Engineering news
Mechanical motion rectifier leads to better energy harvesting
(Phys.org) -- Mechanical energy is all around us, whether in the form of a vehicle's vibrations, ocean waves, or vibrating train tracks. However, much of this energy is irregular and oscillatory - for example, road bumps ...
Apr 25, 2012 |
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Retroreflector transmits light with negligible power consumption
(Phys.org) -- In free-space optical communications (FSO), data is wirelessly transmitted by light propagating through open space. Among their applications, FSO systems are used for communications between spacecraft ...
Apr 17, 2012 |
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Flying microrobot takes steps toward full autonomy (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- With the goal of designing an insect-inspired flying microrobot capable of sustained autonomous flight, researchers have demonstrated for the first time a microrobot that achieves vertical ...
Sep 20, 2011 |
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Study shows that vehicle-to-vehicle navigation systems really do work
(PhysOrg.com) -- Traffic congestion is not only annoying, it’s expensive. In 2005, traffic congestion cost an estimated $78.2 billion in 437 urban areas in the US, according to the Texas Transportation ...
Sep 07, 2011 |
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Cyborg insects generate power for their own neural control
(PhysOrg.com) -- For many years, researchers have been working on designing and fabricating micro-air-vehicles (MAVs), flying robots the size of small insects. But after realizing how difficult it is to create ...
Aug 31, 2011 |
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Trains’ vibrations could provide power for monitoring tunnels
(PhysOrg.com) -- Traffic tunnels are often built in some of the most rugged and remote areas, which subjects them to extreme environmental forces while making them difficult to access. Ideally, the structural ...
Aug 08, 2011 |
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Transparent batteries: seeing straight through to the future? (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Stanford researchers have invented a transparent lithium-ion battery that is also highly flexible. It is comparable in cost to regular batteries on the market today, with great potential for ...
Jul 25, 2011 |
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Pterosaur-inspired aircraft makes sharper turns
(PhysOrg.com) -- By morphing and repositioning a small aircraft's vertical tail to resemble the cranial crest of a pterosaur, researchers have shown that the aircraft's turn radius can be reduced by 14%. The ...
Jun 14, 2011 |
4.8 / 5 (15) |
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Energy harvesting skin generates power from air conditioners
(PhysOrg.com) -- Devices that harvest ambient energy from the surrounding environment have become popular since, for some applications, they eliminate the need for batteries that must constantly be replaced. ...
Apr 20, 2011 |
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Chameleon's ballistic tongue inspires robotic manipulators
(PhysOrg.com) -- Although the lungless salamander and some frog species have developed ballistic tongues, the chameleon's ballistic tongue is the fastest, the longest, and the one that can catch the heaviest ...
Apr 05, 2011 |
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Researchers build flying robotic 'tree helicopter' (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Many trees disperse their seeds by releasing "helicopters," those single-winged seeds that are also called "samaras." As these seeds fall to the ground, their wing causes them to swirl and ...
Jan 25, 2011 |
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Seabird's morphing wings inspire design for robots that can both fly and swim
(PhysOrg.com) -- There are robots that can fly, and there are robots that can swim, but so far a robot that can both fly and swim does not exist. With the goal to design an aerial/aquatic robotic vehicle, ...
Nov 19, 2010 |
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White LEDs with super-high luminous efficacy could satisfy all general lighting needs
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the Nichia Corporation in Tokushima, Japan, have set an ambitious goal: to develop a white LED that can replace every interior and exterior light bulb currently used in homes ...
Aug 31, 2010 |
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Integral 3D TV system projects a promising future (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Critics of 3D viewing may call the technology a passing fad, but if engineers can overcome some of the challenges of today's 3D systems, 3D TV could work its way into becoming a common household ...
Aug 27, 2010 |
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Oil-based color pixels could let you watch videos on e-paper
(PhysOrg.com) -- By rapidly manipulating colored oil droplets stacked on top of each other, a new electrowetting (EW) technique could lead to the development of electronic paper displays that can produce high-resolution ...
Jul 26, 2010 |
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