https://techxplore.com/rss-feed/hi-tech-news/ en-us The latest news on hi-tech, innovation and new inventions technology, computer news and information Engineers have developed a new ultra-thin membrane that allows fuel cells to operate more efficiently at high temperatures by enabling proton transport without water, overcoming a key limitation in clean energy technologies. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-ultra-thin-membrane-enables-high.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 15 May 2026 14:00:05 EDT news698059284 Imagine a car whose windows and sunroof can help top up its battery while parked under the sun, or a pair of smart glasses whose lenses can harvest light to power built-in electronics. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-scientists-invisible-solar-cells-windows.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 14 May 2026 12:10:26 EDT news697979341 Researchers from the group of theoretical physicist Hans Briegel have collaborated with NVIDIA to develop an AI method that automatically generates efficient quantum circuits, a key bottleneck in making quantum computers practically useful. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-quantum-circuits-ai.html Hi Tech & Innovation Thu, 14 May 2026 10:20:04 EDT news697971250 It sounds like science fiction, but also strangely familiar: drones buzzing around, inspecting tomatoes in greenhouses, delivering your package or inspecting an industrial site. With all the talk about drone-swarms, development in drones seems to move fast. But their navigation still requires a lot of computing power and memory, making them heavy, expensive and energy-hungry. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-honeybees-drones.html Robotics Wed, 13 May 2026 11:00:24 EDT news697883521 As the world works to alter the trajectory of climate change, most attention focuses on reducing humanity's reliance on fossil fuels and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Yet a major source of carbon dioxide (CO2) is cement production, which accounts for 8% of global CO2 emissions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-electricity-cement-carbon-footprint.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 13 May 2026 08:00:06 EDT news697712521 Imagine a surgical robot that could detect the boundary between a tumor and healthy tissue during an operation; not by sending images offsite for testing, but by quickly analyzing subtle differences fast enough to guide the surgeon's next move. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-optical-sensors-dont-fast-surgery.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 12 May 2026 18:20:08 EDT news697818272 Researchers in South Korea have developed a new sign language translation system based on users wearing seven rings equipped with sensors. According to a new study published in the journal Science Advances, the technology can reliably recognize and translate both American and International sign language words with roughly 88% accuracy. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-smart-language-barriers-movements-instant.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 12 May 2026 14:10:01 EDT news697722046 A Carnegie Mellon University research team has developed a pioneering technology that manipulates thermal radiation with the precision of pixels. The work, published in Science Advances, outlines a method for "digitizing heat," allowing for the intelligent, high-speed, and continuous control of thermal emission. This breakthrough holds significant promise for applications ranging from advanced thermal camouflage to chemical sensing. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-tiny-thermal-barcode-flips-invisible.html Engineering Tue, 12 May 2026 10:20:05 EDT news697799247 Quantum technologies, devices that perform specific functions leveraging quantum mechanical effects, could soon outperform their classical counterparts on some tasks. Quantum emitters, devices that release individual particles of light (i.e., photons), are central components of many of these technologies, including quantum communication systems and quantum computers. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-quantum-dot-emitter-identical-telecom.html Telecom Mon, 11 May 2026 10:40:06 EDT news697713003 Spanish researchers have demonstrated a scalable manufacturing process for carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers with electrical conductivity comparable to that of copper and aluminum. The result, published in Science, is a breakthrough for the future of electrification in aerospace, electric vehicles (EVs), drones and related applications, which require lightweight and high-strength electrical wiring. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-copper-biggest-rival-carbon-nanotube.html Electronics & Semiconductors Sun, 10 May 2026 15:00:01 EDT news697191306 Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have shown for the first time that ferroelectricity can be directly written into aluminum nitride using a tightly focused helium ion beam at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), a DOE Office of Science user facility at ORNL. Ferroelectric devices don't need constant power to store data, which allows for devices that are more reliable and less power consuming than what's currently available. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-focused-helium-ions-ferroelectric-regions.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 07 May 2026 16:00:13 EDT news697387801 Mechanical engineers have designed a more effective and energy-efficient technology for cooling computer chips. Published in Cell Reports Physical Science, the researchers used a mathematical algorithm and advanced 3D printing method to produce pure copper cold plates that outperformed conventional cold plates and required less energy to run. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-copper-cold-plates-slash-center.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 07 May 2026 11:30:03 EDT news697281417 Contemporary artificial intelligence (AI) systems, such as the models underpinning the functioning of ChatGPT, image generators and AI-powered creative tools, draw inspiration from the human brain's functions and organization. While many of these systems are known to perform remarkably well on specific tasks, they still work independently from the human brain. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-3d-mind-flexible-device-brain.