https://techxplore.com/rss-feed/engineering-news/ en-us The latest news on engineering technology, engineering science, computer engineering , civil engineering, chemical engineering, aerospace engineering and environmental engineering. Autonomous vehicles are already a reality on some of our streets and could become a major part of future transportation systems. Safety, of course, is the main concern, as with all vehicles. To help evaluate and improve its autonomous driving technology, U.S. driverless vehicle company Waymo has created a virtual representation of human driver behavior in near-crash situations. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-waymo-unveils-virtual-driver-autonomous.html Engineering Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:40:05 EDT news700402963 Hydrogen could be the key to a clean energy future, but a tiny problem has been holding it back: bubbles. In a paper published in Energy & Environmental Science, a multidisciplinary team of UNSW researchers, in collaboration with researchers from TotalEnergies and EPFL, has found a new way to boost the efficiency of green hydrogen production. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-porous-electrode-green-hydrogen-output.html Engineering Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:00:01 EDT news700400941 Anuja Tripathi grew up in Kanpur, India, where coal fly ash from a nearby power plant coated rooftops, windowsills and laundry hung outside to dry. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ashes-hidden-critical-elements-emerges.html Engineering Wed, 10 Jun 2026 16:40:06 EDT news700327441 A bicycle robot from the Robotics and AI Institute (RAI) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has become the first to perform an unassisted acrobatic front flip. RAI calls the bicycle robot an ultra-mobility vehicle (UMV). It can reach a height of 3 feet (0.9 meters) and can jump from the floor onto a platform. The contributions of a Georgia Tech Ph.D. student helped make these feats possible through a robot control policy he developed. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-bike-robot-unassisted-front-flip.html Robotics Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:00:05 EDT news700300381 Although self-driving cars and sophisticated robots use advanced cameras, computer algorithms and artificial intelligence to perceive their surroundings, these artificial eyes struggle to remain reliable in mixed lighting conditions. A team of researchers, co-led by an engineer from Penn State, has proposed a solution that mimics the mechanics of the human eye to adapt from bright to dark light in seconds. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-artificial-eyes-human-sight-cars.html Engineering Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:00:03 EDT news700126803 Kirigami is a variation on the Japanese art of origami, or paper folding, in which cuts are used to create three-dimensional structures—for example, pop-up cards created from a sheet of paper. Kirigami also has applications in engineering design for creating materials with unique mechanical behaviors. However, most studies of kirigami materials have focused on structures with parallel and perpendicular cuts, limiting the applications of the final creations. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-inclined-kirigami-path-soft-robots.html Engineering Mon, 08 Jun 2026 15:20:03 EDT news700150091 It's a race against the clock when someone falls overboard: People's chances of being found before they drown from exhaustion or freeze to death dwindle by the minute. Rescue efforts are often hampered by the time it takes a vessel at full throttle to halt so a rescue boat can be deployed and start searching for the person, who is by now far from the ship. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-autonomous-drone-life-jackets-people.html Robotics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 13:20:06 EDT news700143121 The oceans hide some of the most sophisticated solutions nature has ever developed and are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the robotics of the future. The Bioinspired Soft Robotics research unit, coordinated by Barbara Mazzolai, associate director for robotics at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT—Italian Institute of Technology), has developed an octopus-inspired soft robotic arm that, thanks to the technology embedded in its artificial suction cups, is capable of sensing contact, estimating the intensity and direction of the applied force, and grasping objects autonomously, even in complex environments such as underwater settings. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-robotic-arm-octopus-tactile-sensors.html Robotics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 12:20:08 EDT news700139881 Basements, tunnels, large buildings—a weak Wi-Fi or mobile signal in these hard-to-reach places is frustrating. The usual solution is to add more electronics like routers, repeaters and base stations. Yet, as we move towards a 6G mobile network, this kind of complex infrastructure can be unsustainable and prohibitively expensive. Higher-frequency channels of 6G communications aim to provide vastly more data bandwidth than the current 5G, but those channels are more easily blocked by walls, people and other obstacles. