Tech Xplore news

Tech Xplore / Rise of the rice robots—creating active smart materials

Rice becomes weaker when compressed quickly, while staying stronger under slow pressure—a discovery enabling scientists to design a new material that could be used to build "soft" robots that change stiffness automatically ...

Feb 24, 2026 in Robotics
Tech Xplore / Solvent‑free perovskite solar cell technology could pave way for scalable production

Researchers at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a multi-source co-evaporation recipe that markedly enhances the crystal quality of vacuum-deposited perovskite films. This advance brings ...

Feb 24, 2026 in Energy & Green Tech
Tech Xplore / Borrowing from biology to power next-gen data storage

DNA, the genetic blueprints in every living organism, is nature's most efficient storage mechanism, capable of storing about 215 million gigabytes of data per gram. That storage capacity, if applied to electronics, could ...

Tech Xplore / Sodium-ion batteries lean heavily on lithium-ion expertise, patent analysis suggests

Researchers from the University of Münster, ETH Zurich, Stanford University, and the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production (FFB) used AI-supported patent analysis to show how strongly battery technologies ...

Feb 24, 2026 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Hybrid perovskite device generates electricity from the sun and rain simultaneously

A team from the Institute of Materials Science of Seville (ICMS), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of Seville (US), has developed a new hybrid device that allows energy to ...

Feb 24, 2026 in Energy & Green Tech
Tech Xplore / Engineers demonstrate lightweight 'exoskeleton' that helps stroke survivors walk

A leading cause of disability in the United States is hemiparesis, a condition where impaired motor control, muscle weakness, and spasticity affect one side of the body. Occurring in 80% of stroke survivors, reduced mobility ...

Feb 24, 2026 in Robotics
Tech Xplore / Successfully commercializing novel solar cells: When records are not enough

It is not easy to bring new technologies from the laboratory to market. Researchers and companies face very different demands for new developments and do not always find common ground. Scientists at Empa and other institutions ...

Feb 24, 2026 in Energy & Green Tech
Tech Xplore / AI agents have their own social network: Moltbook study tracks topics and toxicity

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) agents, systems that learn to make predictions, generate content or tackle other tasks by analyzing large amounts of data, is becoming increasingly widespread. Some of these systems ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Computer Sciences
Tech Xplore / Engineers discover new physics principle to break sound absorption barriers in ventilated spaces

In everyday life, designing spaces that both let air flow and absorb sound can be a tricky balancing act. Usually, materials that allow air to pass through—like vents—also let sound escape, making it hard to reduce noise ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Mixing generative AI with physics to create personal items that work in the real world

Ever had an idea for something that looked cool, but wouldn't work well in practice? When it comes to designing things like decor and personal accessories, generative artificial intelligence (genAI) models can relate. They ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / AI energy use: New tools show which model consumes the most power, and why

AI users and developers can now measure the amount of electricity various AI models consume to complete tasks with an open-source software and online leaderboard developed at the University of Michigan. Companies can download ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Software
Tech Xplore / Researchers pioneer next-generation AI semiconductors with 'thermal constraining' technique

A research team led by Professor Taesung Kim from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University has developed a technology that precisely controls the internal structure of semiconductors using heat, much ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Hardware