KTH Royal Institute of Technology

  • ​Silk may be strong, elastic and biodegradable, but unfortunately it's also expensive. With that in mind, scientists recently set out to produce lower-cost artificial silk. They've already succeeded in producing small quantities, using whey protein.
  • It may be nice to have a car that's well-insulated against traffic noise, but it can be detrimental when it comes to hearing sirens. Fortunately, however, researchers have developed a system in which drivers' stereos actually alert them to the presence of approaching ambulances.​
  • We have seen numerous takes on microneedle technology, but researchers in Sweden believe they have come with a design to top them all, with a patch that combines soft and hard materials for better performance and comfort. ​
  • Wood is known for being a strong, plentiful, inexpensive and renewable alternative to conventional building materials. Soon, it may even find its way into windows and solar cells – as a cheaper substitute for traditional silica-based glass.
  • ​We've seen bike helmets with wooden shells before, and we've also seen foam made from wood pulp. Now, however, Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology has teamed up with Stockholm-based startup Cellutech to combine the two. The result is a helmet made entirely from wood.​
  • Lightweight, foldable, and strong sheets of "power paper" have been created by scientists that can store significant amounts of electric charge and may one day provide ultra-thin electricity storage for modern devices.
  • Wood pulp-derived nanocellulose is turning out to be pretty useful stuff. Most recently, researchers from Sweden and the US have used the material to build soft-bodied batteries that are more shock- and stress-resistant than their traditional hard counterparts.
  • Harnessing wave power can be a tricky business. It's one thing to build a device that simply moves up and down with the waves, but another to build one that's efficient enough to be cost-effective. Swedish company CorPower Ocean claims to have done just that, however.
  • Anyone who's played a first-person shooter will be familiar with using the direction that a character is looking to also control the direction they move. The concept is known as "free look control." Firefighters in Pisa, Italy, have been testing this method for operating emergency response robots.
  • Science
    While silver nanoparticles are very effective at killing bacteria, there are major concerns regarding the effects that those particles may have on human health. Now, however, scientists have come up with what could be a less harmful alternative – red algae.
  • Science
    Working with cellulose from trees, researchers have produced fibers claimed to be as strong as steel, and versatile enough to replace strands of fiberglass or lengths of cotton whilst still remaining biodegradable.
  • Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have developed fancy footwear that allows firefighters to be tracked in places where GPS fails, including up to 25 m (82 ft) below ground.
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