https://techxplore.com/ en-us Tech Xplore internet news portal provides the latest news on electronics, technology, and engineering. Researchers have developed a full-color near-eye display that uses three stacked holographic gratings, each engineered to direct red, green or blue light. The new design could help advance compact, energy-efficient augmented reality (AR) glasses for use in a variety of professional and consumer applications. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-holographic-layers-red-green-blue.html Engineering Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:00:06 EDT news705682502 Chinese scientists have developed a method that could facilitate the large-scale production of high-efficiency perovskite solar cells. The method employs a multidentate anchoring molecule-assisted co-deposition strategy to improve the fabrication of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) through blade coating—a technique that applies a thin film to a substrate with a blade and is suitable for large-scale manufacturing. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-blade-coating-strategy-advances-scalable.html Engineering Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:40:02 EDT news705680821 Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are increasingly popular alternatives to lithium-ion batteries. Sodium (Na) is much more abundant in Earth's crust than lithium, creating an opportunity for lower costs. In addition, SIBs offer enhanced safety and low-temperature performance. Indeed, SIBs are already being commercialized for applications ranging from portable electronics to electric vehicles. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-scandium-durability-sodium-ion-battery.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:00:09 EDT news705678661 Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) College of Design and Engineering (CDE), led by Professor Heng Chye Kiang (NUS Department of Architecture), have developed a computational framework for reconstructing the genealogy of vernacular architecture. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-method-reconstructs-architectural-lineages.html Engineering Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:20:09 EDT news705672361 The trail of likes, shares and downloads we leave across the internet could help predict successful innovations years in advance, Cornell researchers showed by curating two datasets that allowed them to compare early engagement with future impact. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-today-downloads-tomorrow-scientific-impact.html Computer Sciences Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:00:02 EDT news705668341 One of the most promising technologies is perovskite solar cells. They are highly efficient at converting sunlight into electricity, can be manufactured as thin and flexible devices, and require less energy and lower production costs than conventional silicon modules. However, their commercial adoption has long been limited by a fundamental challenge—insufficient long-term stability when exposed to moisture, heat and oxygen. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-neutral-salt-layer-perovskite-solar.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:20:01 EDT news705657121 Artificial intelligence models are jacks of many trades, including writing, generating images, and creating 3D models. But they aren't as helpful when it comes to testing robots or designs for vehicles in diverse environments, since they don't understand physics as well as they do pixels or text. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-physics-ai-simulate-wider-range.html Computer Sciences Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:01 EDT news705656882 The widespread use of conversational platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini is raising important new ethical, anthropological and legal questions regarding the potential risks, misuses and shortcomings of artificial intelligence (AI). In discussing their personal experiences, some people have shared that they formed emotional attachments to AI agents or even felt that they had formed romantic relationships with them. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-people-ai-agents.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:00:02 EDT news705585110 Most batteries spend more than 70% of their lifetime at rest. Yet few studies have examined calendar aging, which is how a battery degrades when it is neither charging nor being used. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-aim-battery-aging-idle.html Engineering Mon, 10 Aug 2026 17:40:05 EDT news705601261 Researchers at Aalto University, together with international partners, have developed the most accurate model yet of how humans read. The new model uses reinforcement learning, a type of AI used in robotics, to explain—and recreate—the choices readers make as they move through text. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-captures-humans-paving-personalized.html Hi Tech & Innovation Mon, 10 Aug 2026 17:00:11 EDT news705599283 The multiplication of matrices and higher-dimensional arrays called tensors lies at the heart of modern computing. Matrix or tensor multiplication is, in fact, the most common operation carried out in artificial intelligence applications, as well as in scientific simulations and computer graphics. High-performance computers, especially those equipped with graphics processing units (GPUs), are designed to work with so-called dense matrices or tensors—those that have relatively few zero elements. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-coding-technique-needless-gpu-tasks.html Hardware Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:40:05 EDT news705596761 The ability to change focus instantly is something most people take for granted. Every day, our eyes effortlessly switch between reading a book, recognizing a face across the room or watching a bird fly overhead. Replicating that remarkable technological flexibility, however, has proved far more difficult. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-graphene-powered-soft-lens-pave.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:20:01 EDT news705596001 In the last decade, scientists have shown that fusion energy can work as a physical process. Next question: Can it work economically? A study co-authored by MIT professors Dennis Whyte and Andrew W. Lo proposes a framework for understanding what's needed to make fusion energy commercially viable in the marketplace. The method considers the physical inputs needed to sustain controlled fusion energy production, as well as the cost of building power plants that can compete in energy markets. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-economic-realities-fusion-power-framework.html Business Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:00:04 EDT news705595681 Why do we breeze through some sentences in a book or article but have to reread others to comprehend their meaning? A team of linguists and data scientists has found a partial answer in AI—some of this processing parallels that of neural-network-based large language models (LLMs). However, other aspects of why we read this way cannot be explained by these technologies, revealing where human and AI language processing diverge and maintaining the mystery of some stages of the reading process. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-labor-words-ai-partial.html Computer Sciences Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:40:10 EDT news705585670 Large language models (LLMs), the models that underpin platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini, are now used daily by more than a billion people worldwide. Some computer scientists have also been combining several of these models to create multi-agent systems (MAS), in which many LLM-based agents work together to tackle complex problems. