Can Salt Be A Potential Replacement

For some time now, scientists have eyed cheap and widely abundant salt as a potential replacement for lithium in batteries that power everything from laptops to cars. While these experimental sodium-ion batteries continue to show promise, there are a few kinks to be ironed out before we see them become commonplace. Researchers at Purdue University are claiming to have overcome […]

Counting People Through Walls Using Wifi

In what may be seen as a worrying development to those troubled by the growth of the surveillance state, researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have demonstrated that they can count people through walls using only Wi-Fi signals. Remarkably, the method doesn’t require those being counted to carry wireless devices. The method relies on RSSI, which stands for […]

Metal Jet 3D Printing For Mass Production

Desktop Metal might have set the ball rolling back in 2017, but it seems HP is getting very serious about 3D metal printing at industrial volumes and automotive-grade production quality. The technology is called HP Metal Jet, it’s 50 times faster and significantly cheaper than existing methods, and pilot programs are already underway. Similar to the Desktop Metal production system, […]

World’s First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Train

The world’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered train entered regular service on Monday in Germany as a two-car Alstom Coradia iLint took to the tracks on Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser’s (EVB) Elbe-Weser network in Lower Saxony. Unveiled on Sunday before government and industry dignitaries at Bremervörde, the new Coradia iLint will be first of two in a growing network of quiet, […]

Biomimicry Bat Inspired Robot

Bats use a clever technique called echolocation to hunt down food in the dark, mapping their surroundings by emitting ultrasound waves from their mouths and analyzing those that bounce back. Scientists at Tel Aviv University have used this impressive capability as inspiration for a new robot, which is able to autonomously navigate through an environment relying on this naturally-inspired form […]

Asteroid Mining Is Here

Mining resources from asteroids may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but — at least if you believe some very smart people — it’s well on its way to becoming science fact. What will be mined? Why would anyone want to do this? And who are the main players in this (literal) space? Read on for a beginner’s guide […]

Brexit Prompts More Automation Of Work

Britain is facing a strawberry labor shortage that only threatens to get worse as Brexit approaches, so roboticists at the University of Essex are working in conjunction with jam makers Wilkin & Sons of Tiptree to develop robotsto take up the slack. Led by Vishuu Mohan, from the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, the team’s goal is to […]

Can This Cloth Really Pull Water From The Air?

Imagine if it was possible for people in drought-stricken parts of the world to literally pull fresh drinking water from the air. Such technology does, in fact, exist in the form of fog collectors. Fog collectors are mesh nets, able to capture between 2 and 10 percent of moisture in the air, depending on the efficiency of the material used. […]

Self Powered Sensor

When someone is recovering from joint surgery, it’s important for doctors to monitor factors such as their range of motion. A new self-powered sensor could make doing so easier than ever, by wirelessly transmitting movement data from an orthopedic brace on that joint. Developed by scientists at Canada’s University of Waterloo, the prototype sensor takes the form of a small […]