Tech Xplore news

Tech Xplore / Light-powered soft robots that can keep jumping forever

Researchers from North Carolina State University have created teardrop-shaped soft robots that leap upward or forward when exposed to infrared light—and will keep jumping as long as the light is present. The work demonstrates ...

Aug 28, 2026
Tech Xplore / A humanoid robot's social expressiveness may backfire when it makes mistakes

For robots to be successfully deployed in real-world environments, humans should trust them enough to cooperate with them. Some roboticists have been trying to determine whether users perceive robots that exhibit socially ...

Aug 28, 2026
Tech Xplore / New transistor brings high voltage to microchip scale

Inside every electronic device, the flow of electricity is controlled by a switch called a transistor. For decades, these switches were made from silicon. More recently, engineers have turned to a material called gallium ...

Aug 28, 2026
Tech Xplore / Magnetic memory could make edge AI faster while reducing energy use

Texas engineers teamed up with the world's largest semiconductor foundry to fabricate and test an emerging memory technology that could help meet the increasing energy demand of artificial intelligence.

Aug 28, 2026
Tech Xplore / Two ultrathin films turn low-grade heat into cooling without an electric motor

Refrigerators, air-conditioning systems and data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity, and cooling demand is constantly rising. A research team from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the University ...

Aug 28, 2026
Tech Xplore / Brain-reading earbuds are already here, prompting urgent questions about children and neurodata

While it may sound like science fiction, earbuds that read brain activity are already on sale. Wearable technology company Neurable claims that its headphones, equipped with electroencephalography (EEG) sensors, can track ...

Aug 28, 2026
Tech Xplore / Shared-memory AI system lets microscope components coordinate in real time

Arco Bast studies how neurons communicate. Earlier this year, the Janelia postdoc encountered a more mechanical version of the same problem: The components of his custom microscope could not easily communicate with one another.

Aug 28, 2026
Tech Xplore / Giving solid-state batteries a squeeze keeps them from short-circuiting

Lithium-ion batteries power transportation and grid storage and enable our digital lives, but these ubiquitous batteries require frequent recharging and can fail over time. To make batteries more reliable and longer-lasting, ...

Aug 28, 2026
Tech Xplore / From cartwheels to backflips, motion-imitation framework teaches three robots dynamic movements

Legged robots, robotic systems with legs that typically resemble those of animals or humans, could be advantageous for completing tasks in home environments or populated, dynamic spaces. These robots may look like humans ...

Aug 27, 2026
Tech Xplore / AI doesn't just play better chess—it manages complexity differently

For decades, chess has served as a laboratory for studying intelligence and decision-making. It is well established that today's chess engines can outperform even the strongest grandmasters. But far less is understood about ...

Aug 27, 2026
Tech Xplore / Nanoscale transistors achieve lower contact resistance with stepwise evaporation method

Metals, semiconductors and insulators are fundamental components of modern electronics. However, efforts to improve device performance have largely focused on semiconductor quality, while metal crystallinity has received ...

Aug 27, 2026
Dialog / Beyond the gold standard: An ultrathin chromium layer makes durable perovskite solar cells more affordable

Gold has been the safe choice for perovskite solar cells. We found a way to stop needing it.

Aug 27, 2026