Eindhoven University

3D-printed construction has moved into the mainstream recently and another example of the efficacy of the cutting-edge building technique comes from the Netherlands with what's hailed by its creators as the country's first completed 3D-printed home.

A team of researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands have drawn inspiration from a tiny tentacled marine creature to produce a centimeter-scale robot that is powered by magnets and light.

In the not-too-distant future, we may see wound dressings that default to absorbing bodily fluids, while also releasing medication on demand. The same material could allow robots to cool themselves by sweating.

Scientists have successfully bridged the gap between organic and artificial. A team has created biohybrid synapses that let living cells communicate with electronic systems, not with electrical signals but with neurotransmitters like dopamine.

As we reported back in April, a team of students and volunteers is set to build a bridge out of ice that will be strong enough to hold a car. The first group is due to travel to Finland in the next week. If successfully completed, the bridge will be the longest made out of ice ever.

TU/e researcher Hao Gao as developed a tiny transmitting temperature sensor that is powered by radio waves, eliminating the need for wires or batteries. Instead, it picks up radio waves from a special router, converts them into electricity, and uses it to transmit readings.

Ferrolic uses ferrofluid to tell the time. This mysterious liquid reacts to electromagnets, meaning it can be manipulated to form numbers like an ever-evolving Rorschach test.

Dutch students have developed a new family car that is not only powered by the sun, but generates more energy than it uses. Stella Lux seats up to four people and is designed to be efficient, intelligent and comfortable. It will compete in the World Solar Challenge in Australia later this year.

At the turn of this year, students from Eindhoven University of Technology constructed a replica of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in ice. Next up, they're turning their attention to a bridge designed by Leonardo da Vinci. If successfully completed, it will have the longest open span ever built from ice.

Students from the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have built a simplified replica of Gaudi's famous Sagrada Familia basilica, using ice and wood fibers. Fittingly, like the actual Barcelona landmark, the model was incomplete by the time it was due to open.

How do you top building the world's largest ice dome? Well, if you're the Eindhoven University of Technology, you build a 40-meter (131-ft)-high model of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia basilica ... and you build it it out of "pykrete."

Scientists have created a new "fog harvesting" material, that switches between being absorbent and water-repellant.