Hi Tech & Innovation news

Robotics

Engineered skin tissue grants robots special properties and abilities

Researchers have found a way to bind engineered skin tissue to the complex forms of humanoid robots. This brings with it potential benefits to robotic platforms such as increased mobility, self-healing abilities, embedded ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Empowering navigation for the visually impaired through Augmented Reality

Vision loss and visual impairment have long been a significant concern for human well-being amid an increasingly aging population. In a collaborative effort by researchers from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) ...

Computer Sciences

Breaking benchmarks: Frontier supercomputer sets new standard in molecular simulation

When scientists pushed the world's fastest supercomputer to its limits, they found those limits stretched beyond even their biggest expectations.

Robotics

New soft robotic gripper designed with graphene and liquid crystals

Eindhoven researchers have developed a soft robotic "hand" made from liquid crystals and graphene that could be used to design future surgical robots. The new work has just been published in the journal ACS Applied Materials ...

Engineering

New fabric makes urban heat islands more bearable

This year has already seen massive heat waves around the globe, with cities in Mexico, India, Pakistan and Oman hitting temperatures near or past 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).

Hi Tech & Innovation

'Flying taxis' to be tested during Paris Olympics: Minister

France's transport minister said Wednesday that so-called "flying taxis"—large futuristic drones capable of transporting several people—would be authorized for use on an experimental basis during the Paris Olympics.

Hi Tech & Innovation

New detector paves the way to large-scale optical neural networks

For the first time, researchers have used a surface normal nonlinear photodetector (SNPD) to improve the speed and energy efficiency of a diffractive optical neural network (ONN). The new device lays the groundwork for large-scale ...

Engineering

Engineers use kirigami to make ultrastrong, lightweight structures

Cellular solids are materials composed of many cells that have been packed together, such as in a honeycomb. The shape of those cells largely determines the material's mechanical properties, including its stiffness or strength. ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Japanese turn to wearable tech to beat the heat

Selling jackets with built-in fans, neck coolers and T-shirts that feel cold, Japanese firms are tapping into a growing market for products to help people handle the summer heat.

Engineering

Clever coating turns lampshades into indoor air purifiers

Indoor air pollution may have met its match. Today, scientists will report that they have designed catalyst-coated lampshades that transform indoor air pollutants into harmless compounds. The lampshades work with halogen ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Tough memory device aims for space missions

Among the many hazards encountered by space probes, exposure to radiation and huge temperature swings pose particular challenges for their electronic circuits. Now KAUST researchers have invented the first ever flash memory ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Driverless taxis gain ground in San Francisco

California authorities took a major step forward Thursday in expanding driverless taxi services in San Francisco, giving the green light for operators Waymo and Cruise to compete with ride-share services and cabs.

Hi Tech & Innovation

Why the growth of AI in making art won't eliminate artists

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in the news, most recently concerning the Hollywood actors' strike about the potential impact of AI in filmmaking. Another story involved AI being used to replicate the voice ...

Robotics

3D printed robotic gripper doesn't need electronics to function

A new soft robotic gripper is not only 3D printed in one print, it also doesn't need any electronics to work. The device was developed by a team of roboticists at the University of California San Diego, in collaboration with ...