Stories

Using robot models could play a useful role in studying the origins of flight, particularly since fossil evidence is so limited, noted engineers at the University of California, Berkeley. Researchers outfitted a six-legged robotic bug with wings in an effort to improve its mobility. Even though the wings...

This week's Question: Verizon, the U.S. largest wireless carrier, recently announced that it will "create business and marketing reports" and "make the mobile ads you see more relevant," based on the information the company collects pertaining to a user's Web...

A team led by Ki Chon, professor and head of biomedical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), has developed a smart phone application that can measure not only heart rate, but also heart rhythm, respiration rate and blood oxygen saturation using the phone's built-in video camera....

An interdisciplinary team of scientists at Vanderbilt University, Cornell University and CFD Research Corporation, Inc., has demonstrated that a computer can analyze raw experimental data from a biological system and derive the basic mathematical equations that describe the way the system operates....

By combining two innovative algorithms developed at MIT, researchers in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS) have built a new robotic motion-planning system that calculates much more efficient trajectories...

Developed by Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME), new thin-film silicon solar cells are designed to be made from cheaper, low-grade silicon. The nano-structured solar cells can produce a current of 34.3mA/cm2 – a world record for a silicon solar cell of its...

In a first-ever demonstration of a two-way interaction between a primate brain and a virtual body, two monkeys trained at the Duke University Center for Neuroengineering learned to employ brain activity alone to move an avatar hand and identify the texture of virtual objects.Without moving...

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and a team from the University of Vienna have collaborated to cool a miniature mechanical object to its lowest possible energy state using laser light — paving the way for the development of exquisitely sensitive...

This week's Question: Steven Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple, died last week at the age of 56. While the company has offered updates to its innovative technologies like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod, some have questioned whether new executive leadership will be able to innovate,...

The Army is using a new helicopter simulator, called the Non-rated Crew Member Manned Module (NCM3), to train helicopter crews on the rear of both the CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk. Through specially created virtual reality glasses, which fit the same as night vision goggles, soldiers can practice and...

University of Utah chemists developed a method to design and test new catalysts – substances that speed chemical reactions and are crucial for producing energy, chemicals and industrial products. By using the new method, the chemists also discovered that the sizes and electronic properties of...

Idaho National Laboratory researchers have recently demonstrated a new sample preparation technique that makes it easier to examine irradiated fuel at the nanoscale. This accomplishment revealed material behavior that suggests increased stability of a new type of reactor fuel. Further study and...

Coherent terahertz radiation has historically been very difficult to generate, and the search for an easy-to-use, compact source continues today. Northwestern University researchers recently developed a simpler way to generate single-chip terahertz radiation — a discovery that could benefit...

A new method of extracting sugars from biomass could lead to more sustainable, inexpensive biofuel production. Unlike more expensive techniques that focus on enzymes, this method, developed at Iowa State University, relies on pyrolysis of lignocelluslosic biomass: quickly heating the biomass without oxygen to...

University of Texas at Austin researchers have discovered how to extract and use information in an individual image to determine how far objects are from the focus distance, a feat only accomplished by human and animal visual systems until now. Like a camera, the human eye has an auto-focusing...

The black box, an airplane’s digital flight-data recorder, holds massive amounts of data, documenting the performance of engines, cockpit controls, hydraulic equipment, and GPS systems, typically at regular one-second intervals throughout a flight. Analysts have been studying...

A technology commonly used for designing buildings, bridges, and aircraft has now been used to aid breast tissue reconstruction in cancer patients. Researchers from Australia, Germany, Singapore, and Georgia Tech have used computer-aided design (CAD) to create an extremely accurate mold of...

This week's Question: Google Wallet, an Android mobile app launched earlier this month, is slowly being rolled out to the public. The application allows users to make purchases with their phones. The technology uses near field communication (NFC) chips to store and remit credit card data,...