Stories

Transmitting Power Through the Body

To free wearable tech from their burdens, researchers developed Power-over-Skin, which allows electricity to travel through the human body and could one day power battery-free devices from head to toe.

Can DNA-Nanoparticle Motors Get Up To Speed With Motor Proteins?

DNA-nanoparticle motors are exactly as they sound — tiny artificial motors that use the structures of DNA and RNA to propel motion by enzymatic RNA degradation. Essentially,...

Engineers Enable a Drone To Determine Its Position in the Dark and Indoors

In the future, autonomous drones could be used to shuttle inventory between large warehouses. A drone might fly into a semi-dark structure the size of several...

NASA Demonstrates Software ‘Brains’ Shared Across Satellite Swarms

New NASA technology works within satellite swarms. This technology, called Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy (DSA), allows individual spacecraft to make independent...

Can Self-Driving Cars Navigate Roundabouts?

Roundabouts are an increasingly common feature of U.S. roads, in part because they reduce both traffic delays and accidents. However, they rely on the judgment of drivers to ensure traffic flows...

Transporting Electricity Through Air via Ultrasonic Waves

Researchers have uncovered a way of transporting electricity through air by ultrasonic waves. The level of control of electric sparks enables them to be guided around obstacles, or to hit specific spots, even into non-conductive materials.

Autonomous Navigation for Drones

Researchers have introduced a new approach, MiFly, that enables a drone to self-localize in indoor, dark, and low-visibility environments.

How Much Do You Know About the Engineering Behind Sports?

In the last decade or so, sports engineering has become very popular across the world. How much do you know about it? Take this quiz to test your knowledge.

Mass 3D Printing in Space for the First Time

Auxilium Biotechnologies has successfully deployed its 3D bioprinter aboard the ISS. The platform is the first of its kind, making history by printing eight implantable medical devices simultaneously in just two hours.

Test Your Knowledge About Oscilloscopes

An oscilloscope’s main purpose is capturing information on electrical signals for debugging, analysis, or characterization. The displayed waveform can then be analyzed for properties such as amplitude, frequency, rise time, and myriad others. How much do you know about oscilloscopes? Find out with this quiz.

Using Embodied Energy to Power Modular Worms and Jellyfish

A modular worm robot built by the Organic Robotics Lab and a jellyfish that was a collaboration with the Archer Group, both in Cornell Engineering, demonstrate the benefits of “embodied energy.”

How Much Do You Know About Microwave Heating?

Almost everyone has a microwave oven, but do you really understand how they work? How much do you know about microwave heating? Test your knowledge with this quiz.

A Yarn-Like Seawater Battery

Researchers have developed a yarn-like battery prototype that works when immersed in seawater.

Soft, Bioelectronic Sensor Implant

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and New York’s Columbia University have embedded transistors in a soft, conformable material to create a biocompatible sensor implant that monitors...

MIT Engineers Grow “High-Rise” 3D Chips

The electronics industry is approaching a limit to the number of transistors that can be packed onto the surface of a computer chip. So, chip manufacturers are looking to build up rather than out.

Neuromorphic Semiconductor Chip Learns and Corrects Itself

Existing computer systems have separate data processing and storage devices, making them inefficient for processing complex data like AI. A Korea Advanced Institute of Science and...

A New Shape-Changing Polymer for Better Soft Material Construction

A team of scientists has created a new shape-changing polymer that could transform how future soft materials are constructed.

3 Robotic Technologies Looking to Change Life on Earth and the Moon

Watch this video to learn more about three new robotic technologies: A soft robot developed at NC State University; a pair of wearable robotic limbs developed by MIT engineers; and a camera inspired by the human eye developed at the University of Maryland.

Designing Robotic Insects for Mechanical Pollination

MIT researchers are developing robotic insects that could someday swarm out of mechanical hives to rapidly perform precise pollination.

7 Finalists for SPIE Startup Challenge at Photonics West 2025

Seven early-stage startup companies have been selected to compete for a top prize of $10,000 at the 15th annual SPIE Startup Challenge at Photonics West Tuesday, January 28.

New Product Launches and Technologies to See at Photonics West 2025

The SPIE Photonics West 2025 technical conference and exhibition returns to San Francisco's Moscone Center, January 25 to 30, providing attendees the opportunity to learn...

A More Responsive Infrared Photodiode

Researchers have developed a new type of infrared photodiode that is 35 percent more responsive at 1.55 µm, the key wavelength for telecommunications, compared to other germanium-based components.

So CUTE! New Wearable Device Creates Unprecedented Haptic Sensations

Researchers have developed cutaneous electrohydraulic (CUTE) wearable devices to greatly expand the haptic sensations that can be created by future consumer products.

A Safer, More Efficient Lithium Metal Battery

A research team from DGIST has developed a lithium metal battery using a “triple-layer solid polymer electrolyte” that offers greatly enhanced fire safety and an extended lifespan.

Quoth the RAVEN: I Can Fly Like a Bird

RAVEN (Robotic Avian-inspired Vehicle for multiple ENvironments) is designed based on perching birds that frequently switch between air and land. Its multifunctional robotic legs allow it to take off autonomously in environments previously inaccessible to winged drones.

Innovative Robot Navigation Inspired by Brain Function Boosts Efficiency and Accuracy

Led by postdoctoral research fellow Somayeh Hussaini, alongside Professor Michael Milford and Dr Tobias Fischer of the Queensland University of Technology...

Smallest Walking Robot Makes Microscale Measurements

Cornell researchers in physics and engineering have created the smallest walking robot yet. Its mission: to be tiny enough to interact with waves of visible light and still move...

A New Home for Sustainability Robotics

The world is currently facing significant environmental challenges and complex demands related to infrastructure and natural ecosystems. To address these issues, viable solutions that are both...

My Opinion: There’s a Practical Way to Fix the Electric Grid Bottleneck

There will be a surging need for more electric power in the coming years. The problem is that we will quickly need to upgrade the grid to provide for it. Reconductoring can be a good start.