Hi Tech & Innovation news

Electronics & Semiconductors

'Impossible' low-loss, tunable dielectric achieved in microwave electronics

The result on his computer screen looked impossible. Late one night in 2009, Nate Orloff was alone in a laboratory, analyzing measurements from a set of experimental thin films sent to him by Darrell Schlom, the Tisch University ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Dog-bone design helps 2D nanoribbon transistors stay fast and efficient as widths shrink

Transistors, small semiconductor-based switches that control the flow of electricity, are central components of all electronic devices, from computers to smartphones, wearables, sensors and smart appliances. Over the past ...

Engineering

A new type of pixel can steer and analyze light, paving way for devices that function as both camera and display

In 1927, the term "picture element," later abbreviated to "pixel," appeared for the first time in the American technology magazine Wireless World. Today, pixels are everywhere: in computer screens and television sets, where ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Neural-machine interfaces reveal that brain senses hand movement through grasp synergies

A research team led by Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic, has uncovered new insight into how the brain senses movement. Their findings, published in Science Advances, could ...

Energy & Green Tech

Seaweed-based ingredient helps turn dirt into 3D-printed walls

An ingredient that gives ice cream a creamier texture could make natural earthen materials like clay and sand easier to 3D print into durable structures, according to new research led by scientists at the University of Colorado ...

Engineering

Infrared filter could help detect pollution and disease

Researchers have developed a tiny, electrically tunable infrared filter that could help shrink bulky thermal sensing systems onto portable chips—a technology that could lead to handheld pollution detectors, compact multispectral ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

AI museum brings sights, sounds and smells of the rainforest

The squawks of macaws, the smell of wet earth after rain and a swirl of colors will transport visitors from a Los Angeles museum to the heart of the Amazon rainforest—or rather, an AI version of it.

Hi Tech & Innovation

Paint it black(er): A new way to make cars darker than ever

Scientists have developed a practical way to make ultra-black coatings to meet demand for trendy, luxury vehicles in China. The coating, described in a paper published in Matter & Light, is made up of a composite of carbon ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Innovations on show at Paris Vivatech fest

Around 15,000 startups from around Europe and beyond are showing off their wares at the VivaTech trade show in Paris until Saturday.

Engineering

Ease of use is key to exoskeleton adoption, engineers show

Wearable exoskeletons can help reduce physical strain in the workplace and protect employees from injury, but the technology has yet to achieve widespread adoption. A new study published in PLOS One by engineers at The University ...

Engineering

Wearable device helps blind people detect obstacles

Researchers from the São Paulo State University (UNESP) and the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES) in Brazil have developed a wearable device to help visually impaired people move around. The technology has tactile ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

'The Matrix is everywhere': cinema bets on immersion

In a Los Angeles theater, a trench coat-wearing Neo bends backwards to dodge bullets that spiral over the viewer's head, as the sound of gunfire erupts from everywhere.

Hi Tech & Innovation

3D printing metal molds poised to accelerate US auto manufacturing

Recent advancements at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory show that 3D-printed metal molds offer a faster, more cost-effective and flexible approach to producing large composite components for mass-produced ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Five things to do in virtual reality—and five to avoid

Open-heart surgery is a hard thing to practice in the real world, and airplane pilots cannot learn from their mistakes midair. These are some scenarios where virtual reality solves really hard problems, but the technology ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Secure encryption and decryption with luminescent perovskites

To guarantee high data security, encryption must be unbreakable while the data remains rapidly and easily readable. A novel strategy for optical encryption/decryption of information has now been introduced in the journal ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Cool computing—why the future of electronics could lie in the cold

Modern computer chips generate a lot of heat—and consume large amounts of energy as a result. A promising approach to reducing this energy demand could lie in the cold, as highlighted by a new Perspective article by an international ...