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Physical cloaking works like a disappearing act for structural defects
Whether designing a window in an airliner or a cable conduit for an engine, manufacturers devote a lot of effort to reinforcing openings for structural integrity. But the reinforcement is rarely perfect and often creates structural weaknesses elsewhere.... Read more
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Plants you can wear: Hydrogel material weaves seeds into textiles
Humans' relationships with plants is largely utilitarian, serving our needs. We generally either eat them or make things out of them.... Read more
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UAE schools to teach AI from kindergarten up
The United Arab Emirates will introduce artificial intelligence lessons for schoolchildren of all ages, officials said, in its latest initiative to stay at the technology's forefront.... Read more
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Deafblind people to understand live conversations thanks to e-textiles technology
Thousands of people who are born deafblind will understand live conversations for the first time thanks to new research into smart textiles being developed by Nottingham Trent University (NTU).... Read more
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Synchrotron in a closet: Bringing powerful 3D X-ray microscopy to smaller labs
For the first time, researchers can study the microstructures inside metals, ceramics and rocks with X-rays in a standard laboratory without needing to travel to a particle accelerator, according to a study led by University of Michigan engineers.... Read more
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Sponge-like carbon nanotube thermoelectric generator easily molds to complex shapes and powers sensors
A Korean research team has developed a novel thermoelectric material and generator (TEG) that leverages sponge-like carbon nanotube (CNT) structures, improving the limitations of organic thermoelectric materials while retaining flexibility. The resulting device is expected to be useful in powering small-scale wearable sensors through thermal energy harvesting.... Read more
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Neuromorphic system uses quantum effects to find optimal solutions to complex problems
It's easy to solve a 3x3 Rubik's cube, says Shantanu Chakrabartty, the Clifford W. Murphy Professor and vice dean for research and graduate education in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Just learn and memorize the steps then execute them to arrive at the solution.... Read more
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Engineers fortify wood with eco-friendly nano-iron
By infusing red oak with ferrihydrite using a simple, low-cost process, researchers strengthened the wood at the cellular level without adding weight or altering flexibility—offering a durable, eco-friendly alternative to steel and concrete. The treated wood retains its natural behavior but gains internal durability—paving the way for greener alternatives in... Read more
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Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry: System turns simple sketches into digital schematics
Many products in the modern world are in some way fabricated using computer numerical control (CNC) machines, which use computers to automate machine operations in manufacturing. While simple in concept, the ways to instruct these machines is, in reality, often complex.... Read more
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Generative AI masters the art of scent creation
Addressing the challenges of fragrance design, researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) have developed an AI model that can automate the creation of new fragrances based on user-defined scent descriptors. The model uses mass spectrometry profiles of essential oils and corresponding odor descriptors to generate essential oil... Read more
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Engineers create a robot that can jump 10 feet high—without legs
Inspired by the movements of a tiny parasitic worm, Georgia Tech engineers have created a 5-inch soft robot that can jump as high as a basketball hoop.... Read more
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New electronic 'skin' could enable lightweight night-vision glasses
MIT engineers have developed a technique to grow and peel ultrathin "skins" of electronic material. The method could pave the way for new classes of electronic devices, such as ultrathin wearable sensors, flexible transistors and computing elements, and highly sensitive and compact imaging devices.... Read more
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Engineered metamaterial achieves both high strength and remarkable flexibility
In metamaterials design, the name of the game has long been "stronger is better." Metamaterials are synthetic materials with microscopic structures that give the overall material exceptional properties. A huge focus has been on designing metamaterials that are stronger and stiffer than their conventional counterparts. But there's a trade-off: The... Read more
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Transforming flat-to-shape objects using sewing technology
Researchers from the Human Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) and Robotics Institute (RI) at Carnegie Mellon University introduced a novel method for fabricating functional flat-to-shape objects using a computer-controlled sewing machine.... Read more
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New quantum-based navigation system 50 times more accurate than traditional GPS
A team of researchers at Q-CTRL, a quantum infrastructure software-maker based in Sydney, Australia, has announced the successful demonstration of its newly developed quantum navigation system called "Ironstone Opal."... Read more