Last update

Engineering

This paint changes colors when hit, revealing location and strength of impact

Imagine a paint that changes color depending on how hard its surface is hit. It could be used on football helmets to monitor concussion-level impacts, to record the handling history of shipped packages, or placed on insoles ...

Business

Crashing waves vs. rising tides: Overturning prior views about how AI could overtake human workers

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has said that AI could surpass "almost all humans at almost everything" shortly after 2027. While AI's capabilities are certainly improving, such rapid progress might seem at odds with findings ...

Robotics

Air-powered artificial muscles could help robots lift 100 times their weight

Researchers at Arizona State University are developing bio-inspired robotic "muscles" that will enable robots to operate in boiling water, survive abrasive surfaces, bypass impediments that keep their motorized counterparts ...

Computer Sciences

New AI testing method flags fairness risks in autonomous systems

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to help optimize decision-making in high-stakes settings. For instance, an autonomous system can identify a power distribution strategy that minimizes costs while keeping ...

Technology news

Energy & Green Tech

Researchers measure traffic emissions, to the block, in real-time

In a study focused on New York City, MIT researchers have shown that existing sensors and mobile data can be used to generate a near real-time, high-resolution picture of auto emissions, which could be used to develop local ...

Energy & Green Tech

How electric vehicles could back up the power system

Electric vehicles (EVs) could do more for our environment than simply replace gasoline. Published in Joule, a new assessment of EV charging strategies suggests that EVs could serve as a vast network of mobile batteries, storing ...

Engineering

UV glow test measures air disinfection performance in minutes

The effectiveness of air disinfection devices may now be measured in minutes, rather than hours, with a new technique from University of Michigan Engineering. This is important for researchers developing better antiviral ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

'Energy sandwich' could power next-generation solar and lighting

Researchers have achieved a new level of control over the atomic structure of a family of materials known as halide perovskites, creating a finely tuned "energy sandwich" that could transform how solar cells, LEDs and lasers ...

Energy & Green Tech

New hope for lithium extraction from old batteries

A new study shows that lithium—a critical element used in rechargeable batteries and susceptible to supply chain disruption—can be recovered from battery waste using an electrochemically driven recovery process. The method ...

Energy & Green Tech

The next frontier in clean flight? Jet fuel from city waste

Aviation currently contributes about 2.5% of total global carbon emissions, and with air travel demand expected to double by 2040, cutting those emissions has become a pressing priority. One path forward is sustainable aviation ...

Engineering

Morphing 3D-printed structures from flat to curved—in space

Because it's costly and cumbersome to transport large structures such as satellite dishes into space, aerospace Ph.D. student Ivan Wu and his advisor, Jeff Baur, at The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois ...