University of Houston

Solar Powered System Offers Inexpensive Desalination

An estimated two-thirds of humanity is affected by shortages of water, and many such areas in the developing world also face a lack of dependable electricity. Widespread research efforts have thus focused on ways to desalinate seawater or brackish water using just solar heat. Many such efforts have run into problems with fouling of equipment caused by salt buildup, however, which often adds complexity and expense.

Advance Warning of Ozone Issues via Artificial Intelligence

Ozone levels in the earth's troposphere (the lowest level of our atmosphere) can now be forecasted with accuracy up to two weeks in advance, a remarkable improvement over current systems that can accurately predict ozone levels only three days ahead.

The Powerhouse Future is Flexoelectric

Researchers have demonstrated "giant flexoelectricity" in soft elastomers that could improve robot movement range and make self-powered pacemakers a real possibility.

Screening for Skin Disease on Your Laptop

In artificial intelligence, deep learning organizes algorithms into layers (the artificial neural network) that can make its own intelligent decisions. To speed up the learning process, the new network was trained using the parameters of MobileNetV2, a mobile vision application, pre-trained on the ImageNet dataset with 1.4M images.

Safer, Less Expensive and Fast Charging Aqueous Battery

Zinc-based aqueous batteries avoid the fire hazard by using a water-based electrolyte instead of the conventional chemical solvent. However, uncontrolled dendrite growth limits their ability to provide the high performance and long life needed for practical applications.

Implantable Device Can Monitor and Treat Heart Disease

Researchers have reported a patch made from fully rubbery electronics that can be placed directly on the heart to collect electrophysiological activity, temperature, heartbeat and other indicators, all at the same time.

Medical Robotic Hand? Rubbery Semiconductor Makes it Possible

A medical robotic hand could allow doctors to more accurately diagnose and treat people from halfway around the world, but currently available technologies aren't good enough to match the in-person experience.

Drawn-on-Skin Electronics Offer Breakthrough in Wearable Monitors

A team of researchers has developed a new form of electronics known as "drawn-on-skin electronics," allowing multifunctional sensors and circuits to be drawn on the skin with an ink pen.

New Material, Modeling Methods Promise Advances in Energy Storage

The explosion of mobile electronic devices, electric vehicles, drones and other technologies have driven demand for new lightweight materials that can provide the power to operate them. Researchers have reported a structural supercapacitor electrode made from reduced graphene oxide and aramid nanofiber that is stronger and more versatile than conventional carbon-based electrodes.

New Material Could Turn Clothing into a Health Monitor

Researchers are reporting a new material, pliable enough to be woven into fabric but imbued with sensing capabilities that could serve as an early warning system for injury or illness.

New Hybrid Device Can Both Capture and Store Solar Energy

Researchers have reported a new device that can both efficiently capture solar energy and store it until it is needed, offering promise for applications ranging from power generation to distillation and desalination.

Assembler robots make large structures from little pieces

Today's commercial aircraft are typically manufactured in sections, often in different locations — wings at one factory, fuselage sections at another, tail components somewhere else — and then flown to a central plant in huge cargo planes for final assembly. But what if the final assembly was the only assembly, with the whole plane built out of a large array of tiny identical pieces, all put together by an army of tiny robots?

Point-of-care test for prostate cancer

The proposed biosensor platform will be based on an ultrahigh sensitivity magnetic nanoparticles detector and will look similar to a home pregnancy test with an electronic readout. As a bonus for healthcare providers and patients alike, it's expected to cost under $3 per test.

Wearable so thin and soft you won't even notice it

Wearable human-machine interfaces - devices that can collect and store important health information about the wearer, among other uses - have benefited from advances in electronics, materials and mechanical designs. But current models still can be bulky and uncomfortable, and they can't always handle multiple functions at one time.