Engineering news
Engineering
Dust-resilient perovskite solar cells could cut manufacturing costs and expand green energy worldwide
Research appearing in Communications Materials has shown that perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are remarkably resilient to dust during production, challenging the industry belief that high-performance solar technology must be ...
10 hours ago
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Engineering
Mach 1.5 tests reveal noise feedback loops from supersonic jets
Researchers from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion, or FCAAP, are helping to solve a safety challenge in military aviation: the extreme noise generated by supersonic jets ...
12 hours ago
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Plasma and lemon juice: Milder method retrieves nearly 95% of critical minerals in battery waste
Critical minerals such as those used in lithium-ion batteries come in limited supply and are concentrated in specific regions around the world. Securing a reliable supply of these materials is a priority for governments worldwide, ...
10 hours ago
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Harvesting heat and electricity from the sun, when you need it
Solar energy is abundant and frustratingly ill-timed. A sunbeam can become either electricity (useful for running modern life) or heat (useful for keeping spaces warm). But conventional solar hardware is single-minded: Photovoltaic ...
15 hours ago
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Why solid-state batteries keep short-circuiting
Batteries that use solid metal as their charge-carrying electrolyte could potentially be a safer and far more energy-dense alternative to lithium-ion batteries. Unfortunately, these solid-state batteries have been plagued ...
16 hours ago
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Robotics
A robotic hand without motors? How a sub-second shape-shifting actuator could work
While space structures and robotic arms require lightweight actuation devices capable of repetitive movement, conventional motor-based systems face limitations due to their heavy weight and complex structures. A KAIST research ...
18 hours ago
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Engineering
New bifacial solar cells yield efficiencies above 32%
Solar cells, devices that can convert sunlight into electricity, are now widely used in many countries worldwide. Over the past few years, energy engineers have been exploring alternative designs that could further boost ...
Mar 24, 2026
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Engineering
Platinum-free fuel cells get a boost thanks to carbon-coated nickel catalyst
A high acid environment is great for a snappy hydrogen oxidation reaction—the reaction at the heart of a clean-energy fuel cell. The problem is the only catalysts that won't dissolve in the high acid of traditional fuel ...
Mar 24, 2026
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Engineering
Stamping high-res imagery onto everyday items to 'reprogram' their appearance
Imagine a world where you could change the designs you see on bags, shirts, and walls whenever you want. Typical clothes would become customizable fashion pieces, while your humble abode could turn into a smart home. That's ...
Mar 24, 2026
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Engineering
Generative AI-powered forecasting for sustainable urban development
Researchers introduce a novel generative AI-driven framework, MMCN (Memory-aware Multi-Conditional generation Network), for forecasting future urban layouts by jointly considering building density, building height, transportation ...
Mar 24, 2026
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Engineering
A faster route to solid-state batteries? Ultrasonic welding creates lithium-garnet interface in seconds
Bonding lithium metal to a ceramic surface should be a dream team combination for creating solid-state lithium metal batteries. However, getting them to bond is the hard part. Impurity layers tend to form on the surface, ...
Mar 24, 2026
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Business
New framework helps companies turn tech risks into strategic opportunities
In the high-stakes world of product innovation, companies often face a paradox: adopting cutting-edge technology—such as biosensors that monitor heart rate and stress or energy-efficient chips that enable continuous health ...
Mar 24, 2026
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Robotics
Bird‑like robots promise greater flexibility and control than drones
A bird banking in a crosswind doesn't rely on spinning blades. Its wings flex, twist and respond instantly to its environment. Engineers at Rutgers University have taken a major step toward building bird-like drones that ...
Mar 23, 2026
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Engineering
One-step coating keeps fabrics superhydrophobic after tens of thousands of abrasion cycles
Developing robust water-repellent textiles is critical for outdoor, protective, and industrial applications. However, achieving long-lasting water repellency under mechanical stress has been a major challenge.
Mar 23, 2026
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Engineering
New device and method detect percentage of recycled plastic in plastic products
Recycled plastics are promoted on everything from water bottles and fleece jackets to shopping bags and yogurt cups: "This product is made with XX% recycled plastic." Verifying such claims, however, is another matter because ...
Mar 23, 2026
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Robotics
Insect-inspired robot tracks odors even with only one working 'antenna'
A collaborative research group has developed a bio-inspired robotic system based on insect behavior which can locate odor sources both indoors and outdoors with consistent accuracy, even if one of its two sensors fails. The ...
Mar 23, 2026
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Engineering
Safety method for testing diffusion welds could clear path for compact nuclear reactors
Compact heat exchangers could enable advanced nuclear reactors that are smaller, more efficient and more affordable—but a critical step in their adoption is verifying they can withstand the high temperatures and possibly ...
Mar 23, 2026
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Engineering
Elders' stories are bringing digital models of lost communities to life
Some of the 3D digital models created by researchers to depict lost neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio, tell a clear story by placing the "ghosts" of houses that were demolished for freeway construction atop the roadways now ...
Mar 23, 2026
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Engineering
Sound waves could be used to remotely reprogram material stiffness, from implants to robotic muscles
A team of researchers co-led by the University of California San Diego, University of Michigan, and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) at Laboratory of Acoustics of Le Mans University has demonstrated ...
Mar 22, 2026
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Robotics
Simple motor networks mimic human muscle behavior under increasing load
Scientists have developed a network of mechanical motors that mimic the molecular machinery underpinning human muscle contraction. The University of Bristol-led findings, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface ...
Mar 21, 2026
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Engineering
Magnets turn random snapping in soft metamaterials into repeatable sequences
Cutting patterns into elastic materials allows you to unfold those materials into new shapes, and researchers have now demonstrated the ability to control the sequence in which that unfolding happens by magnetizing the materials. ...
Mar 20, 2026
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Engineering
Engineers devise a way to prevent manufacturing shutdowns during cyberattacks
A professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and a team of Rutgers students are proposing a means to defend manufacturers from cyberattacks—and ensure the uninterrupted production of mission-critical national security ...
Mar 20, 2026
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Engineering
Space-grade perovskite solar cells can survive extreme temperature fluctuations
The Aydin Group at LMU Munich has unveiled a novel strategy for making perovskite solar cells more robust against extreme temperature fluctuations. To this end, the researchers led by Dr. Erkan Aydin, group leader at LMU's ...
Mar 19, 2026
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Engineering
LED method blocks ambient light to keep projection images sharp in bright environments
Projection mapping has the potential to create shared immersive experiences in exhibitions, commercial facilities, and public spaces. However, the technique is highly sensitive to ambient lighting, meaning that clear projected ...
Mar 19, 2026
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Robotics
Wind-powered robot could enable long-term exploration of hostile environments
Researchers at Cranfield University have created WANDER-bot, a low-cost, 3D-printed robot that is powered by wind energy. Designed to spend long durations in hostile, windy environments such as certain deserts, polar regions ...
Mar 19, 2026
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