Hi Tech & Innovation news

Hi Tech & Innovation

AI agents debate more effectively when given personalities and the ability to interrupt

In a typical online meeting, humans don't always wait politely for their turn to speak. They interrupt to express strong agreement, stay silent when they are unsure, and let their personalities shape the flow of the discussion. ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Virtual reality demonstrates the 'honey-pot effect' in pedestrian attention to public displays

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have used virtual reality (VR) to demonstrate that pedestrians' behaviors, such as stopping or turning their heads, can induce gaze following (the "honey-pot effect") among individuals ...

Energy & Green Tech

Fungi turn shredded mattress foam into lightweight building insulation

Swinburne researchers have turned old, unwanted mattresses into safe and sustainable building insulation materials using fungi. The team grew a common fungus together with shredded mattress foam to create a new material that ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Musk vows to put data centers in space and run them on solar power but experts have their doubts

Elon Musk vowed this week to upend another industry just as he did with cars and rockets—and once again he's taking on long odds.

Engineering

Octopus-inspired 'smart skin' uses 4D printing to morph on cue

Despite the prevalence of synthetic materials across different industries and scientific fields, most are developed to serve a limited set of functions. To address this inflexibility, researchers at Penn State, led by Hongtao ...

Energy & Green Tech

Oxygen-modified graphene filters boost natural gas purification

As we shift toward more sustainable fuels, natural gas and biogas, which mainly contain methane (CH4), have become important sources of energy and raw materials for chemical production. However, these gases also contain impurities ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

New AI system fixes 3D printing defects in real time

Additive manufacturing has revolutionized manufacturing by enabling customized, cost-effective products with minimal waste. However, with the majority of 3D printers operating on open-loop systems, they are notoriously prone ...

Energy & Green Tech

Electric eel biology inspires powerful gel battery

Power sources used in devices found in or around biological tissue must be flexible and nontoxic, while still powerful enough to support demanding technologies such as medical devices or soft robotics. To achieve this balance, ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Using AI to turn sound recordings into accurate street images

Using generative artificial intelligence, a team of researchers at The University of Texas at Austin has converted sounds from audio recordings into street-view images. The visual accuracy of these generated images demonstrates ...

Engineering

Smart microcapsule arrays mark local stress variation in materials

Predicting material failure is a significant challenge in materials science, as stress history often leaves no visible signs. To address this, researchers at ETH Zurich's Laboratory for Soft Materials and Interfaces, Multi-Scale ...

Robotics

Robotic model with real pigeon feathers can fly like a bird

Have you ever wondered why an airplane has a vertical tailfin? The plane needs it to stabilize its flight. Since flying without a vertical tail is much more energy-efficient, the aviation industry has worked hard to accomplish ...

Energy & Green Tech

Using camp stoves to power electronics in the wilderness

While camping is a great opportunity to unplug and connect with nature, it's hard not to rely on some sort of technology—cellphones, radios, lanterns, and portable chargers are all useful tools to bring along while exploring ...

Engineering

Carpet fibers can stop concrete cracking

Engineers in Australia have found a way to make stronger and crack-resistant concrete with scrap carpet fibers, rolling out the red carpet for sustainability in the construction sector.