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-tech-solution-6g-problem-metacrystal.html Engineering Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:00:06 EDT news699810481 By borrowing a trick from tiny jumping spiders, Northwestern University engineers have developed an extremely energy-efficient 3D camera. Called SpiderCam, the new device senses depth the same way that jumping spiders judge distances before making a high-precision hop. To estimate depth, the system captures two images of the same scene with slightly different focus settings and measures subtle differences in blurriness between the two images. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-spiders-ultra-efficient-3d-camera.html Engineering Sun, 07 Jun 2026 16:50:01 EDT news699810781 Aviation is one of the sectors that contributes most to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change on Earth. One proposed strategy for mitigating or counterbalancing the effects of these emissions is to substitute existing jet fuel with a more sustainable alternative made from plastic waste, another source of pollution on Earth. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-plastic-yields-jet-fuel-kilogram.html Engineering Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:20:05 EDT news699873834 A fire alarm jolts you from your office desk, and you head for the nearest exit. But what if the closest exit has already been blocked by the fire? Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have developed an AI model called Safe Step that can redirect occupants to the safest evacuation route in a fire. Described in the Journal of Building Engineering, the model can be used with electronic displays to show whether an exit is safe to use. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ai-redirecting-evacuees-safer-exits.html Engineering Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:40:08 EDT news699808947 Like modern-day alchemists, metallurgists are constantly discovering and perfecting recipes for better alloys. A crucial step in those recipes is to get different metals to mix evenly. Unveiling a new utensil for the metallurgical kitchen, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have invented a way to whisk metal with a laser as it's 3D-printed, opening a new route for creating hard-to-make metal alloys. To verify their success, they also developed a way to watch changes in the metal using X-rays as they melted and solidified in a fraction of a second. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-looping-lasers-whisk-molten-metals.html Engineering Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:20:07 EDT news699793802 Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a new, entirely bio-based material from a somewhat unexpected ingredient: yeast. The material is 3D printed and customized for use in architectural and interior design elements that are currently made from non-renewable or fossil-based materials, such as plaster, plastic or synthetic textiles. These may be daylight modulating and sunlight protecting screens, room partitions or wall systems. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-yeast-based-materials-power-3d.html Engineering Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:40:06 EDT news699705541 Korean researchers have developed a new catalyst design technology that can improve the performance of batteries and hydrogen fuel cells while reducing energy loss. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-electric-fields-boost-battery-fuel.html Engineering Mon, 01 Jun 2026 15:20:02 EDT news699545522 Metamaterials—the term may sound esoteric to the layman. In science and engineering, however, this is an interesting field of research that has developed at a highly dynamic pace, particularly since the 1990s. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-wafer-thin-silicon-millions-patterns.html Engineering Sun, 31 May 2026 09:00:03 EDT news699200635 From the shallow shores of Lake Wahlberg to the salty depths of the ocean, University of Florida researchers are dropping robots in the water and training them to communicate more efficiently in murky conditions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-tiny-underwater-antenna-robots-dark.html Robotics Fri, 29 May 2026 14:20:03 EDT news699281406 As the global transition toward carbon neutrality accelerates, "water electrolysis"—a technology that splits water electrically to produce clean hydrogen—is drawing significant attention. However, a major limitation has been the decline in efficiency caused by bubbles formed during the electrolysis process that block the pathways. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-redesigned-catalyst-pathways-vent-fast.html Engineering Fri, 29 May 2026 13:20:01 EDT news699279482 For decades, engineers have searched for underground tunnels by sending signals from the surface downward—an approach that can miss what lies below. By reversing that approach, researchers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have demonstrated a method to reveal hidden underground structures using acoustic signals generated below ground. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-underground-acoustic-reveal-hidden-tunnels.html Engineering Fri, 29 May 2026 10:00:03 EDT news699267364 NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft is preparing for some of its most significant flights yet. The X-plane is about to begin a new block of test flights that will include its first time flying faster than the speed of sound and other mission-critical objectives. