https://techxplore.com/ en-us Tech Xplore internet news portal provides the latest news on electronics, technology, and engineering. Anthropic postponing the release of its new AI model Claude Mythos, said to be so skilled at coding it could be a wicked weapon for hackers, has encountered a mix of alarm and skepticism. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-mythos-ai-alarm-bells-fair.html Machine learning & AI Sat, 11 Apr 2026 02:30:01 EDT news695091104 The heads of America's biggest banks met this week with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to weigh the security implications of a new artificial intelligence system developed by Anthropic, according to reports Friday. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-anthropic-mythos-ai-uncovers-thousands.html Machine learning & AI Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:13:04 EDT news695041952 Imagine traveling in a foreign country, reaching for a window you've never seen before, and instead of struggling to open it, you feel your own muscles gently guide you through the motion, as if an invisible teacher was there, lending their know-how. Now picture that same sensation helping you twist open a child-proof pill bottle, operate a camera, or perform tasks you've never practiced before. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-muscle-context-aware-electrical.html Hi Tech & Innovation Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:40:06 EDT news695031962 Use of ChatGPT, Claude and other large language models, or LLMs—what most people call "AI"—has surged since ChatGPT debuted publicly in 2022. Hundreds of millions of people now use these tools weekly, according to recent estimates. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-worldview.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:20:03 EDT news695022302 In an era when most TikTok videos are prerecorded, can a band with a new single create a tighter bond with fans by debuting via livestream instead? Can a business do the same when promoting a new product? https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-online-viewers-livestreams.html Business Thu, 09 Apr 2026 20:40:04 EDT news694959170 Training a large artificial intelligence model is expensive, not just in dollars, but in time, energy, and computational resources. Traditionally, obtaining a smaller, faster model either requires training a massive one first and then trimming it down, or training a small one from scratch and accepting weaker performance. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-compression-technique-ai-leaner-faster.html Computer Sciences Thu, 09 Apr 2026 15:20:01 EDT news694960323 Muscles are remarkably effective systems for generating controlled force, and engineers developing hardware for robots or prosthetics have long struggled to create analogs that can approach their unique combination of strength, rapid response, scalability, and control. But now, researchers at the MIT Media Lab and Politecnico di Bari in Italy have developed artificial muscle fibers that come closer to matching many of these qualities. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-electrofluidic-fiber-muscles-enable-silent.html Robotics Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:20:01 EDT news694959583 Researchers have developed a volcanic rock formula that cuts carbon emissions by 67%, potentially offering an affordable alternative to increasingly scarce cement additives. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-volcanic-formula-cement-emissions-thirds.html Engineering Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:10:01 EDT news694957125 With their ability to shapeshift and manipulate delicate objects, soft robots could work as medical implants, deliver drugs inside the body and help explore dangerous environments. But the squishy machines are often limited by rigid mechanical parts or external systems that provide power or help them move. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-origami-robot-built-printable-polymers.html Robotics Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:00:05 EDT news694954021 For weeks now, the global tech industry has been waiting for a major artificial intelligence launch from DeepSeek, seen as a benchmark for China's progress in the fast-moving field. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-deepseek-china-ai-ambitions.html Machine learning & AI Thu, 09 Apr 2026 04:31:54 EDT news694927850 Researchers have developed a simple and eco-friendly way to use a laser to turn natural leather into flexible and wearable energy devices. The new approach could lay the groundwork for more sustainable wearable electronics. In a paper in Optics Letters, the researchers demonstrate the new technique by creating microsupercapacitors on leather in various patterns, including a tiger, dragon and rabbit. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-leather-power-laser-written-microsupercapacitors.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 08 Apr 2026 16:20:03 EDT news694883702 In an effort to meet the rising energy demands of data centers, engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new chip design that could improve how graphics processing units (GPUs) convert and manage power. The technology demonstrates a more efficient way to perform a critical task in electronics: converting high voltages into lower levels required by computing hardware. In lab tests, a prototype chip performed the type of voltage conversion used in modern data centers with high efficiency. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-prototype-chip-boost-efficiency-power.html Hardware Wed, 08 Apr 2026 16:00:02 EDT news694882441 UNSW researchers have redesigned hydrogen fuel cells to solve a critical flaw, bringing clean energy for aviation, heavy transport and beyond closer to reality. Hydrogen fuel cells, using locally produced green hydrogen as the only fuel, have long been viewed as the ultimate clean energy source, but their commercialization has been difficult. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-hydrogen-fuel-cell-key-energy.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:40:03 EDT news694871424 Guide dogs are powerful allies, leading the visually impaired safely to their destinations, but they can't talk with their owners—until now. Using large language models, a team of researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York has created a talking robot guide dog system that determines an ideal route and safely guides users to their destination, offering real-time feedback along the way. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-powered-dogs-dont.html Robotics Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:20:01 EDT news694872782 XPANCEO, a deep-tech company developing smart contact lenses, has unveiled a passive eye-tracking system that achieves industry-level measurement precision using standard cameras. The system employs microscopic patterns embedded in contact lenses that enable high-accuracy passive gaze tracking without requiring active electronics or dedicated power sources. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-deep-tech-company-high-precision.