Tech Xplore news

Tech Xplore / So you want to build a solar or wind farm? Engineers show how to decide where

Deciding where to build new solar or wind installations is often left up to individual developers or utilities, with limited overall coordination. But a new study shows that regional-level planning using fine-grained weather ...

Dec 6, 2024 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Magnetically controlled kirigami surfaces move objects: No grasping needed

Researchers have developed a novel device that couples magnetic fields and kirigami design principles to remotely control the movement of a flexible dimpled surface, allowing it to manipulate objects without actually grasping ...

Dec 6, 2024 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Engineering micromachines that can autonomously coordinate using electronic pulses

Like waves sweeping through tiny stadium crowds, microscopic machines engineered by Cornell researchers can autonomously synchronize their movements, opening new possibilities for the use of microrobots in drug delivery, ...

Dec 6, 2024 in Robotics
Tech Xplore / From chip shop to pit stop—scientists make cooking oil biofuel as efficient as diesel

A new way to produce fuels made from leftover fat can create biofuel as effective as diesel and 1000-times more efficiently than current methods, a new study has suggested.

Dec 6, 2024 in Energy & Green Tech
Tech Xplore / AI could help reduce injury risk in pianists

Researchers at Stanford Engineering have developed an AI-trained model to accurately recreate the hand movements of elite-level pianists and the physical stresses they endure while playing.

Dec 6, 2024 in Machine learning & AI
Tech Xplore / Multipurpose model enhances forecasting across epidemics, energy and economics

A new machine learning (ML) model from Georgia Tech could protect communities from diseases, better manage electricity consumption in cities, and promote business growth, all at the same time.

Dec 6, 2024 in Machine learning & AI
Tech Xplore / New strategy enhances 2D transistor dielectric layers

Transistors based on two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and tungsten diselenide (WSe2), could outperform conventional silicon-based transistors, while also being easier to reduce in size. ...

Dec 5, 2024 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Roboticists develop a bird-like robot that can jump into the air to launch itself into flight

A team of roboticists at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, working with a colleague from the University of California, has designed, built and demonstrated a bird-like robot that can launch itself into flight using ...

Dec 5, 2024 in Robotics
Tech Xplore / Burned rice hulls could help batteries store more charge

A closer inspection of ash from burned rice hulls, the hard outer layer of rice grains, revealed a form of carbon that could nearly double the energy density of typical lithium-ion or sodium-ion batteries.

Dec 5, 2024 in Energy & Green Tech
Tech Xplore / Machine-learning models help discover a material for film capacitors with record-breaking performance

The Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and several collaborating institutions have successfully demonstrated a machine-learning technique to accelerate the discovery of materials for ...

Dec 5, 2024 in Energy & Green Tech
Tech Xplore / Nitrogen-doped catalyst technology could accelerate hydrogen fuel cell commercialization

A research team has developed a breakthrough technology that dramatically improves the durability of alloy catalysts, a critical component in fuel cells. By incorporating nitrogen into the alloy structure, the team addressed ...

Dec 5, 2024 in Energy & Green Tech
Tech Xplore / AI-driven design optimizes organic thermoelectric device performance

A research team has developed a machine learning-based design of experiments (DOE) method that efficiently optimizes the performance and process conditions of organic thermoelectric devices.