conditions, such as rain, ...
9 hours ago
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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 ...
10 hours ago
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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 ...
Sep 21, 2026
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Ultrathin film blocks electromagnetic waves while masking infrared heat
A research team led by Dr. Taehoon Kim of the Composites & Convergence Materials Research Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), collaborated with research teams led by Dr. Seon Joon Kim and Dr. Jaewoo ...
Sep 21, 2026
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Engineering
Insect-inspired corrugations could help drones fly in Mars-like thin air
Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have used an evolutionary algorithm to identify optimal shapes for ultra-thin, bio-inspired corrugated airfoils, the two-dimensional cut-throughs of wings. Lightweight membrane-like ...
Sep 21, 2026
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Engineering
Carbon imperfections could replace scarce metals in future clean-hydrogen production
The global transition toward carbon-free, clean and sustainable energy has accelerated the search for new hydrogen-producing technologies. However, making clean hydrogen by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen is expensive ...
Sep 21, 2026
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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.
Sep 19, 2026
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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 ...
Sep 18, 2026
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Engineering
Pilot system couples seawater desalination with hydrogen production
Seawater holds enormous potential for green hydrogen production, but realizing that potential remains far from straightforward. Direct seawater electrolysis can damage electrodes, whereas conventional freshwater electrolysis ...
Sep 18, 2026
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Robotics
Bio-inspired whiskers enable tiny drones to navigate in darkness using touch
Rats and mice can scurry through dark, tight spaces with ease—in caves, underground burrows, buildings or sewers. Their superpower is their whiskers. Now, tiny autonomous drones could soon navigate through darkness, dust ...
Sep 18, 2026
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Engineering
Waste from paper production could help make stronger, lower-carbon car materials
Carbon fiber is a key component in automobile manufacturing, aerospace engineering and energy infrastructure, but it mostly relies on petroleum-derived products, which can be expensive and contribute to carbon emissions. ...
Sep 18, 2026
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Robotics
Maple-seed-inspired robot flies more accurately with predictive control
A flying robot with just one moving part may sound simple. Controlling one precisely is anything but. Most conventional drones rely on several rotors to control how they rise, turn and move. A robot with only one actuator ...
Sep 18, 2026
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Engineering
Cost-conscious method helps design automated materials labs before equipment is purchased
A research team from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a new modeling and optimization framework that helps researchers design modularized autonomous experimentation (MAE) platforms ...
Sep 18, 2026
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Engineering
Ferroelectric material that's stable at near-atomic thickness reveals new route to low-power electronics
Electronics engineers worldwide have been trying to develop increasingly smaller components that can store and process information while consuming less energy. Ferroelectric materials, which possess spontaneous electrical ...
Robotics
A robot that shifts its own weight to cross land, steps, and water
A robot meant to inspect a coastline, a flooded street or a wetland can't count on one kind of ground. It might need to crawl over a hard surface, climb a bank, scale a curb or a step, then slide into open water, often within ...
Sep 17, 2026
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Engineering
MRI technique eliminates 'dead time' to capture rapidly fading signals, making scans more precise
A team of researchers at the University of Stuttgart has developed a new method that could make MRI even more precise by eliminating "dead time," a key limiting factor in the measurement process, thereby enabling the detection ...
Sep 17, 2026
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Engineering
Engineers create revolutionary new sound effect paradigm by manipulating sound wave interactions
Electronic engineers at Nottingham have found a new way to create sound effects by manipulating the interaction of sound waves, a method that could open new possibilities in music performance and production. It is a novel ...
Sep 17, 2026
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Engineering
New method can assess interchangeability of chemically different battery types
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has developed a new method to determine when sodium-ion (Na-ion) and lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technologies can provide comparable electrical performance for defined applications.
Sep 17, 2026
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Robotics
Autopilot drone maps zigzag routes to clear moss from sloping roofs
Drones have many uses in surveillance and surveying, industrial inspection, aerial photography and filmmaking, package delivery and even dynamic light shows. Their fundamental ability to carry cameras, sensors and other equipment ...
Sep 17, 2026
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Engineering
Recycled concrete aggregate may help treat acid mine drainage at a lower cost
A study led by Penn State researchers suggests that recycled concrete aggregate and an iron-rich byproduct of steel production could help treat acid mine drainage, the toxic runoff that pollutes thousands of miles of streams ...
Sep 17, 2026
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Engineering
Balancing alkalinity and strength in construction soil by optimizing aeration timing
Construction-generated soil is one of the largest byproduct streams from construction, yet its reuse can be limited after stabilization with cement- or lime-based binders. These binders improve workability and strength but ...
Sep 17, 2026
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Engineering
Steelmaking waste could store solar energy, with electric arc furnace slag leading early tests
Storing energy as heat is a proven pathway to address the challenge solar power faces when it's dark or cloudy outside by enabling the capture, storage and on-demand release of thermal energy. The process, called high-temperature ...
Sep 16, 2026
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Engineering
It bends, but does not break: A new sustainable treatment for shaping wood
The Smart Materials research unit, coordinated by Athanassia Athanassiou, deputy scientific director of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia) in Genoa, Italy, has developed a new method ...
Sep 16, 2026
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Engineering
Tiny hydrides reveal hidden stresses that can crack nuclear reactor pressure tubes
Western University engineers have taken a major step toward solving a long-standing challenge in nuclear power. Their study, published in Nature Communications, describes for the first time how hydrogen can combine with zirconium ...
Sep 16, 2026
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