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 07 May 2026 10:10:01 EDT news697365748 There is something universally appealing about the slap bracelet, and the way a simple tap causes it to switch between a straight shape and a curled one. What you probably didn't know is that a slap bracelet's satisfying snap is the same principle behind bistable structures. These can toggle between two stable positions (one representing 0 and the other 1) to store data directly within their physical forms as mechanical bits (m-bits). https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-scientists-materials.html Engineering Wed, 06 May 2026 15:20:04 EDT news697297809 Modern communication networks must handle ever-growing volumes of data, driven by cloud services, connected devices, and real-time applications. At the same time, they face a critical constraint: keeping energy consumption as low as possible. Today, signal recovery and data processing rely mostly on electronic hardware—powerful, but energy-intensive and increasingly limited by latency. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-optical-ai-recovers-distorted-telecom.html Telecom Tue, 05 May 2026 17:00:07 EDT news697216921 The development of soft materials that can reliably function on the human body is important for the future of bioelectronics and wearable medical devices. These materials need to comfortably conform to the skin while being durable enough for everyday use. However, many existing soft materials are easily damaged, limiting their practical applications. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-durable-ionogel-weight-staying-soft.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 05 May 2026 16:40:01 EDT news697210772 Materials can store information about their past—like a crease in a piece of paper that has been unfolded is a "memory" of being folded—that can be retrieved or read out and used for various purposes. In everyday life, combination locks must remember the turns of the dial to open, and the memory of specialized materials is used to make airplanes safer, electronics more efficient and bridges stronger and more resilient. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-cassette-tapes-adhesive-tape-memory.html Engineering Tue, 05 May 2026 09:01:28 EDT news697190416 Over the past decades, technological advances have fueled great innovation in a wide range of fields. Emerging and rapidly developing technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) systems, three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) printing, digital twins (i.e., virtual representations of physical objects, systems or processes) and advanced robots, are set to further transform many industries and sectors. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-borders-metaverse-envisions-ai-linked.html Hi Tech & Innovation Mon, 04 May 2026 12:00:07 EDT news697112770 Termite mounds are remarkable structures that regulate temperature, balance airflow, and maintain structural stability in some of Earth's harshest climates. And like other irregular, disordered systems, they can be difficult to replicate with modern engineering techniques. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-hidden-math-link-fantastic.html Engineering Mon, 04 May 2026 10:00:09 EDT news697106461 Paintings are often made up of thousands of tiny brushstrokes, each going in a certain direction, that are not easily observed by the viewer. A cross-disciplinary research team from the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and Loughborough University in England has developed an image analysis method that helps to make the underlying brushstroke structure of paintings visible, giving new insight into how artists physically created their works. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-vision-iconic-artworks.html Computer Sciences Fri, 01 May 2026 13:00:03 EDT news696858541 It's been said that "writing about music is like dancing about architecture." Writing, or talking, about dancing can be similarly futile. A Cornell doctoral student has helped develop a tool that lets dancers use video and extended reality (XR) headsets to create an immersive environment for analyzing and refining their movements. In other words, dancers can actually dance about dancing. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-reality-tool-dancers-movement.html Software Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:40:09 EDT news696772921 Researchers have identified previously unknown materials, including a new form of a widely studied clean-energy material, by carefully controlling and tracking how molecular precursors break down during heating. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-overlooked-materials-reshape-solar-fuel.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 30 Apr 2026 05:00:05 EDT news696679756 Researchers at Seoul National University have developed a new class of ultralight structural materials that combine the load-bearing strength of engineering materials with the weight of foam. Using a method called 3D node winding, the team created mesoscale carbon fiber lattices that achieve aluminum-level performance on a strength-to-weight basis while weighing as little as 1/100 the weight of aluminum. The findings, published in Nature Communications, demonstrate a new way to build strong, lightweight structures without the need for joints or layered assembly. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-ultralight-carbon-fiber-lattices-aluminum.html Engineering Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:40:01 EDT news696699182 There is no question that violin-making is an art form. It requires a musician's ear, a craftsperson's skill, and a historian's appreciation of lessons learned over time. Making a violin also takes trust: Violin makers (luthiers) often must wait until the instrument is finished before they can hear how all their hard work will sound. But a new tool developed by MIT engineers could help luthiers play around with a violin's design and tweak its sound even before a single part is carved. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-virtual-violin-realistic-wood.html Engineering Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:40:08 EDT news696691981 Nature is replete with slender filaments that bend and coil—from climbing grape vines, to folded proteins, to elephant trunks that can pick up a peanut but also take down a tree. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-programmable-3d-filaments-mimic-artificial.html Engineering Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:20:08 EDT news696690961 A research team led by Dr. Nam Ki-Hun at the Battery Materials and Process Research Center of the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) has successfully developed a nano-tin (Sn) interlayer control technology to address interfacial instability between the lithium metal anode and solid electrolyte, a critical hurdle to the commercialization of all-solid-state batteries, often hailed as the next generation of batteries. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-nano-tin-interlayer-steadies-solid.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:20:09 EDT news696687061 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 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 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 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