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Engineering

Engineers uncover key to efficient and stable organic solar cells

A team of researchers led by Professor Philip C.Y. Chow from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has made a significant breakthrough in the field of organic photovoltaics.

Robotics

Study explores why human-inspired machines can be perceived as eerie

Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and robots are becoming increasingly advanced, exhibiting capabilities that vaguely resemble those of humans. The growing similarities between AIs and humans could ultimately bring ...

Energy & Green Tech

High-energy-density capacitors with 2D nanomaterials could significantly enhance energy storage

In the quest for more efficient and sustainable energy solutions, a multi-university research team has reached a significant milestone in capacitor technology. Researchers from the University of Houston, Jackson State University ...

Robotics

Why can't robots outrun animals?

Robotics engineers have worked for decades and invested many millions of research dollars in attempts to create a robot that can walk or run as well as an animal. And yet, it remains the case that many animals are capable ...

Robotics

Virtual sensors help aerial vehicles stay aloft when rotors fail

No crystal ball is needed to envision a future that engineers have in mind, one in which air taxis and other flying vehicles ferry passengers between urban locations, avoiding the growing gridlock on the ground below. Companies ...

Energy & Green Tech

New insights lead to better next-gen solar cells

For Michael Saliba and Mahdi Malekshahi, it was one of those moments in science when good experimental results raised more questions. The University of Stuttgart researchers recently developed a new process to make solar ...

Energy & Green Tech

Storing and utilizing energy with innovative sulfur-based cathodes

Electric vehicles and portable electronic devices such as laptops and mobile phones are unthinkable without lithium-ion batteries. The problem is highly toxic materials such as cobalt are often used for the cathodes of these ...

Energy & Green Tech

Salt battery harvests osmotic energy where the river meets the sea

Estuaries—where freshwater rivers meet the salty sea—are great locations for birdwatching and kayaking. In these areas, waters containing different salt concentrations mix and may be sources of sustainable, "blue" osmotic ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Holographic displays offer a glimpse into an immersive future

Setting the stage for a new era of immersive displays, researchers are one step closer to mixing the real and virtual worlds in an ordinary pair of eyeglasses using high-definition 3D holographic images, according to a study ...

Engineering

Extracting high-purity gold from electrical and electronic waste

Korea relies on imports for most of its metal resources, and in recent years, due to resource depletion and rising raw material prices, 'circular resources' that recycle waste metal resources have emerged. In response, SK ...

Robotics

People, not design features, make a robot social

It takes a village to nurture social robots. Researchers who develop social robots—ones that people interact with—focus too much on design features and not enough on sociological factors, like human-to-human interactions, ...

Energy & Green Tech

An ultralow-concentration electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries

Lithium salts make batteries powerful but expensive. An ultralow-concentration electrolyte based on the lithium salt LiDFOB may be a more economical and more sustainable alternative. Cells using these electrolytes and conventional ...