https://techxplore.com/ en-us Tech Xplore internet news portal provides the latest news on electronics, technology, and engineering. Picture a futuristic swarm of robots deployed on a time-sensitive task, like cleaning up an oil spill or assembling a machine. At first, adding robots is advantageous, since many hands make light work. But a tipping point comes when too many crowd the space, getting in each other's way and slowing the whole task down. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-cooks-robots-goldilocks-randomness-robot.html Robotics Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:00:01 EDT news694708981 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 from researchers at Cornell and KAIST, in South Korea, brings that vision closer to reality. The system, called WatchHand, equips off-the-shelf smartwatches with AI-powered micro sonar capable of tracking hand movements. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-sonar-stock-smartwatches-tracking-advancement.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:40:05 EDT news694696262 A cross-institutional research team has developed Co-Located Authentication and Processing (CLAP), a privacy-preserving system that overcomes the trade-off between security and performance in edge computing devices. The study, titled "Privacy-preserving data analysis using a memristor chip with co-located authentication and processing," is published in Science Advances. The team was led by Professor Ngai Wong and Dr. Zhengwu Liu from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), in collaboration with Tsinghua University and the Southern University of Science and Technology. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-memristor-chip-combines-memory-edge.html Hardware Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:20:04 EDT news694695661 While mixing materials typically leads to instability, there exists a phenomenon known as high entropy, where increasing compositional complexity can actually enhance stability. KAIST researchers have leveraged this principle to enable faster proton transport and more efficient reactions within electrochemical cells, developing a technology that significantly improves hydrogen production efficiency. This breakthrough is expected to reduce hydrogen costs and accelerate the transition to clean energy. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-high-entropy-hydrogen-production.html Engineering Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:00:01 EDT news694694242 Voice-activated, conversational artificial intelligence (AI) agents must provide clear explanations for their suggestions, or older adults aren't likely to trust them. That's one of the main findings from a study by AI Caring on what older adults expect from explainable AI (XAI). https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-older-adults-ai.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 06 Apr 2026 11:20:03 EDT news694691882 Researchers have developed a solar-powered reactor to break down hard-to-recycle forms of plastic waste—such as drink bottles, nylon textiles and polyurethane foams—using acid recovered from old car batteries, and converting it into clean hydrogen fuel and valuable industrial chemicals. The results are reported in the journal Joule. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-solar-reactor-battery-acid-plastic.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 06 Apr 2026 11:00:01 EDT news694425241 Modern life depends on fast and reliable wireless connections. Video calls, streaming services, virtual reality, and smart devices all place growing demands on networks that already serve billions of users. Most wireless data today travels through radio-based technologies such as Wi-Fi and cellular systems. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-03-faster-greener-wireless-indoors.html Internet Sun, 05 Apr 2026 14:00:01 EDT news694169544 To be safely and reliably deployed in outer space, underwater and in other extreme environments, robots need to be able to withstand harsh conditions without breaking. In addition, they should be able to promptly and rapidly adapt to dynamic changes in their surroundings. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-resilient-actuator-potential-space-ready.html Robotics Sun, 05 Apr 2026 10:00:03 EDT news694354306 Electrons have three intrinsic properties: spin, charge and orbital angular momentum. Researchers have long studied how to use spin to more efficiently create an electrical current. But the field of orbitronics—which is based upon using an electron's orbital angular momentum, rather than its spin, to create a current flow—remains relatively new. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-door-efficient-orbitronic-devices.html Electronics & Semiconductors Sat, 04 Apr 2026 14:00:03 EDT news694425997 AI companions are always available, never judge, never tire and never demand anything in return. If someone is struggling with loneliness, this frictionlessness can seem profoundly appealing. However, new research shows that in the long term, seeking emotional support from an AI companion can pull users away from important human relationships. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-03-ai-companions-comfort-lonely-users.html Consumer & Gadgets Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:00:06 EDT news694177965 A major problem with quantum computers is memory, as the information they contain can be quickly lost. Quantum computers are not yet fully reliable—they are far too unstable. However, all around the world, people are trying to improve them—some of whom are based in Norway. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-quantum-memory-problem.html Computer Sciences Sat, 04 Apr 2026 10:00:01 EDT news694354592 Rice University scientists and collaborators have created a new type of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor that comes closer than ever to a "perfect" crystal. The findings, reported in the journal Nature Synthesis, could open new possibilities for solar cells and other optoelectronic devices. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-symmetrical-2d-perovskite-boost-tandem.html Electronics & Semiconductors Sat, 04 Apr 2026 07:20:02 EDT news694505521 A research team has developed a next-generation platinum-based catalyst that improves both activity and durability in hydrogen fuel cells. The study is published in Advanced Materials. The team was led by Professor Sang Uck Lee of the School of Chemical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, with Ph.D. candidate Jun Ho Seok as a co-first author and Dr. Sung Chan Cho, in collaboration with Professor Kwangyeol Lee's team at Korea University and Dr. Sung Jong Yoo's team at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-fuel-cell-barriers-platinum-catalyst.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:40:01 EDT news694431421 A research team at Tohoku University and Future University Hakodate has demonstrated that living biological neurons can be trained to perform a supervised temporal pattern learning task previously carried out by artificial systems. By integrating cultured neuronal networks into a machine learning framework, the team showed that these biological systems can generate complex time-series signals, marking a significant step forward in both neuroscience and bio-inspired computing. