Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

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2016

Wireless, wearable toxic-gas detector

Researchers have developed low-cost chemical sensors, made from chemically altered carbon nanotubes, that enable smartphones or other wireless devices to detect trace amounts of toxic gases.

Tough new hydrogel hybrid doesn't dry out

Engineers have found a way to prevent hydrogels from dehydrating, with a technique that could lead to longer-lasting contact lenses, stretchy microfluidic devices, flexible bioelectronics, and even artificial skin.

Hybrid and electric systems R&D at the U.S.-DOE

This paper first presented at EVS29 Montreal Canada provides an overview of the Fiscal Years 2015-2016 Hybrid and Electric Systems research and development activities - with emphasis on its advanced electric drive research -funded by the Vehicles Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Need hair? Press "print"

These days, it may seem as if 3-D printers can spit out just about anything, from a full-sized sports car, to edible food, to human skin. But some things have defied the technology, including hair, fur, and other dense arrays of extremely fine features, which require a huge amount of computational time and power to first design, then print.

Extend life and improved performance of fuel cell electrodes

Researchers have developed a practical and physically-based way of treating the surface of materials called perovskite oxides, to make them more durable and improve their performance. These materials are promising candidates to serve as electrodes in energy-conversion devices such as fuel cells and electrolyzers.

24m Technologies

24M is a spin-out of battery company A123 that has developed a semi-solid, flexible electrode structure for their Li-ion batteries. We recently interviewed President and CEO Throop Wilder.

Scientists design energy-carrying 'Topological Plexcitons'

Scientists have engineered "topological plexcitons," energy-carrying particles that could help make possible the design of new kinds of solar cells and miniaturized optical circuitry.

"72% of 3DP users don't think they're maximising their investment"

Rachel Gordon attended the Additive Manufacturing Talks in Milan. There was a strong focus on materials development across a wide range of applications. There was a consensus that machines need to be fast and reliable, and produce objects with useful object properties before businesses will adopt them for production.

Bionic leaf turns sunlight into liquid fuel

The days of drilling into the ground in the search for fuel may be numbered, because if Daniel Nocera has his way, it'll just be a matter of looking for sunny skies.

New path forward for next-generation lithium-ion batteries

In the quest for a radically better lithium-ion battery, a promising direction is the so-called "lithium-rich" cathode, in which the cathode contains a higher proportion of lithium than normal.

New concept turns battery technology upside-down

A new approach to the design of a liquid battery, using a passive, gravity-fed arrangement similar to an old-fashioned hourglass, could offer great advantages due to the system's low cost and the simplicity of its design and operation.

Ingestible origami robot for button battery removal

In experiments involving a simulation of the human esophagus and stomach, researchers have demonstrated a tiny origami robot that can unfold itself from a swallowed capsule and, steered by external magnetic fields, crawl across the stomach wall to remove a swallowed button battery or patch a wound.

More salt, more power

A team of researchers have developed a battery that is at once safer, cheaper, more environmentally friendly, and more powerful—by adding a pinch of salt.

Aesthetic and functional temporary tattoos

A fabrication process that draws from current body decoration processes (i.e., jewelry- like metallic temporary tattoos) for the creation of on- skin technology.

New material temporarily tightens skin

Scientists have developed a new material that can temporarily protect and tighten skin, and smooth wrinkles. With further development, it could also be used to deliver drugs to help treat skin conditions such as eczema and other types of dermatitis.

Regenerative suspension comes center stage

The IDTechEx conference Electric Vehicles Everything is Changing finished in Berlin last week and it is analysed in this series of exclusive articles.

New catalyst offers efficient storage of alternative energies

Researchers have designed the most efficient catalyst for storing energy in chemical form, by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, just like plants do during photosynthesis.

Living textile that transform based on users' needs

Microscopic humidity-sensitive bacteria can be harvested and used as nanosensors and nanoactuators. Such mechanisms are applied to fabric using custom-made micro-resolution printing technology.

Making electronics out of coal

Coal could become the basis for solar panels, batteries, or electronic devices.

For stronger, lighter, cheaper materials, scroll up

Water filters of the future may be made from billions of tiny, graphene-based nanoscrolls. Each scroll, made by rolling up a single, atom-thick layer of graphene, could be tailored to trap specific molecules and pollutants in its tightly wound folds.

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