Cornell University

Smart Intersections Could Cut Autonomous Car Congestion

In the not-so-distant future, city streets could be flooded with autonomous vehicles. Self-driving cars can move faster and travel closer together, allowing more of them to fit on the road - potentially leading to congestion and gridlock on city streets.

Human Bone May Hold Key to Stronger 3D Printed Lightweight Structures

What do bones and 3D-printed buildings have in common? They both have columns and beams on the inside that determine how long they last. Now, the discovery of how a "beam" in human bone material handles a lifetime's worth of wear and tear could translate to the development of 3D-printed lightweight materials that last long enough for more practical use in buildings, aircraft and other structures.

Invention of Teeny-Tiny Organic Films Could Enable New Electronics

The first cell phone, released in 1983, was the size of a brick and weighed two-and-a-half pounds. The newest Apple Watch, released this fall, weighs 1.1 ounces.

Zinc-Anode Batteries Prove Their Mettle

Researchers have found a way to build a zinc-anode battery that not only has a high energy density, but is low cost, robust and stable, and has a life cycle that can be significantly prolonged.

NOHMs

NOHMs is a start-up that develops ionic liquid electrolytes for Li-ion batteries. Their technology originated from research at Cornell University with company's CEO and lead researchers all Cornell alumni. They claim their material improves safety by improving thermal and high-voltage stability without impacting cycle life or power. This profile is an updated version. IDTechEx principal analyst Franco Gonzalez interviewed NOHMs CEO Nathan Ball in 2016.

Graphene Offers a Large Potential for the Energy Storage Market

This article will highlight some of the key topics addressed for graphene in LiB electrode advancement, post-LiB chemistry changes, supercapacitors, and thermal dissipation.

NASA Designing Shapeshifting Robots for Saturn's Moons

Mini robots that can roll, fly, float and swim, then morph into a single machine? Together they form Shapeshifter, a developing concept for a transformational vehicle to explore treacherous, distant worlds.

Optical lace gives robots heightened sensory ability

A new stretchable optical lace could give soft robots an even softer touch. The synthetic material creates a linked sensory network similar to a biological nervous system, which would enable robots to sense how they interact with their environment and adjust their actions accordingly.

Using artificial intelligence to track birds' dark-of-night migrations

On many evenings during spring and fall migration, tens of millions of birds take flight at sunset and pass over our heads, unseen in the night sky. Though these flights have been recorded for decades by the National Weather Services' network of constantly scanning weather radars, until recently these data have been mostly out of reach for bird researchers.

New type of electrolyte could enhance supercapacitor performance

Supercapacitors, electrical devices that store and release energy, need a layer of electrolyte — an electrically conductive material that can be solid, liquid, or somewhere in between. Now, researchers have developed a novel class of liquids that may open up new possibilities for improving the efficiency and stability of such devices while reducing their flammability.

Robot circulatory system powers possibilities

Untethered robots suffer from a stamina problem. A possible solution: a circulating liquid - "robot blood" - to store energy and power its applications for sophisticated, long-duration tasks.

Engineered bacteria could be missing link in energy storage

One of the big issues with sustainable energy systems is how to store electricity that's generated from wind, solar and waves. At present, no existing technology provides large-scale storage and energy retrieval for sustainable energy at a low financial and environmental cost.

Artificial metabolism could open a new frontier in robotics

As a genetic material, DNA is responsible for all known life. But DNA is also a polymer. Tapping into the unique nature of the molecule, engineers have created simple machines constructed of biomaterials with properties of living things.

AI approach optimizes embryo selection for IVF

A new artificial intelligence approach can identify with a great degree of accuracy whether a 5-day-old, in vitro fertilized human embryo has a high potential to progress to a successful pregnancy. The technique, which analyzes time-lapse images of the early-stage embryos, could improve the success rate of in vitro fertilization and minimize the risk of multiple pregnancies.

"Particle robot" works as a cluster of simple units

Taking a cue from biological cells, researchers have developed computationally simple robots that connect in large groups to move around, transport objects, and complete other tasks.

Advances point the way to smaller, safer batteries

People don't ask too much from batteries: Deliver energy when it's needed and for as long as it is wanted, recharge quickly and don't burst into flames.

New cell-sized micro robots might make incredible journeys

Researchers have harnessed the latest nanofabrication techniques to create bug-shaped robots that are wirelessly powered, able to walk, able to survive harsh environments and tiny enough to be injected through an ordinary hypodermic needle.