Engineering

What sounds more terrifying than a part-cockroach, part-robot cyborg? Definitely one that can also breathe underwater. Yet, this is exactly what researchers have just created, except they are replacing “terrifying” with “useful.” Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore and Waseda University in Japan have created a soft, flexible diving suit for cyborg cockroaches. The suits are equipped with miniature oxygen generators that allow the cockroaches to survive for up to three hours underwater or in low-oxygen conditions.

It looks like laser weapons are going to get a major power-up. The US government has awarded contracts worth US$86 million to develop new Joint Laser Weapon Systems (JLWS) capable of outputting up to 500 kW to take out next-generation cruise missiles.

The Mediterranean is getting hotter and drier, pushing scientists to look for water even in the air itself. A German team has now scaled up a porous material that does exactly that, even when the air feels bone-dry.

The US has racked up another historic drone warfare first as US Central Command (CENTCOM) announces that a trio of Corsair autonomous surface boats successfully carried out a simultaneous attack against the Bandar Abbas Naval Base in Iran.

Scientists have created a robotic bird that swims, dives, and rockets out of water to fly, all without propellers, legs, or folding tricks. Just clever engineering solving a problem nature already does gracefully.

Blue Origin is racing against the clock to undo the damage caused by its New Glenn rocket exploding in May. The company outlined a new “horizontal/vertical hybrid” concept of operations that will enable an accelerated timeline to launch.

With a changing climate, wildfires are becoming more frequent and destructive. Engineers from California have developed a house that can temporarily disappear underground until the danger has passed.

On July 3, the Royal Navy applied lessons learned from Ukraine as it successfully launched a strike-capable drone from a vessel underway. Part of Exercise Neptune Reach, the XV Patrick Blackett catapulted a Nyan drone off the south coast of England.

Two humanoid robots just performed live surgery for the first time in history, hinting at a future where compact, affordable machines bring advanced surgical care to rural hospitals, battlefields, and other resource-strapped settings.

Blue Origin is racing against the clock to undo the damage caused by its New Glenn rocket exploding in May. The company outlined a new “horizontal/vertical hybrid” concept of operations that will enable an accelerated timeline to launch.