Hi Tech & Innovation news

Electronics & Semiconductors

Shape-morphing brain sensor adheres to curved surfaces for ultrasound neurostimulation

Transcranial focused ultrasound, a non-invasive technique to stimulate specific areas of the brain using high-frequency sound waves, could be a promising treatment strategy for many neurological disorders. Most notably, it ...

Engineering

Scientists develop novel digital encoding system using fluorescent pixels

A team of scientists has developed a novel digital encoding and data storage system based on a combination of microcapsules containing different luminescent dyes and phase change materials. This work represents an important ...

Engineering

Lasers provide boon for manufacturing of ceremonial Thai umbrellas

Seen atop pagodas, inside Buddhist ordination halls, and in royal palaces, the tiered umbrella is one of Thailand's oldest and most sacred ornamental symbols. Constructing one of these ornate pieces, also called chatras, ...

Engineering

New origami-inspired system turns flat-pack tubes into strong building materials

Engineers at RMIT University have designed an innovative tubular structural system that can be packed flat for easier transport and pop up into strong building materials. This breakthrough is made possible by a self-locking ...

Engineering

New device simplifies manipulation of 2D materials for twistronics

A discovery six years ago took the condensed-matter physics world by storm: Ultra-thin carbon stacked in two slightly askew layers became a superconductor, and changing the twist angle between layers could toggle their electrical ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Japan plans driverless bullet trains

Shinkansen bullet trains could be whizzing around Japan without drivers from the mid 2030s, one of its main rail operators said, motivated in part by the country's demographic crisis.

Engineering

Revolutionizing 3D printing through microwave technology

In the rapidly evolving world of 3D printing, the pursuit of faster, more efficient and versatile production methods is never-ending. Traditional 3D printing techniques, while groundbreaking, are often time-consuming and ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Spanish airline to fly UK-made helium airships

Spain's Air Nostrum has become the first airline to reserve 100-seat helium airships that emit just one tenth of harmful emissions produced by jet planes, their British manufacturer said Wednesday.

Robotics

Rubbery camouflage skin exhibits smart and stretchy behaviors

The skin of cephalopods, such as octopuses, squids and cuttlefish, is stretchy and smart, contributing to these creatures' ability to sense and respond to their surroundings. A Penn State-led collaboration has harnessed these ...

Robotics

Scientists craft living human skin for robots

From action heroes to villainous assassins, biohybrid robots made of both living and artificial materials have been at the center of many sci-fi fantasies, inspiring today's robotic innovations. It's still a long way until ...

Robotics

Introducing GTGraffiti: The robot that paints like a human

Graduate students at the Georgia Institute of Technology have built the first graffiti-painting robot system that mimics the fluidity of human movement. Aptly named GTGraffiti, the system uses motion capture technology to ...

Energy & Green Tech

Sponge-like solar cells could be basis for better pacemakers

Holes help make sponges and English muffins useful (and, in the case of the latter, delicious). Without holes, they wouldn't be flexible enough to bend into small crevices, or to sop up the perfect amount of jam and butter.

Consumer & Gadgets

An edible QR code takes a shot at fake whiskey

In the future, when you order a shot of whiskey, you might ask the bartender to hold an edible fluorescent silk tag that could be found floating inside—even though it is safe to consume.

Energy & Green Tech

New 'fabric' converts motion into electricity

Scientists at NTU Singapore have developed a stretchable and waterproof "fabric" that turns energy generated from body movements into electrical energy.