INSIDER

A Simple Way to Get Complex Semiconductors to Assemble Themselves

Stacking extremely thin films of material on top of each other can create new materials with exciting new properties. But the most successful processes for building those...

Directly into the Brain: A 3D Multifunctional and Flexible Neural Interface

Although measuring the electrical activity of neurons is useful in many disciplines, making durable neural interfacing brain chip implants with negligible adverse...

Two-Dimensional Hybrid Metal Halide Device Allows Control of Terahertz Emissions

Researchers have utilized two-dimensional hybrid metal halides in a device that allows directional control of terahertz radiation generated by a spintronic...

Small Robots Have the Punch of a Mantis Shrimp

Modeling the mechanics of the strongest punch in the animal kingdom, researchers built a robot that mimics the movement of the mantis shrimp, whose club-like appendages accelerate faster than a...

Nanotube Actuator Key to Future Robotics and Biotech

University of Houston researchers developed an electrochemical actuator that uses specialized organic semiconductor nanotubes (OSNT). The device exhibits high actuation performance with...

New Products

Cross Platform 3D Laser Scanner Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division (North Kingstown, RI) announced its new AS1 Scanner. The modular blue laser line scanner operates with both laser trackers and portable measuring arms...

Tiny Diamond Mirrors Could Smooth Out Already Revolutionary X-Ray Lasers

Twelve years ago, physicists turned on the first x-ray laser, and since then it and several others around the world have proved themselves revolutionary probes of...

Pivotal Discovery of Nanomaterial for LEDs

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are an unsung hero of the lighting industry. They run efficiently, give off little heat, and last for a long time. Now scientists are looking at new materials to make...

Paving the Way to Electrically Pumped Lasers from Colloidal-Quantum-Dots

Scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory recently assessed the status of research into colloidal quantum dot lasers with a focus on prospective electrically...

Better Batteries for Grid-Scale Energy Storage

Molten sodium batteries have been used for many years to store energy from renewable sources, such as solar panels and wind turbines. However, commercially available molten sodium-sulfur...

Breathing New Life into Fuel Cells

The demand for clean energy has never been higher, and it has created a global race to develop new technologies as alternatives to fossil fuels. Fuel cells are among the promising green energy technologies....

New Type of Wireless Charger Can Charge Multiple Devices Simultaneously

While researchers around the globe are working on free-position wireless charging — which would unchain devices from set charging points — the most common solutions...

More Efficient Electricity Distribution Thanks to New Insulation Material

If we are to transition to a world powered by renewable energy, efficient long-distance transport of electricity is essential, since the supply — renewable energy...

Inflatable Robotic Hand Gives Amputees Real-Time Tactile Control

Engineers at MIT and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have designed a soft, lightweight, and potentially low-cost neuroprosthetic hand. The prosthetic, designed with a system for...

Brain-Inspired Highly Scalable Neuromorphic Hardware

Researchers from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) fabricated brain-inspired highly scalable neuromorphic hardware by co-integrating single transistor neurons and...

Using Silicone Wristbands to Measure Air Quality

A study by researchers at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health shows that inexpensive and convenient devices such as silicone wristbands can be used to yield quantitative air...

This Touchy-Feely Glove Senses and Maps Tactile Stimuli

When you pick up a balloon, the pressure to keep hold of it is different from what you would exert to grasp a jar. And now engineers at MIT and elsewhere have a way to precisely...

New Manufacturing Technique for Flexible Electronics

Ultrathin, flexible computer circuits have been an engineering goal for years, but technical hurdles have prevented the degree of miniaturization necessary to achieve high performance....

Robotic Finger Senses Buried Items

MIT researchers have designed a sharp-tipped robot finger equipped with tactile sensing to meet the challenge of identifying buried objects. Digger Finger was able to dig through granular media such as...

Simulator Helps Robots Sharpen Their Cutting Skills

USC researchers unveiled a new simulator for robotic cutting that can accurately reproduce the forces acting on a knife as it slices through common food such as fruit and vegetables. The...

Navigating a Heavy Uphill Climb

A team of scientists has uncovered how heavy, motorized objects climb steep slopes — a newly discovered mechanism that also mimics how rock climbers navigate inclines. The “micro-swimmers” are about 20...

“Sound Tweezers” Pick Up Objects Without Contact

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University developed a method that allows non-contact manipulation of small objects using sound waves.

Air-Powered Computer Memory Controls Soft Robots

Engineers at UC Riverside developed an air-powered computer memory that can be used to control soft robots. Existing systems for controlling pneumatic soft robots still use electronic valves...

Researchers Can Turn a Single Photo into a Video

Sometimes photos cannot truly capture a scene. How much more epic would that vacation photo of Niagara Falls be if the water were moving?

Labsphere and ASU to Collaborate on FLARE Technology Development

Labsphere, Inc. announced plans to locate a Field Line of sight Automated Radiance Exposure (FLARE) testing site at Arizona State University's (ASU) Polytechnic campus as part...

Infrared Imaging by Ultrathin Nanocrystal Layers

The demand for detecting infrared (IR) light, invisible to human eyes, is constantly growing, due to a wide variety of applications ranging from food quality control and remote sensing to...

New Products

Autofocus, Waterproof Lenses Edmund Optics® (EO) (Barrington, NJ) offers the TECHSPEC® LT Series and TECHSPEC® Cw Series fixed focal length lenses. TECHSPEC® LT Series fixed focal length lenses combine an integrated liquid...

Material Motion is “Flexoelectric”

Researchers from the University of Houston have demonstrated “giant flexoelectricity” in soft elastomers that could improve robot movement range and make self-powered pacemakers a real possibility....

New Skin Patch Brings Us Closer to Wearable All-In-One Health Monitor

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a soft, stretchy skin patch that can be worn on the neck to continuously track blood pressure and heart...