Tech Xplore news
Tech Xplore / How electric cars could help tropical cities run on solar
In tropical cities, afternoon thunderstorms can plunge entire neighborhoods into brief moments of darkness. When civil engineer Markus Schläpfer moved to Singapore a decade ago, he recognized these thunderstorms as an emerging ...
Tech Xplore / Wind and solar may help Ecuador avoid repeat of its 2024 power crisis
Researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Belgium and Yachay Tech University in Ecuador have come to a surprising conclusion: wind and solar energy, often criticized for their lack of predictability and dependence ...
Tech Xplore / Magnetic coil setup guides microrobots without seeing them
SMU researchers have created an electromagnetic coil system that can control microrobots without requiring continuous visual tracking of their position—a significant advancement that could enable microrobots to operate inside ...
Tech Xplore / New global model reveals hidden UV risk for next-generation solar panels
Engineers from UNSW have created a worldwide UV radiation map for solar panels, highlighting major differences in exposure depending on climate and mounting systems. Their new global study has revealed that ultraviolet (UV) ...
Tech Xplore / Swapping one atom can cut heat flow through a molecule by half
Swapping a single atom can fine-tune the thermal conductance of single-molecule junctions without affecting their electrical conductance, according to a study led by University of Michigan Engineering with collaborators at ...
Tech Xplore / Intelligent monitoring pipe detects and predicts 3D soil settlement
Researchers have developed an intelligent monitoring pipe that combines optical sensing with machine learning algorithms to monitor and predict 3D soil settlement. With more development, the system could help provide early ...
Tech Xplore / Solar reactor uses old battery acid to turn plastic waste into clean hydrogen
Researchers have developed a solar-powered reactor to break down hard-to-recycle forms of plastic waste—such as drink bottles, nylon textiles and polyurethane foams—using acid recovered from old car batteries, and converting ...
Tech Xplore / Too many cooks, or too many robots? Finding a Goldilocks level of randomness to keep robot swarms moving
Picture a futuristic swarm of robots deployed on a time-sensitive task, like cleaning up an oil spill or assembling a machine. At first, adding robots is advantageous, since many hands make light work. But a tipping point ...
Tech Xplore / High-entropy design achieves 3-fold increase in hydrogen production
While mixing materials typically leads to instability, there exists a phenomenon known as high entropy, where increasing compositional complexity can actually enhance stability. KAIST researchers have leveraged this principle ...
Tech Xplore / Sonar on stock smartwatches leads to hand-tracking advancement
Imagine tapping your thumb and index finger together twice to skip to the next song or clicking around your laptop or desktop computer without a mouse, using discreet finger motions. New first-of-its-kind wearable technology ...
Tech Xplore / Explainability is a must for older adults to trust AI, study shows
Voice-activated, conversational artificial intelligence (AI) agents must provide clear explanations for their suggestions, or older adults aren't likely to trust them. That's one of the main findings from a study by AI Caring ...
Tech Xplore / Memristor chip combines security and compute-in-memory for edge devices
A cross-institutional research team has developed Co-Located Authentication and Processing (CLAP), a privacy-preserving system that overcomes the trade-off between security and performance in edge computing devices. The study, ...