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:40:03 EDT news694869662 Some batteries have been known to catch fire or explode at high temperatures or when under stress. This safety concern has pushed researchers to experiment with different ways to design safer batteries that can ideally still perform reliably and efficiently. Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) are considered a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries, but still face safety risks, especially at high capacities. But now, a team of researchers in China has designed a new type of electrolyte for NIBs that may eliminate these risks, allowing for stable performance across a wide temperature range. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-safer-sodium-battery-thermal-runaway.html Engineering Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:00:04 EDT news694867883 For many people living in developed nations, towns and cities take care of ensuring that residents' water is clean and safe. Municipalities have advanced filters and UV light disinfection technologies at their disposal. Some households have additional filters as well. In many places in the Global South, however, these technologies are not widely available. These areas, such as parts of Africa and South America, do have one advantage when it comes to water filtration—sunlight. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-solar-powered-device-disinfects-hour.html Engineering Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:00:06 EDT news694795201 Anthropic on Tuesday said its yet-to-be-released artificial intelligence model called Claude Mythos has proven keenly adept at exposing software weaknesses. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-latest-anthropic-ai-software-defenses.html Machine learning & AI Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:20:01 EDT news694789368 SMU researchers have created an electromagnetic coil system that can control microrobots without requiring continuous visual tracking of their position—a significant advancement that could enable microrobots to operate inside the body, within industrial pipes and other places that aren't always visible with a camera. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-magnetic-setup-microrobots.html Robotics Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:00:01 EDT news694777898 A breakthrough technology has emerged to fundamentally solve the camera protrusion/thickness issue, which has been a persistent limitation as smart devices become thinner. A KAIST research team has developed an ultra-thin camera that achieves a wide 140-degree field of view (FOV) without any lens protrusion. This technology is expected to be applied across various fields, including medical endoscopes, wearable devices, and micro-robots. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ultra-thin-camera-degree-view.html Engineering Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:40:05 EDT news694787522 To improve data center efficiency, multiple storage devices are often pooled together over a network so many applications can share them. But even with pooling, significant device capacity remains underutilized due to performance variability across the devices. MIT researchers have now developed a system that boosts the performance of storage devices by handling three major sources of variability simultaneously. Their approach delivers significant speed improvements over traditional methods that tackle only one source of variability at a time. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-software-pooled-ssd-centers.html Software Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:12:57 EDT news694782611 In some settings and when completing some collaborative tasks, humans are required to coordinate their movements or actions with those of others. A clear example of this is musical performance, particularly instances in which two or more musicians play their instruments together. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-wearable-robots-pairs-violin-players.html Robotics Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:10:06 EDT news694777673 When movie and TV directors want to tinker with their footage in post-production, they have an array of tools at their disposal to perfect a scene if it wasn't shot exactly how they liked. That includes removing objects like stray equipment or unwanted background actors. But the tech has its limits when it comes to more complex physical interactions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-video-tool-laws-physics.html Software Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:20:03 EDT news694778242 Researchers have developed an intelligent monitoring pipe that combines optical sensing with machine learning algorithms to monitor and predict 3D soil settlement. With more development, the system could help provide early warnings of risks from soil settlement, helping prevent pipeline displacement, accidents from building cracks, and even structure collapse. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-intelligent-pipe-3d-soil-settlement.html Engineering Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:20:04 EDT news694774921 Engineers from UNSW have created a worldwide UV radiation map for solar panels, highlighting major differences in exposure depending on climate and mounting systems. Their new global study has revealed that ultraviolet (UV) radiation may be quietly shortening the lifespan of next-generation solar panels by up to 10 years—and current industry testing standards may not fully reflect real-world conditions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-global-reveals-hidden-uv-generation.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 07 Apr 2026 09:50:01 EDT news694773721 Swapping a single atom can fine-tune the thermal conductance of single-molecule junctions without affecting their electrical conductance, according to a study led by University of Michigan Engineering with collaborators at the University of Augsburg published in Nature Materials. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-swapping-atom-molecule.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 07 Apr 2026 07:00:01 EDT news694754127 In tropical cities, afternoon thunderstorms can plunge entire neighborhoods into brief moments of darkness. When civil engineer Markus Schläpfer moved to Singapore a decade ago, he recognized these thunderstorms as an emerging engineering challenge. For cities that hope to run on solar energy, these short periods without strong sunlight could destabilize urban power grids and undermine reliability. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-electric-cars-tropical-cities-solar.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 07 Apr 2026 05:00:05 EDT news694686121 Researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Belgium and Yachay Tech University in Ecuador have come to a surprising conclusion: wind and solar energy, often criticized for their lack of predictability and dependence on the weather, could make Ecuador's power supply substantially more reliable. Their findings are published in Nature Water in a paper titled "Variable renewables fortify Ecuador's power system against recurrences of drought-driven energy crises." https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-solar-ecuador-power-crisis.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 07 Apr 2026 05:00:02 EDT news694712821 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