Tech Xplore news

Tech Xplore / New device and method detect percentage of recycled plastic in plastic products

Recycled plastics are promoted on everything from water bottles and fleece jackets to shopping bags and yogurt cups: "This product is made with XX% recycled plastic." Verifying such claims, however, is another matter because ...

Mar 23, 2026
Tech Xplore / New framework bridges gaps in power grid operations with AI technology

New research led by Colorado State University highlights a critical need for system-level thinking and innovation in shaping the electric power grid of the future. Professor Zongjie Wang recently published a paper in Scientific ...

Mar 23, 2026
Tech Xplore / Atomic disorder strategy could help high-capacity batteries last longer

Researchers at UNIST, in collaboration with the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) and KAIST, have introduced a novel approach to stabilizing high-capacity battery materials. By intentionally inducing atomic-level disorder ...

Mar 23, 2026
Tech Xplore / Insect-inspired robot tracks odors even with only one working 'antenna'

A collaborative research group has developed a bio-inspired robotic system based on insect behavior which can locate odor sources both indoors and outdoors with consistent accuracy, even if one of its two sensors fails. The ...

Mar 23, 2026
Tech Xplore / AI data centers need faster links: A mass-producible optical microchip could help

Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) present a novel component that enables very fast, economical, and reliable data transmission thanks to an advanced ...

Mar 22, 2026
Tech Xplore / Neuro-symbolic AI could slash energy use while dramatically improving performance

Power usage by AI and data center systems in the U.S. is extraordinary by any measure. The International Energy Agency estimates U.S. AI and data centers used about 415 terawatt hours of power in 2024—more than 10% of that ...

Mar 22, 2026
Tech Xplore / Sound waves could be used to remotely reprogram material stiffness, from implants to robotic muscles

A team of researchers co-led by the University of California San Diego, University of Michigan, and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) at Laboratory of Acoustics of Le Mans University has demonstrated ...

Mar 22, 2026
Tech Xplore / Highly performing AI agents can still fail to spot deception, study finds

Large language models (LLMs), artificial intelligence systems that can process and generate texts in different languages, are now used daily by many people worldwide. As these models can rapidly source information and create ...

Mar 21, 2026
Tech Xplore / Simple motor networks mimic human muscle behavior under increasing load

Scientists have developed a network of mechanical motors that mimic the molecular machinery underpinning human muscle contraction. The University of Bristol-led findings, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface ...

Mar 21, 2026
Tech Xplore / Magnets turn random snapping in soft metamaterials into repeatable sequences

Cutting patterns into elastic materials allows you to unfold those materials into new shapes, and researchers have now demonstrated the ability to control the sequence in which that unfolding happens by magnetizing the materials. ...

Mar 20, 2026
Tech Xplore / Brain-inspired nanoelectronic device could cut AI hardware energy use by 70%

Researchers have developed a new kind of nanoelectronic device that could dramatically cut the energy consumed by artificial intelligence hardware by mimicking the human brain. The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, ...

Mar 20, 2026
Tech Xplore / Humanoid robot learns impressive tennis skills from imperfect human motion

Roboticists have struggled to get humanoid robots to effectively replicate athletic sports skills, such as those needed for tennis. These sports require highly dynamic motion, quick reactions, and high precision that robots ...

Mar 19, 2026