Tech Xplore news

Tech Xplore / New AI method uses engineering knowledge to estimate disaster damage from incomplete satellite imagery

A new technology has been developed that can rapidly predict city-scale structural damage even when portions of satellite imagery are obscured by clouds or smoke immediately after a disaster.

Oct 7, 2026
Tech Xplore / 'SANDO' system ensures a robot's flight path will remain collision-free in uncharted territory

Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) could fly deep into the heart of a raging wildfire, avoiding sudden flare-ups and dodging falling tree branches to gather critical information for rescuers. But in this dangerous situation, ...

Oct 7, 2026
Tech Xplore / Ultrathin mesh harvests energy from human heart cells to generate electricity

A team of engineers led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst has designed an ultrathin, flexible mesh that seamlessly integrates electronics with human cells to provide a continuous, reliable, powerful electrical supply. ...

Oct 7, 2026
Tech Xplore / Atomically thin transistors could transform computing by surpassing silicon's switching limit

For decades, silicon transistors have driven computational power, and scientists have devoted much of their time to making them smaller. That is because shrinking these tiny electronic switches that make up computer chips ...

Oct 6, 2026
Tech Xplore / How to head into VR without wearing a headset

A person wearing bulky goggles, turning awkwardly in circles and reaching out to grab something that isn't there—that is the image many of us have of virtual reality, and one that researchers at Kyushu University want to ...

Oct 6, 2026
Tech Xplore / Out-of-sync sleep schedules may steer people toward AI for dating and job assessments

Life often gets in the way of going to bed in sync with our circadian rhythm and getting enough sleep. Work, school and other social commitments can pull our schedules out of step, and scientists call this mismatch social ...

Oct 6, 2026
Tech Xplore / Agentic AI turns simple language into self-guided X-ray scans of microelectronics

Science has increasingly used artificial intelligence (AI) as a kind of microscope—sorting data, analyzing images and revealing hidden patterns. Now a new shift is underway: AI that not only breaks down data but also helps ...

Oct 6, 2026
Tech Xplore / Wave-shaped wall and roof designs can protect against hurricane-force winds

Florida State University faculty are helping build stronger structures by examining how wave-shaped patterns on exterior walls and roofs reduce wind loads on low-rise buildings by up to 60%.

Oct 6, 2026
Tech Xplore / Solar cells gain efficiency by emitting light in fewer directions

Solar cells absorb sunlight and convert it into electricity. This process, however, is not perfect, and a large part of the solar energy is simply lost along the way. Some of it is lost as heat, while photons with insufficient ...

Oct 6, 2026
Tech Xplore / Laser-sculpted bumps that guide light around obstacles could make fiber-optic communications faster and more reliable

University of Maryland (UMD) assistant professor Avik Dutt and research colleagues have demonstrated a new way to control light precisely by using microscopic structures created on the surface of hair-thin glass fibers.

Oct 6, 2026
Tech Xplore / In rain and darkness, how should self-driving cars trust their sensors?

Many of today's self-driving cars "see" the road through two senses at once. Cameras capture color, texture and the outline of a pedestrian, while light detection and ranging (LiDAR) fires laser pulses to measure exactly ...

Oct 6, 2026
Tech Xplore / New sensor system tracks coughs in a room—without knowing who's coughing

A team of Binghamton University researchers has developed a sensor system aimed at helping medical professionals more efficiently monitor how many people are coughing—and potentially spreading a disease—within a given area.

Oct 6, 2026