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-brain-cells-enable-machine.html Hi Tech & Innovation Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:20:01 EDT news694426202 In a recent study published in Nature Communications, researchers created a memristor that uses a built-in oxygen gradient to produce slow, stable conductance changes, enabling a reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm to learn faster and more stably than conventional approaches. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-memristor-built-oxygen-gradient-stability.html Hardware Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:02:29 EDT news694425647 When a screenwriter told New York University researchers last year that letting AI do her work would make her "miserable inside," she was onto something. A follow-up study from NYU's Tandon School of Engineering and Stern School of Business finds that the instinct to compete with generative AI, rather than simply embrace it, is associated with meaningful long-term benefits for writing professionals. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-rivalry-collaboration-attitudes-writers-age.html Machine learning & AI Fri, 03 Apr 2026 07:00:02 EDT news694412991 A Japanese water plant is harnessing the natural process of osmosis to generate renewable energy that could one day become a common power source. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-energy-japanese-harness-power-osmosis.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 03 Apr 2026 04:45:09 EDT news694410270 While technology has made the world "smaller," it has also pulled individuals apart, thanks to mobile phones and other devices that command our attention. Cornell University researchers are using technology, in the form of a mirror-equipped robot, to help bring people together. Members of the Architectural Robotics Lab, led by Keith Evan Green, have built a four-foot-tall robot—dubbed MirrorBot—with dual mirrors that, when placed in front of a pair of strangers, let each participant see themself in one mirror and the other person in the other. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-mirrorbot-robot-foster-human.html Robotics Thu, 02 Apr 2026 17:00:10 EDT news694366621 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 air purifiers, helping to mitigate outbreaks of viral respiratory diseases and prepare for the next pandemic. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-uv-air-disinfection-minutes.html Engineering Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:40:03 EDT news694364942 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 that show AI is still failing at 95%+ of remote freelance projects, and continues to struggle with hallucination, long term planning, and forms of abstract reasoning that humans find easy. But recent work from METR has found evidence that LLMs can gain capabilities in rapid surges—jumping from succeeding almost never to almost always in just a few years. If this is true across the economy, it could mean that workers could be blindsided by AI advances. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-tides-overturning-prior-views-ai.html Business Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:20:01 EDT news694364439 A team from the Universitat Politècnica de València, part of the Valencian University Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (VRAIN) and ValgrAI, has participated in the development of ADeLe, a new methodology that offers precise explanations and predictions regarding whether large language models (LLMs) will succeed or fail at specific new tasks they have not yet performed. Furthermore, this methodology identifies exactly the limits of any given model's reasoning capacity. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-method-success-llms-untried-tasks.html Machine learning & AI Thu, 02 Apr 2026 15:20:02 EDT news694361402 From birds flying in formation to students working on a group project, the functioning of a group requires not only coordination and communication but also trust—each member must be confident in the others. The same is true for networks of connected machines, which are rapidly gaining momentum in our modern world—from self-driving rideshare fleets, to smart power grids. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-framework-networks-robots-vehicles-safer.html Robotics Thu, 02 Apr 2026 14:20:01 EDT news694354745 As the demand for more reliable power systems grows in the renewable energy sector, the race is on to develop batteries that cost less but have a longer lifespan. While zinc-based batteries are safer and more cost-effective than lithium-ion batteries, a major obstacle to their use in large-scale, grid storage is their shorter lifespan. They fail sooner because they develop tiny, tree-shaped metal structures on the anode called dendrites, which cause the battery to short-circuit. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-gold-coating-zinc-batteries.html Engineering Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:40:03 EDT news694354561 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 voltages stable. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-method-flags-fairness-autonomous.html Computer Sciences Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:20:04 EDT news694349461 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 transportation and decarbonization policies. The paper, "Ubiquitous Data-driven Framework for Traffic Emission Estimation and Policy Evaluation," is published in Nature Sustainability. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-traffic-emissions-block-real.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:00:03 EDT news694348321 Although AI is not intentionally biased, it can inherit biases from the data fed into it, learning and repeating them until the system becomes inherently unfair. This is complicated by the problem of identifying where the AI system introduced the bias, as most AI systems display their final decision without showing the steps that made it. Unfair patterns may go unnoticed simply because they are hard to identify. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-fair-decisions-fuzzy-ai-fairness.html Computer Sciences Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:40:03 EDT news694344001 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 benched, and still lift up to 100 times their own weight. The new heavyweight champions of robotics will be lighter, smaller, and disconnected from a power source. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-air-powered-artificial-muscles-robots.html Robotics Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:20:06 EDT news694343881 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 excess energy and feeding it back into the grid when demand surges. This approach could ease grid strain, cut emissions, and create revenue—but only if gradually paired with timely grid upgrades. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-electric-vehicles-power.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:00:01 EDT news694252984 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 to analyze an orthopedic patient's gait. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-revealing-strength-impact.html Engineering Thu, 02 Apr 2026 10:40:03 EDT news694343515 Good news for people who regret the Gmail address they came up with when they registered for an account: Google is now letting users change it. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-awkward-gmail-google-users.html Internet Thu, 02 Apr 2026 10:20:04 EDT news694342599