University of Oxford

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Elon University have developed a technique that allows them to remotely control the movement of soft robots, lock them into position for as long as needed and later reconfigure the robots into new shapes. The technique relies on light and magnetic fields. “We’re particularly excited about the reconfigurability,”

Ultra lightweight structures Maximum load capacity with minimal consumption of materials ­- this is how supporting structures in construction should be today. Researchers from the University of Stuttgart together with Bosch Rexroth have now come a great deal closer to achieving this goal. They have constructed a wooden shell which is much thinner than anything

NASA announced Tuesday a Grand Challenge focused on finding all asteroid threats to human populations and knowing what to do about them. The challenge, which was announced at an asteroid initiative industry and partner day at NASA Headquarters in Washington, is a large-scale effort that will use multi-disciplinary collaborations and a variety of partnerships with

Sensor-instrumented glove for prosthetic hand controls has ability to sense pressure, temperature, hydration using electronic chips sending sensory data through wristwatch People with hand amputations experience difficult daily life challenges, often leading to lifelong use of a prosthetic hands and services. An electronic glove, or e-glove, developed by Purdue University researchers can be worn over a prosthetic

HZDR researchers conduct electricity using DNA-based nanowires Tinier than the AIDS virus – that is currently the circumference of the smallest transistors. The industry has shrunk the central elements of their computer chips to fourteen nanometers in the last sixty years. Conventional methods, however, are hitting physical boundaries. Researchers around the world are looking for

What do fireflies, nanorods, and Christmas lights have in common? Someday, consumers may be able to purchase multicolor strings of light that don’t need electricity or batteries to glow. Scientists at Syracuse University found a new way to harness the natural light produced by fireflies (called bioluminescence) using nanoscience. Their breakthrough produces a system that

When it comes to solar cells, everyone is chasing the highest conversion efficiency. Although we’ve seen conversion efficiencies of over 40 percentachieved with multi-junction solar cells in lab environments, Boeing subsidiary Spectrolab is bringing this kind of efficiency to mass production with the announcement of its C3MJ+ solar cells which boast an average conversion efficiency of

Multi-touch hardware and software company Ideum is exploring a potential future for the workplace in which traditional desks give way to projected capacitive touch (PCT) tables that you use with both hand gestures and tangible objects. The project is called the Dynamic Desktop, and it’s an idea that creative director and CEO Jim Spadaccini believes