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2017

New way to predict movie-goers' facial expressions

Researchers have been working with Disney Research to develop a new way to assess and predict the facial expressions of movie goers.

Sorting molecules with DNA robots

Imagine a robot that could help you tidy your home: roving about, sorting stray socks into the laundry and dirty dishes into the dishwasher. While such a practical helper may still be the stuff of science fiction, scientists have developed an autonomous molecular machine that can perform similar tasks—at the nanoscale.

New microchip technology could be used to track smart pills

Researchers have developed a prototype miniature medical device that could ultimately be used in "smart pills" to diagnose and treat diseases.

Revolutionising animated characters' speech

Animating the speech of characters such as Elsa and Mowgli has been both time-consuming and costly. But now computer programmers have identified a way of creating natural-looking animated speech that can be generated in real-time as voice actors deliver their lines.

Cracking the code of facial recognition

Friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances—how does the brain process and recognize the myriad faces we see each day? New research shows that the brain uses a simple and elegant mechanism to represent facial identity. The findings suggest a not-too-distant future in which monitoring brain activity can lead to a reconstruction of what a person is seeing.

North Thin Ply Technology

North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT) is a company formed in 2008 that specialize in the thin ply prepregs for composite products. IDTechEx analyst Richard Collins interviewed Joe Summers (Sales and Marketing director).

Micro-energy harvester for self-sustaining, integrated chip systems

Research project focusing on the development of micro-energy harvesters for self-sustaining, integrated chip systems. The use of novel piezoelectric materials in vibration-based harvesters can drastically reduce their size and significantly prolong operation time.

CealTech

Dr Khasha Ghaffarzadeh interviewed Michel Eid from CealTech. They are a Norwegian graphene enterprise formally founded in 2012 and holding exclusive rights to the graphene patent portfolio held by CalTech.

Robot drone that mimics bat flight

Bats have long captured the imaginations of scientists and engineers with their unrivalled agility, but their complex wing motions pose significant technological challenges for those seeking to recreate their flight in a robot.

2016

Metallic glass gears make for graceful robots

Gears are essential for precision robotics. They allow limbs to turn smoothly and stop on command; low-quality gears cause limbs to jerk or shake. If you're designing a robot to scoop samples or grip a ledge, the kind of gears you'll need won't come from a hardware store.

NASA's Juno spacecraft breaks solar power distance record

NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter has broken the record to become humanity's most distant solar-powered emissary.

2015

Smart chip tells you how healthy your battery is

Researchers have developed a smart chip which can tell you how healthy is your battery and if it is safe for use.

A wi-fi reflector chip to speed up wearables

If the power necessary to transmit and receive information from a wearable to a computer, cellular or Wi-Fi network were reduced, you could get a lot more mileage out of the technology you're wearing before having to recharge it.

Heat-converting material patents licensed

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has licensed patents on high-temperature thermoelectric materials to Evident Technologies, which provides these kinds of materials and related power systems.

Cool process to make better graphene

A new technique invented at Caltech to produce graphene at room temperature could help pave the way for commercially feasible graphene-based solar cells and light-emitting diodes, large-panel displays, and flexible electronics.

One step closer to artificial photosynthesis and solar fuels

Scientists, inspired by a chemical process found in leaves, have developed an electrically conductive film that could help pave the way for devices capable of harnessing sunlight to split water into hydrogen fuel.

2014

New technique could harvest more of the sun's energy

A new technology created by researchers from Caltech represents a first step toward harnessing lost energy in photovoltaic cells.

Robotic ocean gliders aid study of melting polar ice

Using robotic ocean gliders, researchers have now found that swirling ocean eddies, similar to atmospheric storms, play an important role in transporting warm waters to the Antarctic coast—a discovery that will help the scientific community determine how rapidly the ice is melting and, as a result, how quickly ocean levels will rise.

Research could help engineers design better electrodes for batteries

The electrochemical reactions inside the porous electrodes of batteries and fuel cells have been described by theorists, but never measured directly. Now, a team at MIT has figured out a way to measure the fundamental charge transfer rate — finding some significant surprises.

Winnick & Company invests in T+ink

T+ink has announced that Winnick & Company has become its largest shareholder, and Gary Winnick has been named chairman and CEO.