Hi Tech & Innovation news

Engineering

For precision tech, a hydrogen-tuned crystal could cancel thermal expansion

Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have discovered that a hydrogen-absorbing material shrinks in one direction upon heating, so-called negative thermal expansion (NTE). They found that this NTE is driven by a phase ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Smart pillow lets users stream podcasts and music with hugs and presses

A "smart pillow" that enables people to access digital content at bedtime without looking at screens could help cut down on problematic evening smartphone use, its inventors say. Computing scientists at the University of ...

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. ...

Energy & Green Tech

Carbon nanotube fiber 'textile' heaters could help industry electrify high-temperature gas heating

A cross-disciplinary team at Rice University has developed a new type of electric heating element—one that looks less like a traditional metal coil and more like a high-performance thread. In a study published in Small, ...

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 ...

Engineering

GiantEye—new dimensions in computed tomography

Traditional industrial tomographs reach their physical limits when it comes to large volumes and high radiography requirements. Fraunhofer IIS's XXL CT system, built in 2013, is considered the world's only publicly accessible ...

Engineering

Origami-inspired ring lets users 'feel' virtual worlds

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are technologies that allow users to immerse themselves in digital worlds or enhance their surroundings with computer-generated filters or images, respectively. Both these technologies ...

Robotics

Handy robot can crawl and pick up objects from multiple angles

Like something out of the Addams Family, scientists have created a detachable robotic hand that can crawl and grab objects. The design enables tasks such as retrieving objects beyond normal reach and performing multi-object ...

Engineering

New 3D-printing extrusion system redefines printing limits

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a novel extrusion system that combines multiple 3D-printing extruders into a single, high-output stream via specially designed nozzles. ...

Robotics

A geometric twist boosts the power of robotic textiles

By rethinking how thin metal threads are woven into a flexible textile, EPFL researchers have created a lightweight fabric capable of lifting over 400 times its own weight. The work advances the development of wearables that ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Reinventing personalized fashion with a new sewing app

Wouldn't it be great if you could just take a picture of yourself with your mobile phone and sew your own clothes—in exactly the right size and fit? The solution is on the way.

Electronics & Semiconductors

Liquid metal powers a whole new kind of motor

Researchers at UNSW have developed a new type of motor that spins, not with rigid components, but with a droplet of liquid metal. The breakthrough could transform soft robotics, flexible electronics, and medical devices.

Energy & Green Tech

A new approach to energy harvesting opened up by the quantum world

Touch the back of a laptop and it often feels warm. This is because part of the energy used for computation and communication escapes to the outside as heat. Yet even this "waste heat" still contains a great deal of usable ...