Hi Tech & Innovation news

Electronics & Semiconductors

Single transistor design combines memory and signal processing for brain-inspired computing

As artificial intelligence moves increasingly toward edge devices, researchers are exploring electronic components that can combine memory and information processing. Memristive and synaptic devices are of particular interest ...

Energy & Green Tech

Can larger batteries safely power residential buildings? A project in New York aims to show how

A battery system installed in a Buffalo, New York, apartment building will store excess energy when it's plentiful and power the building when the grid is strained and electricity is costly. The manufacturer and state officials ...

Engineering

Flaws become reinforcements: Engineered crystal defects strengthen metals without changing their chemistry

Scientists have found a way to use defects in crystals to engineer stronger materials, according to a new study.

Hi Tech & Innovation

Mini brain organoids 'read' braille in key step toward biohybrid computing

Could computers include tiny brain organoids one day? The human brain is an incredibly energy-efficient computer, and silicon processors that try to imitate it achieve huge energy savings over traditional processors. Now ...

Engineering

Elon Musk unveils Tesla's 'flying' car

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled what he described as a "flying" car, equipped with thrusters, during a livestreamed event at his SpaceX rocket company's facility on Thursday.

Engineering

AI and symmetry speed design of sound-absorbing fabrics

Woven textiles can do more than provide softness and strength. Their microscopic arrangement of yarns can also influence how sound travels through a material. However, finding suitable over-and-under yarn patterns is a difficult ...

Engineering

Metal alloys defy the deep freeze, staying tough at -253°C

Scientists have discovered a class of metal that can unexpectedly resist extreme cold using an unusual mechanism. Normally such temperatures would make similar materials brittle and vulnerable to breaking. The findings, published ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

AI can help run factories better: Thesis sharpens the 3D models

Digital twins are virtual 3D replicas of real spaces such as factories, warehouses and industrial plants. Companies use them to monitor equipment, plan maintenance and simulate changes without disrupting operations.

Hi Tech & Innovation

How bionic eyes are becoming a reality

If you've delved into the worlds of "Star Trek," "The Terminator" or William Gibson's cyberpunk novel "Neuromancer," you'll know that enhanced electronic vision is a staple of science fiction. Now, what was once futuristic ...

Energy & Green Tech

Zinc-air batteries gain new momentum with long-lasting catalyst

Zinc-air batteries can store significantly more energy than lithium-ion batteries, but until now have been virtually impossible to recharge. A team led by Professor Jörg J. Schneider from the Department of Chemistry has now ...

Business

Would you print your next meal?

Several companies are revolutionizing the way we make meals. Step aside microwaves, 3D printers are here.

Hi Tech & Innovation

X-ray vision dives deep to boost safety, inspection and response

X-ray imaging is useful for seeing inside objects without causing damage, but until now it was not practical for use underwater. Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed the first X-ray imaging system that ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Wearable tech lets users control machines and robots while on the move

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a next-generation wearable system that enables people to control machines using everyday gestures—even while running, riding in a car or floating on turbulent ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Could atoms be reordered to enhance electronic devices?

The optical properties of a thin layer of the semiconductor germanium-tin (GeSn) sandwiched between barriers of silicon-germanium-tin (SiGeSn), a structure known as a quantum well, have been studied with a focus on improving ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

AI at the speed of light just became a possibility

Researchers at Aalto University have demonstrated single-shot tensor computing at the speed of light, a remarkable step towards next-generation artificial general intelligence hardware powered by optical computation rather ...

Engineering

Unique resin allows 3D-printing method to add and subtract

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is normally a one-way street. In a digital light processing (DLP) printer, a structured pattern is projected onto a layer of liquid resin, which cures and solidifies. This builds an ...

Robotics

Novel smart fabrics give robots a delicate grip

Robots aren't always the most delicate of machines when handling fragile objects. They don't have the lightness of touch of humans. But that could be about to change thanks to a new development in smart materials.

Robotics

Novel 3D nanofabrication techniques enable miniaturized robots

In the 1980s when micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) were first created, computer engineers were excited by the idea that these new devices that combine electrical and mechanical components at the microscale could be ...