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-peering-llm-based-multi-agent.html Security Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:20:02 EDT news705585057 Recent advances in miniaturized and portable electronics, particularly wearable and flexible devices, have increased the demand for self-powered sensing technologies. Among these, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have received considerable attention for developing highly sensitive tactile sensors. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-electronic-skin-enables-tunable-proximity.html Robotics Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:20:03 EDT news705580442 Soft materials that change shape in response to heat are attracting growing interest in applications ranging from soft robotics to wearable technologies and biomedical devices. However, conventional extrusion-based 3D printing limits how these materials move because molecules inside each printed filament align in only one direction, restricting every filament to a single actuation mode. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-3d-method-soft-actuators-switchable.html Engineering Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:00:01 EDT news705580261 Cornell researchers are using artificial intelligence to speed the search for better battery materials while using a creative approach to chemistry to expand the design space for electrolytes, unlocking new possibilities for safer, higher-performing energy storage. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-electrolyte-paths-batteries.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:00:09 EDT news705577981 Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), secure elements used to connect devices to a mobile network, can pose severe security risks when compromised. A malicious SIM could allow attackers to gather information about a device, interfere with its connectivity and serve as an entry point for further cyberattacks. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-malicious-sim-cards-hijack-smartphones.html Hardware Mon, 10 Aug 2026 03:00:02 EDT news705321541 In recent years, computer scientists have developed a wide range of artificial intelligence (AI) models that can rapidly recognize patterns in data, generate content and solve other computational problems. Many of these AI systems are based on deep neural networks (DNNs), brain-inspired computational models that can make predictions based on specific data, or LLMs, models that can process human language, answer queries and generate text. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-ai-framework-rooted-cognitive-science.html Computer Sciences Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:40:02 EDT news704472357 A team from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has successfully demonstrated an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven system to automate a powerful simulation method that predicts how atoms in materials interact. Known as atomistic simulations, this method can potentially accelerate the discovery of materials for areas such as batteries, aerospace and electronics. The research is published in the journal Digital Discovery. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-agents-automate-atom-simulations.html Engineering Fri, 07 Aug 2026 13:20:10 EDT news705322075 URL scanning services are now a common component of modern security workflows. They help detect phishing websites or malware early and warn users before they visit a URL. However, the practice of some of these services—publishing scanned URLs—can inadvertently expose sensitive user data. CISPA researcher Ali Mustafa, together with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy and Ca' Foscari University of Venice, conducted the first systematic investigation of the risks arising from this practice. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-factor-privacy-url-scanning.html Software Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:40:09 EDT news705323885 Over the past two decades, a powerful but highly specialized branch of control engineering—known as negative imaginary (NI) systems theory—has quietly evolved into a key tool for stabilizing complex, vibration-prone systems, from flexible structures to advanced robotics. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-negative-imaginary-theory-math-niche.html Engineering Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:20:03 EDT news705323042 AI semiconductors are becoming more programmable. KAIST researchers have developed a device whose response characteristics can be programmed to process data that changes at different speeds. The technology reduced prediction errors for time-varying data by up to 40-fold and is expected to enhance real-time AI performance in autonomous vehicles, robots and wearable devices. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-chameleon-chip-errors.html Hardware Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:20:04 EDT news705311102 On paper, a megawatt-hour is just a megawatt-hour; it will charge your phone or run your dishwasher the same way, regardless of the source. However, its value to, or impact on, the environment is not fixed. It depends almost entirely on what power plant it replaces. A new wind turbine only helps the climate and local air quality to the extent that it pushes a more polluting plant offline. If instead it is just competing with another clean energy source, the environmental benefit effectively disappears. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-power-emissions-equally-impact.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:01 EDT news705311041 Researchers have developed a process for converting carbon dioxide and industrial waste into green hydrogen, reporting in a new study that turning trash into valuable mineral products could usher in a more efficient way to produce clean fuel. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-chemists-industrial-renewable-resource.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:40:03 EDT news705249181 In recent months, American drivers have felt the pain of increased prices at the gas pump. There's some evidence that higher prices may be fueling interest in greener ways of getting around. Battery electric cars, more commonly called electric vehicles or EVs, can be cheaper to own and operate than gas-powered internal combustion engine cars, and they offer considerable sustainability benefits. But just how much better for the planet are electric vehicles, really? https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-car-ev-compelling.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:00:05 EDT news705155941 Imperial and Arup pioneer a new approach to designing tall buildings that uses the building's own weight to reduce movement in high winds and earthquakes. Inspired by traditional Japanese pagodas, it makes towers safer while cutting carbon and construction costs. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-pagoda-floors-tower-sway-material.html Engineering Thu, 06 Aug 2026 13:20:01 EDT news705241142 Many software tools, including compilers, optimizers and synthesizers, have a common task at their core. They must transform long, complicated programs into simplified equivalents. These scaled-down programs run faster and on a wider range of hardware but must deliver the same results as their original versions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-optimizing-software-professor-egg-downsizes.html Software Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:40:24 EDT news705234721 Improving the efficiency of solar cells is key to reducing the cost of solar power. Now, scientists have developed a new synergistic metallization strategy for tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cells. The approach achieved a certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 26.31%, among the highest reported for this technology. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-laser-strategy-topcon-solar-cells.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:00:08 EDT news705159302