https://techxplore.com/ en-us Tech Xplore internet news portal provides the latest news on electronics, technology, and engineering. A thermoelectric generator with a shape that no human designer would likely have imagined has now been created by a computer—and it performs more than eight times better than conventional designs. Rather than relying on intuition or repeated trial and error, the breakthrough was achieved through advanced computational optimization. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-thermoelectric-generator-efficiency.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 28 Apr 2026 17:00:02 EDT news696613561 Imagine a display that harvests ambient light when it is not actively in use, offsetting some of its own energy consumption. Materials physics shows that this is possible; the same semiconductor material can, in principle, emit and absorb light efficiently. What has been missing is a device architecture that allows it to do both without reductions in efficiency of either application. A new study reports a perovskite diode that converts sunlight to electricity at 26.7% efficiency (a world record at the time of publication) and emits light at 31% efficiency, figures that would be high for a device designed to do only one of those things. The work is published in the journal Joule. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-solar-cell-moonlights-absorbing-emitting.html Engineering Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:40:04 EDT news696612362 Perovskite solar cells are a rapidly advancing photovoltaic technology that has seen a dramatic rise in power conversion efficiency in recent years. A key driver of this progress is the use of molecular charge-selective contacts—ultrathin interlayers only a few nanometers thick—that replace conventional bulk transport materials. These molecular layers play a critical role in extracting and transporting electrical charges at the electrode interface. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-molecular-interface-tweak-reliable-perovskite.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:00:01 EDT news696609730 Robotically assembled building blocks could be a more environmentally friendly method for erecting large-scale structures than some existing construction techniques, according to a new study by MIT researchers published in the journal Automation in Construction. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-robotically-blocks-efficient-sustainable.html Robotics Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:40:05 EDT news696605161 To reliably complete various manual tasks, robots should be able to handle a variety of objects, ranging from items found in households to tools used in specific professional settings. While many existing robotic systems can now complete basic manual tasks, such as picking up objects and carrying them to a set location, most systems still struggle with tasks that entail the dexterous manipulation of objects. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-fingereye-bridges-vision-robot-contact.html Robotics Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:00:07 EDT news696596891 Workplace hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses. While hearing loss is preventable with earplugs, they can be uncomfortable, and users often remove them despite the risks. Low-frequency sounds, such as rumbling traffic and warehouse vibrations, are especially difficult to address because differences in ear physiology allow sound to leak into ears, despite protection from earplugs. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-meta-earplugs-booming-voice-effect.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:00:19 EDT news696500461 Scientists are advancing a promising solution to two of the world's biggest challenges—plastic pollution and clean energy—by transforming waste plastics into valuable fuels using sunlight. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-solar-photoreforming-plastic-fuel-temperatures.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:00:01 EDT news696590942 In a new analysis, two UCL researchers argue that the present system used to allocate billions in research funding was designed for a world without AI agents and may no longer be fit for that purpose. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-agentic-ai-threatens-funding.html Business Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:20:01 EDT news696587461 Researchers have developed an ultra-thin optical film that improves the quality of the light used in LCD resin-based 3D printers. The advance helps ensure that tiny details are reproduced with precision, which could make it possible to 3D-print medical-grade or industrial-grade products at a lower cost. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-3d-printers-gain-medical-grade.html Engineering Mon, 27 Apr 2026 17:40:06 EDT news696519279 As global demand for lithium-ion batteries continues to surge, a team of Rice University researchers has developed a faster, more energy-efficient way to recover critical minerals from spent batteries, potentially easing supply chain pressures and reducing environmental harm. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-faster-greener-method-recycle-lithium.html Engineering Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:00:08 EDT news696523262 The EU on Monday laid out measures it wants Google to take to open up its operating system to rival AI services, in a move slammed by the US tech giant. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-eu-google-android-ai-rivals.html Business Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:00:05 EDT news696519945 It does not take much to confuse some robots. A machine might be great at handling a simple object like a box, yet when it tries to work with a more irregular shape like a banana, it often fails. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-bananas-cups-peelers-robots-fruits.html Robotics Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:40:03 EDT news696519081 A University at Buffalo-led team has found a way to help chiral semiconductors, electronic materials whose structures are left- or right-handed like many of life's building blocks, absorb visible light. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers chemically combined a chiral semiconducting material with a non-chiral molecule that more readily absorbs visible light. The result is a new material system that can both absorb visible light and distinguish between left- and right-handed light waves, opening new possibilities for optoelectronic technologies. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-gen-semiconductors-life-handedness.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:20:02 EDT news696517381 DNA stores our genetic code. What if it could also be integrated with electronics to store and read other information? Scientists have been investigating how to store data in DNA, but retrieving the information remains a challenge. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-video-electrical-metal-dna-memory.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:40:07 EDT news696515402 OpenAI officially discontinued its video generation tool, Sora, on April 26, 2026. I'm a computer scientist who's been developing AI tools and studying their evolution and adoption for the past decade, and I wasn't surprised by OpenAI's decision to shut down Sora. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-sora-shutdown-reveals-limits-ai.html Business Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:20:03 EDT news696514083 AI chatbots can grant almost any request—a celebrity in love with you, a research assistant, a book character sprung to life—instantly and with little effort. New research presented at the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems suggests that this genie-like quality is fueling AI addiction, and that chatbot design could be partly to blame. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-addicted-ai-chatbot.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 27 Apr 2026 12:20:01 EDT news696509648 Researchers at the Intelligent Biomimetic Design Lab at Peking University have developed a bio-signal framework showing that fish muscles do far more than generate swimming motion. In a series of studies led by Xie Guangming, Professor at the School of Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics, and carried out by twin brothers Waqar Hussain Afridi and Rahdar Hussain Afridi, muscle electrical signals were used to reconstruct body posture, infer surrounding flow conditions, and transfer biological principles to robotic systems. These findings open new directions in biological telemetry, locomotion research, and bio-inspired underwater robotics. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-fish-muscles-blueprints-smarter-underwater.html Robotics Mon, 27 Apr 2026 11:10:01 EDT news696506335 Digital image sensors (DIS), devices that capture images by converting light patterns into electrical signals, are integrated in many contemporary electronic devices, including smartphones, digital cameras and some medical instruments. These sensors rely on tiny light-sensitive units called pixels, which record brightness and color. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-motion-sensor-captures-ultra-high.html Engineering Mon, 27 Apr 2026 10:00:08 EDT news696502431 As devices for wireless sensing systems become smaller and more complex, finding suitable power sources for them is becoming increasingly difficult. However, advances in low-power sensing technology may allow such systems to operate using small amounts of energy available in the environment, such as body heat. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-batteries-body-potential-battery-free.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:20:05 EDT news696499621 Due to the explosive growth of artificial intelligence, it is estimated that data centers will consume up to 12% of total U.S. electricity by 2028, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Improving data center energy efficiency is one way scientists are striving to make AI more sustainable. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-power-bill-easier-center.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:00:06 EDT news696499082 Renewable energy technologies, such as solar cells and wind turbines, are becoming increasingly widespread in many countries worldwide. Reliably storing the electricity produced by these devices, so that it can be used later at times when sunlight or wind are scarce, would further improve their effectiveness as sustainable energy solutions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-based-zinc-batteries-tackle-barrier.html Energy & Green Tech Sun, 26 Apr 2026 09:30:03 EDT news696162382 Over the past decades, technological advances have opened remarkable possibilities for the detection and monitoring of various physiological signals associated with heart health (e.g., heart rate and ECG), sleep stages and physical activity. Most existing health and fitness trackers, however, are powered by a battery that needs to be recharged daily, every few days, or weekly. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-battery-free-textile-real-blood.html Electronics & Semiconductors Sat, 25 Apr 2026 10:40:01 EDT news696253599 Running past Buckingham Palace during training, Tilly Dowler is closing in on a goal she once thought out of reach. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ai-smart-glasses-visually-impaired.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 24 Apr 2026 12:40:05 EDT news696252144 Hydrogen is often described as the fuel of the future—a clean, energy-dense way to store renewable power and decarbonize industries from steelmaking to shipping. But inside the devices that produce it, a surprisingly small and familiar phenomenon is getting in the way: bubbles. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-hydrogen-highlights-outsized-impacts-tiny.html Engineering Fri, 24 Apr 2026 11:40:07 EDT news696249121 In the race to make AI models not just reason better but respond faster, latency—the delay before an answer appears—is often treated as a purely technical constraint, something to minimize and move past. But how is this relentless push for speed actually impacting the people using these systems every day? https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-faster-ai-isnt.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:40:06 EDT news696245701 Tesla's much-touted autonomous "robotaxi," called the Cybercab, has started production, CEO Elon Musk said on Friday, the same week that the carmaker reported first-quarter profits that beat expectations. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-tesla-robotaxi-production-cybercab-ramp.html Automotive Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:00:05 EDT news696243246 Kodak invented the digital camera in 1975. Management looked at it, decided film was doing fine, and put the technology in a drawer. By the time they took it seriously, other companies had taken the market. Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2012. Solar is winning on every metric. According to an international coalition led from the University of Twente, that's exactly why the research behind it is in trouble. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-solar-climate.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:40:01 EDT news696241923 Penn Engineers have developed SmartDJ, an AI-powered editor that lets users modify immersive audio environments with simple instructions in everyday language, with potential applications in virtual reality, augmented reality, gaming and sound design. Instead of requiring users to specify individual edits, SmartDJ can respond to high-level requests like "make this sound like a busy office," then plan and carry out the steps needed to achieve that result. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-smartdj-users-reshape-audio-simple.html Machine learning & AI Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:00:03 EDT news696239281 The retina, the thin layer of tissue at the back of the eye, is made up of photoreceptor cells that convert visible light into electrical signals, which is essential for human vision. Some diseases, such as retinal degeneration, cause these photoreceptor cells to stop working, which results in blindness. Researchers at Yonsei University, the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) and other institutes in the Republic of Korea have recently developed a new artificial retina that could partly restore vision in people with damaged retinas. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-artificial-retina-doesnt-aim-sight.html Electronics & Semiconductors Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:40:01 EDT news696223555 DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence startup that shook world markets last year, launched preview versions of its latest major update Friday as the AI rivalry between China and the U.S. heats up. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-deepseek-v4-million-token-context.html Machine learning & AI Fri, 24 Apr 2026 04:30:03 EDT news696222711