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. Wind shear, a sudden change in wind speed or direction, is a major cause of aviation incidents; it was responsible for 18% of aviation accidents in 2022. Predicting wind shear events is a priority for aviation safety because it would allow pilots to avoid areas where wind shear is likely. Currently, aircraft-based wind shear detection relies on the F-factor, an index that captures current wind speed and direction, as well as current aircraft speed. But the F-factor cannot predict future wind shear events. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-machine-seconds-error.html Engineering Tue, 09 Jun 2026 17:00:01 EDT news700243141 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 Researchers from Skoltech—a VEB.RF group institution—have, for the first time, deposited a brass-based composite coating with reinforcing particles on a stainless steel part using low-pressure cold spraying. The technique is cheaper than currently used alternatives, less harmful to the environment, and uniquely adaptable for repair work at infrastructure facilities in the field by mobile maintenance teams. Brass coatings are used to extend the service life of bearings and other metal parts subjected to friction in manufacturing, aviation, marine and railroad engineering applications, and on drilling rigs and pipelines. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-cheaper-brass-coatings-aircraft-pipelines.html Engineering Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:00:03 EDT news700152421 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 NASA's experimental X-59 aircraft marked a major milestone Friday, June 5, when it flew faster than the speed of sound for the first time, setting the stage for demonstrating its quiet supersonic capabilities later this year. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-nasa-aircraft-flies-supersonic.html Engineering Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:40:01 EDT news700134872 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 The Catalysis Engineering Group at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) has developed a new robust process for the recycling of mixed plastics waste. A newly developed pilot plant aims to demonstrate how this can be transformed into valuable resources, supporting the transition toward a circular economy. The pilot plant will be put to the test in Spain, processing real municipal plastics waste. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-catalytic-plastic-oil.html Engineering Sat, 06 Jun 2026 08:00:03 EDT news699720338 As the demand for nuclear security solutions grows, distinguishing a benign medical isotope from a potential threat is critical. Organic glass scintillators can help meet the need for accurate, cost-effective radiation detectors. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-qa-glass-scintillators-nuclear.html Engineering Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:40:04 EDT news699877801 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 Korean research team has resolved a major durability issue in solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs), a technology that converts carbon dioxide (CO₂) into high-value chemical feedstocks. Researchers at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), led by Drs. Min-Chul Kim, Ji Hoon Park, and Jin Hee Lee, developed a new electrolyte interface engineering technology for nickel-based SOECs. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-efficiency-durability-nickel-based-soecs.html Engineering Thu, 04 Jun 2026 21:00:05 EDT news699795485 Urging industry to make better use of wood that is wasted or burned for energy, researchers have released the first structural tests of non-straight, forked, and double-curved roundwood logs used as columns. In his mission to normalize the use of "misfit wood," Aalto University architect and researcher Jaakko Torvinen has shown how standard, business-as-usual calculation methods can predict load-bearing capacity for organically shaped logs. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-wood-feature-simple-misfit.html Engineering Thu, 04 Jun 2026 20:00:01 EDT news699807121 FIU researchers have found that some of the most common trees in Florida can significantly shield homes from extreme wind, decreasing suction forces applied to critical regions of the roof by as much as 50%. The findings are published in the Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-trees-positioned-storm-segments.html Engineering Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:00:05 EDT news699809581 Offshore wind turbines consist of numerous welded components and are exposed to extreme loads from wind and waves at sea. These lead to cyclic stresses that particularly affect the weld seams. Until now, these have been considered a critical factor, especially for high-strength steels, since the welding process itself alters the material microstructure and generates harmful tensile residual stresses. For safety reasons, relevant regulations have so far only allowed the lightweight construction potential of these steels to be exploited to a limited extent. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-welding-filler-metals-life-offshore.html Engineering Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:40:10 EDT news699808441 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 Solar energy developers eyeing parts of southern New Mexico may have less to worry about than expected when it comes to dust. A new study led by University of Texas at El Paso researchers concludes that photovoltaic panels in Alamogordo—a region battered by frequent dust storms carrying particles from the White Sands gypsum dune field—lose only about 2% to 3% of their power output to dust accumulation, a rate far lower than that of solar facilities in comparable desert regions worldwide. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-prone-southwest-ideal-solar-energy.html Engineering Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:20:08 EDT news699801241 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 For the first time, researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, have found out how to determine how much carbon dioxide (CO2) from either natural or anthropogenic sources can be absorbed by special concrete production methods. This can be useful for economic tools such as carbon trading and carbon accounting, and the work could lead to similar measurement techniques for other gases of concern. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-carbon-ratios-concrete-accounting.html Engineering Thu, 04 Jun 2026 11:40:05 EDT news699790921 Implementing effective monitoring measures could yield much more energy from the cable network—all without digging a single new trench. Just a dream scenario? No, it is entirely possible, say researchers. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-supercharging-grid-free-power.html Engineering Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:40:02 EDT news699786782 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 In many cases, heating can be significantly improved simply by adjusting existing controls to account for sunlight, ventilation and how many people are inside, according to researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-hot-cold-simple.html Engineering Wed, 03 Jun 2026 10:20:07 EDT news699700159 Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has upgraded its Ocean Simulation Laboratories with a new 30-inch diameter pressure vessel. This new vessel allows SwRI to test larger equipment at conditions that simulate full-ocean depth and features a novel SwRI-designed quick-acting closure. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-inch-pressure-vessel-deep-sea.html Engineering Mon, 01 Jun 2026 22:20:02 EDT news699540255 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 Modern sails on large ships are becoming increasingly common to save fuel—and also the climate. Now a research team is looking at how to maximize their benefits, and that turns out to be more complicated than anticipated. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-propelling-world-giant-ships-future.html Engineering Mon, 01 Jun 2026 13:00:03 EDT news699536161 Drones operating in a swarm can perform a range of different tasks and exchange information with one another. Up until now, civilian drone swarms are often controlled centrally via a mobile communications link. In the case of autonomous operations, this means that the individual drones are only able to communicate in a star topology via a central node—usually a mobile phone mast. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-mesh-networks-drone-swarms.html Engineering Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:40:06 EDT news699535741 Space is a vacuum. Heat therefore cannot be transferred to the surroundings by thermal conduction. This poses a problem for any type of space-capable electronics, which can quickly overheat under these conditions. The only way to dissipate heat in space is through radiation into space. A radiator converts the heat into thermal radiation. The material used must emit as much thermal radiation as possible for the process to work efficiently. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-efficiently-cooling-satellite-components-space.html Engineering Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:00:02 EDT news699531601 Demand for batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems is growing exponentially. Fraunhofer ITWM relies on digital simulation tools and innovative measurement systems to ensure that manufacturing processes function reliably and efficiently. The researchers develop models for key steps throughout the battery production chain, such as mixing, coating or drying electrodes. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-production-higher-batteries.html Engineering Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:40:03 EDT news699531481 In its 2022 condition assessment, the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) classified 8,000 highway bridges as requiring rehabilitation. In other words, it is time to start continuously monitoring Germany's bridges. With the COMOBASE modular acoustic emission monitoring system, the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS presents an innovative solution for continuous infrastructure monitoring, specially customized for the respective requirements and significantly more economical than conventional technologies. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-bridges-clock-tracking-channel-acoustic.html Engineering Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:20:04 EDT news699531421