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-nasa-supersonic-flight.html Engineering Fri, 29 May 2026 09:20:07 EDT news699264722 A new invention from a team that includes a University of Maryland researcher halts the copper degradation cycle that turns statues, roofs, and even nickels green. Researchers have developed a liquid reactive ink that can print copper onto nearly any surface without oxidation or corrosion. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-everlasting-copper-reality-reactive-ink.html Engineering Thu, 28 May 2026 17:20:01 EDT news699207301 Demand for lithium has surged in recent years as lithium-ion batteries increasingly power more of our world. And yet, even as places like the U.S., Europe, and Australia have abundant lithium resources within their borders, China dominates global lithium refining. The biggest hurdle to tapping into the U.S. and Australia's lithium is getting it out of hard rock minerals in a form that is useful. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-loop-cheaper-lithium.html Engineering Thu, 28 May 2026 14:00:07 EDT news699182942 Solar cells, devices that can convert sunlight into electricity, are now widely used in many countries and are contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on Earth. While most of the solar cells on the market today are based on silicon, energy engineers have been exploring the potential of other photovoltaic materials, including a class of materials known as perovskites. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-dielectric-mismatch-boosts-perovskitesilicon-tandem.html Engineering Thu, 28 May 2026 12:33:33 EDT news699190326 When it comes to snow groomers, excavators or crane vehicles, how can their operation be optimized even in difficult conditions and made safer for people in and around the vehicle? An international research team, including the Institute of Visual Computing at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), investigated this question as part of the THEIA-XR project. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-disco-lasers-groomers-tracks-cues.html Engineering Thu, 28 May 2026 10:20:09 EDT news699180357 Researchers have drawn inspiration from armadillos to create a protective structure that responds to external threats by curling into a protective ball to protect electronic devices or other payloads. The structure is designed to automatically respond when it detects strain and can be tuned to respond to anything from a delicate touch to a significant impact. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-armadillos-soft-robotic-shell-flips.html Engineering Wed, 27 May 2026 14:00:05 EDT news699074152 Lithium-ion batteries dominate the market for large-scale energy storage today. However, the element's uneven global distribution and rising costs are driving the search for alternatives. Sodium is roughly a thousand times more abundant in Earth's crust and can be extracted from seawater, making sodium-ion batteries a compelling option for grid-scale storage where cost and supply security are paramount. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-safer-solid-state-sodium-battery.html Engineering Wed, 27 May 2026 09:20:01 EDT news699091441 A team of Chinese scientists has developed a new passivation strategy that significantly improves both the efficiency and operational stability of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. The study has been published in the journal Matter on May 21. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-perovskitesilicon-tandem-solar-cells-certified.html Engineering Thu, 21 May 2026 16:00:06 EDT news698597161 McGill University researchers have discovered a new way to fold flat sheets into smooth, curved shells that can switch from floppy and flexible to stiff and load-bearing on demand. By designing a special origami pattern and threading cable-like elements through it, they can control the material's final three-dimensional shape and how rigid it becomes. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-origami-pattern-flat-sheets-3d.html Engineering Thu, 21 May 2026 15:40:03 EDT news698596321 Cornell engineers have developed a robotic collective that behaves less like a machine and more like a material that flows, reshapes, and adapts to its environment without centralized control. The system, called the Cross-Link Collective, consists of dozens of small robots that have limited mobility individually, but together exhibit coordinated and sustained motion. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-robotic-centralized.html Robotics Thu, 21 May 2026 13:40:06 EDT news698587802 In 2025, EPFL scientists published an improved approach to tomographic volumetric additive manufacturing (TVAM): a 3D printing method that uses laser light to harden a rotating vial of photosensitive resin into a desired shape. In that work, the researchers used holograms to encode 3D forms by modulating the alignment (phase) of light waves rather than their brightness (amplitude), as previous methods had done, preserving far more of the laser's power. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-holographic-boosts-tissue-3d-efficiency.html Engineering Thu, 21 May 2026 11:20:04 EDT news698580421