Technical University of Delft

"Imagine a swing that, once pushed, keeps swinging for almost 100 years because it loses almost no energy through the ropes." So says a Delft University of Technology researcher who has helped his team accomplish a parallel feat at the nanoscale.

In order to function safely alongside human workers, robotic arms shouldn't be hard and unyielding. An experimental new arm was designed with that fact in mind, as it mimics soft n' squishy elephant trunks and octopus tentacles.

The seafloor is rich in valuable metals, but gathering them is disruptive to the environment. An international project has now tested a system called Apollo 2, which can vacuum up metal nodules without kicking up sediment.

Three teams of scientists have achieved a major milestone in quantum computing. All three groups demonstrated better than 99 percent accuracy in silicon-based quantum devices, paving the way for practical, scalable, error-free quantum computers.

Wireless charging systems for electric cars certainly are convenient, as drivers just park the vehicle, get out, and leave it to charge. Well, Dutch company Tiler has created a similar technology for ebikes.

Liquid hydrogen could be a revolutionary technology in clean aviation, and AeroDelft from the Netherlands is working hard to get the first liquid hydrogen fuel cell aircraft in the air. The Phoenix will fly 2,000 km on a 10-kg tank of liquid H2.

Scientists have fashioned graphene into microscopic balloons they say can distinguish between different kinds of noble gases, by measuring how long the gas takes to escape through tiny perforations in the surface of the balloons.

VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) drones are quite versatile, as they combine the vertical flight of a helicopter with the efficient forward flight of a fixed-wing airplane. This one features an extended range, thanks to a fuel cell power system.

As a way of demonstrating advances in energy and where they might lead us, a team of researchers has built a Game Boy that requires no battery, instead powering itself from a combination of solar energy and the user’s interactions with the device.

A new device from engineers at TU Delft overcomes some of the dependability issues of lithium-metal batteries thanks to a new electrolyte that breaks down and forms a key protective layer during charging.

Last year we caught wind of an interesting airplane concept called the Flying V. The project has now progressed from renders of a futuristic aircraft to a flight-capable scale model, which was recently shown in action for the very first time.

UNStudio has announced that construction is underway on a new college campus building in the Netherlands. Once work is completed, students will be hitting the books in a flexible and energy-efficient space that integrates greenery on its facade.