Purdue University

Body Heat Through Flexible Fabric Powers Iot Devices

Wearable electronics and other Internet of Things devices are rapidly growing in popularity, but their need for consistent power can place a high burden on users. One recently proposed solution is to generate electricity using heat from the human body, animals or other ambient sources, but typical emerging devices need to be up to an inch thick to harvest maximum results.

Finalists Announced for 2019 R&D 100 Awards

Finalists for the venerable R&D 100 Awards have been announced by R&D World magazine and its new parent company, WTWH Media, LLC.

Solar Power From 'The Dark Side' Unlocked by a New Formula

Most of today's solar panels capture sunlight and convert it to electricity only from the side facing the sky. If the dark underside of a solar panel could also convert sunlight reflected off the ground, even more electricity might be generated.

This 'Lemon" Could Help Machine Learning Create Better Drugs

One of the challenges in using machine learning for drug development is to create a process for the computer to extract needed information from a pool of data points. Drug scientists must pull biological data and train the software to understand how a typical human body will interact with the combinations that come together to form a medication.

Millions With Swallowing Problems Could be Helped with New Wearable

A wearable monitoring device to make treatments easier and more affordable for the millions of people with swallowing disorders is about to be released into the market.

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.

New materials to help stop lithium-ion battery fires

From automobiles and planes to laptops and e-bikes, lithium-ion batteries have been blamed for causing fires in high-tech devices. Now scientists have come up with patented techniques that may cut down the risk from these popular batteries, which are found in everyday devices such as phones and tablets.

'Nanochains' could increase battery capacity, cut charging time

How long the battery of your phone or computer lasts depends on how many lithium ions can be stored in the battery's negative electrode material. If the battery runs out of these ions, it can't generate an electrical current to run a device and ultimately fails.

Electronic glove offers 'humanlike' features for prosthetic hand users

An electronic glove, or e-glove can be worn over a prosthetic hand to provide humanlike softness, warmth, appearance and sensory perception, such as the ability to sense pressure, temperature and hydration.

Purdue University welcomes delivery robots

Purdue University's West Lafayette campus is now sharing its sidewalks with a fleet of robots that can deliver meals at the push of a button.

Clothing lets users turn on electronics while turning away bacteria

A new addition to your wardrobe may soon help you turn on the lights and music - while also keeping you fresh, dry, fashionable, clean and safe from the latest virus that's going around.

Wearable automatically delivers drugs to reverse opioid overdose

Opioid users tend to be alone and incapacitated during an overdose. Researchers are developing a device that would automatically detect an overdose and deliver naloxone, a drug known to reverse deadly effects.

Technique unlocks graphene for semiconductors

To truly be useful, graphene would need to carry an electric current that switches on and off, as silicon does in the form of billions of transistors on a computer chip.

Hummingbird robot uses AI to soon go where drones can't

Researchers have engineered flying robots that behave like hummingbirds, trained by machine learning algorithms based on various techniques the bird uses naturally every day.

Future hypersonics could be artificially intelligent

A test launch for a hypersonic weapon — a long-range missile that flies a mile per second and faster — takes weeks of planning. So, while the U.S. and other states are racing to deploy hypersonic technologies, it remains uncertain how useful the systems will be against urgent, mobile or evolving threats.

Blue light could treat superbug infections

Rather than rolling the dice with a multi-drug combination or wasting precious time trying to determine which medicine to prescribe, doctors could soon use a new method for disarming the superbugs: light therapy.

Robots created with 3D printers could care for the elderly

The world's elderly population is booming. The number of older people -- those age 60 years or older -- is expected to more than double by 2050 and is growing faster than all younger age groups across the globe. This trend comes with an increasing demand for caregivers capable of providing 24-hour care, not only at hospitals or nursing homes, but also at private homes and apartments.

New protein for gene editing may improve disease treatment

Researchers have developed a new technology that could change how gene editing is approached in the future. T

Wearable liquid unit that aims to harvest energy

A fascination with movie technology that showed robots perform self-repair through a liquid formula inspired a university professor to make his own discoveries - which are now helping to lead the way for advancements in self-powering devices such as consumer electronics and defense innovations.

Your body is your internet -- and now it can't be hacked

Someone could hack into your pacemaker or insulin pump and potentially kill you, just by intercepting and analyzing wireless signals. This hasn't happened in real life yet, but researchers have been demonstrating for at least a decade that it's possible.