Hi Tech & Innovation news

Engineering

A truly invisible device that does not disturb its surroundings and its metamaterial shell

Metamaterials are carefully engineered materials that possess desirable properties and can be used to manipulate electromagnetic, acoustic, or other types of waves in interesting ways. Some materials scientists and engineers ...

Energy & Green Tech

Engineered wood provides solar power even after the sun goes down

While sustainable solar energy can potentially meet our global power needs, it has one major flaw. When sunlight disappears, solar panels stop generating electricity. The problem is that while they do an excellent job of ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Printed neurons communicate with living brain cells

Northwestern University engineers printed artificial neurons that don't just imitate the brain—they talk to it. In a new study, the Northwestern team developed flexible, low-cost devices that generate electrical signals realistic ...

Engineering

Tiny battery-free tags turn radio waves into a new way to track breathing at home and in hospitals

The same wireless technology that can track your cat or locate an item in a warehouse can also monitor your breathing. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the University of ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Tiny cameras in earbuds let users talk with AI about what they see

University of Washington researchers developed the first system that incorporates tiny cameras in off-the-shelf wireless earbuds to allow users to talk with an AI model about the scene in front of them. For instance, a user ...

Robotics

Electrofluidic fiber muscles could enable silent robotic systems

Muscles are remarkably effective systems for generating controlled force, and engineers developing hardware for robots or prosthetics have long struggled to create analogs that can approach their unique combination of strength, ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Leather gets a power upgrade with laser-written microsupercapacitors

Researchers have developed a simple and eco-friendly way to use a laser to turn natural leather into flexible and wearable energy devices. The new approach could lay the groundwork for more sustainable wearable electronics. ...

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

Your clothes may become smarter than you

You're probably used to the sight of smartwatches on people's wrists. But what about smart clothes? Researchers at the University of Georgia are exploring how the clothes people wear can potentially track and protect their ...

Software

Multiply and subtract your way to more lifelike VR avatars

POSTECH's (Pohang University of Science and Technology) Professor Inseok Hwang's team has developed ArithMotion, a mobile virtual reality (VR) system that enables anyone to express a wide range of avatar motions with ease. ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Photonic chips advance real-time learning in spiking neural systems

Researchers have developed photonic computing chips that overcome key limitations for a type of neural network known as a photonic spiking neural system. By enabling fast learning and decision making using purely light-based ...