Hi Tech & Innovation news

Consumer & Gadgets

Ultrasound and AI turn off-the-shelf smartwatch into full-body tracker without cameras

For the first time, researchers can track the movement of a person's entire body with ultrasonic sound waves, using just an off-the-shelf smartwatch and a lightweight artificial intelligence model—all while ensuring privacy ...

Engineering

3D-printed robotic frog swims using six artificial muscles powered by light

A small robotic frog developed at Aarhus University can swim using six artificial muscles activated by light. Behind the achievement is a systematic approach that could help researchers develop muscles for the next generation ...

Robotics

Extra robotic thumb lets wearers complete two-handed tasks with one hand

To complete many everyday tasks and chores, humans typically use both of their hands. For instance, when opening a bottle, they use one hand to hold the bottle and the other to twist its cap. Researchers at the University ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Radar wristband turns your arm into a smartwatch trackpad

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed technology that turns a smartwatch user's forearm into a trackpad, allowing the user to scroll, zoom, click on icons and so on. The system relies on a radar system ...

Robotics

China touts tech, AI cred at world Web Summit

China is flexing its technological muscles at the global Web Summit in Lisbon starting Tuesday, showcasing dancing robots and low-cost artificial intelligence models as Beijing weathers claims that it spied on the AI chip ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Directional VR passwords improve recall with a sense of place

Researchers have demonstrated a new password authentication technique for use in virtual reality (VR) settings, which allows users to choose directions rather than numbers. The approach supports the same number of possible ...

Robotics

Advanced coating can alter a drone's radar signature

Drones have become a crucial element in modern security and defense. The ability to manipulate the signals reflected from drones—so that, for example, it is possible to fly close to a radar without being detected—is therefore ...

Energy & Green Tech

Engineers adapt laser physics trick to deliver heat on demand

When a process needs a burst of heat, a steady supply may not be enough. Storing thermal energy and delivering it quickly are challenges for applications such as sterilization, cleaning or starting up distillation systems. ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

AI helps find better recipes for 3D-printing titanium parts

Engineers can 3D-print high-performance titanium parts for aircraft, medical implants and advanced machinery, but finding the right printing settings can still require costly and time-consuming trial and error. A new study ...

Energy & Green Tech

Rechargeable battery prototype runs on vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is essential for the body's proper functioning and is found in foods of animal origin. It is produced by certain bacteria that, in addition to being found in nature, are cultivated at industrial facilities for ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Researchers teach football to AI models

The NFL has given Carnegie Mellon University researchers access to official film and on-field data to develop new technologies that can enhance the way coaches, players and fans annotate, analyze and understand games.

Consumer & Gadgets

Sonar on stock smartwatches leads to hand-tracking advancement

Imagine tapping your thumb and index finger together twice to skip to the next song or clicking around your laptop or desktop computer without a mouse, using discreet finger motions. New first-of-its-kind wearable technology ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Opening the door to more efficient orbitronic devices

Electrons have three intrinsic properties: spin, charge and orbital angular momentum. Researchers have long studied how to use spin to more efficiently create an electrical current. But the field of orbitronics—which is based ...

Computer Sciences

Helping resolve quantum computers' memory problem

A major problem with quantum computers is memory, as the information they contain can be quickly lost. Quantum computers are not yet fully reliable—they are far too unstable. However, all around the world, people are trying ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Living brain cells enable machine learning computations

A research team at Tohoku University and Future University Hakodate has demonstrated that living biological neurons can be trained to perform a supervised temporal pattern learning task previously carried out by artificial ...

Engineering

UV glow test measures air disinfection performance in minutes

The effectiveness of air disinfection devices may now be measured in minutes, rather than hours, with a new technique from University of Michigan Engineering. This is important for researchers developing better antiviral ...

Energy & Green Tech

Photothermal fabric panels could cut heating energy up to 23%

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have unveiled a tool to combat climate change, fossil-fuel dependency, skyrocketing home-heating bills, and gentrification all at once—a simple fabric treated with a ...

Hardware

New memory chip survives temperatures hotter than lava

The electronics inside your phone, your car, and every satellite currently orbiting Earth share one critical weakness: heat. Push them past about 200 degrees Celsius and they start to fail. For decades, that thermal ceiling ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Vibrations in your skull may be your next password

A team led by Rutgers University researchers has developed a security system that could change how people log in to virtual and augmented reality platforms by eliminating passwords, personal identification numbers and eye ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Photonic chip packaging can withstand extreme environments

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new way to package photonic integrated circuits—tiny chips that convey information using light instead of electricity—so they can survive ...

Engineering

AI-based model measures atomic defects in materials

In biology, defects are generally bad. But in materials science, defects can be intentionally tuned to give materials useful new properties. Today, atomic-scale defects are carefully introduced during the manufacturing process ...