Princeton University

Princeton and the University of Washington researchers have developed a camera the size of a grain of salt that can snap sharp, full-color images. It’s made with a metasurface that captures light and could be scaled up to turn entire surfaces into sensors.

Although soft-bodied robots show great promise for tasks like squeezing through tight spaces, it's a bit counterproductive if their soft appendages are moved by hard actuators. A new technology addresses that problem, via the use of "fancy balloons."

Ironically, many of the places that most require water purification have the least-developed infrastructure. That's where a new filtration device comes in, as it's activated by the sun – and it works relatively quickly.

It is now possible to take a talking-head style video, and add, delete or edit the speaker's words as simply as you'd edit text in a word processor. A new deepfake algorithm can process the audio and video into a new file in which the speaker says more or less whatever you want them to.

Future windows could change their tint or opacity on demand to keep out unwanted heat, light or nosy neighbors. A team from Princeton has now developed a self-powered “smart window” system that uses a transparent solar cell to harvest UV energy from sunlight.

​​Millions of selfies are snapped every day, but they often fail to accurately portray reality, featuring unflattering distortions. A new tool could change that, allowing selfies to be adjusted, giving the impression that they’re taken from a little farther away, or from a slightly different angle.​

Albert Einstein will be forever remembered for his famous E=mc2 formula, but there was much more to the man than this. To show this, Princeton University has now released an online archive of his documents spanning the years 1897 - 1923 that provides much insight into the man and his life.