UC Berkeley

There are already computer vision systems and sensor-equipped gloves that can detect a person's hand gestures. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley have developed an alternative technology, however, that offers some key advantages.

Scientists at University of California, Berkeley have leveraged 3D printing to produce a polymer lattice structure that can act as the backbone for low-carbon concrete that also boasts great strength and durability.

Information can be encoded into many patterns, such as ones and zeroes for computers. A new proof of concept has been demonstrated to encode information into artificial molecules, which could enable programmable materials or new types of computers.

​Killing up to 200,000 people annually, schistosomiasis is one of THE most deadly parasitic diseases in the world, second only to malaria. Soon, however, prawn aquaculture could be used to control the snails that spread it – and to provide revenue for people in developing nations.

In an effort to scale up the manufacture of biomaterials, researchers at UC Berkeley have combined bioprinting, a robotic arm, and flash freezing that may one day allow living tissue and even whole organs to be printed on demand.

​Ordinarily, robots are precisely programmed to perform certain tasks. Robots that run on artificial intelligence, though, learn tasks through a process of trial and error. The Blue robot is specifically designed for the latter, and it should be much more affordable than other AI machines.

​We first saw UC Berkeley's remarkable jumping robot Salto in December 2016, but a new video released by the university's Biomimetic Millisystems Lab shows an equally remarkable new ability: precise hopping, pogo-style.

Carbon atoms can form graphene sheets and buckyballs. Scientists have theorized that a third variation should exist with negative curvature, known as schwarzite. An international team has now found a way to create these structures, which may have unusual electrical, magnetic and optical properties.

Waste heat generated by electronics can damage components, and represents a large amount of energy going to waste. Now scientists at the UCB have developed a thin film that could be built into computers, cars or factories to capture and recycle the energy from waste heat.​​

​If you're unsatisfied with the realism of computer-generated animals, then you might be interested in the latest news out of the UC San Diego. Working with colleagues from UC Berkeley, scientists there have developed a new method of rendering fur that's much more accurate than existing techniques.

We've been worrying about hackers taking control of our autonomous vehicles, but it turns out they could be spooked by much simpler means. A team of researchers says stickers on street signs could be enough to confuse self-driving cars.

Think about all the things you picked up today. Now think about how much mental energy you put into each of those activities. Very little, right? For robots though, picking up a variety of shapes poses a significant challenge – one that's gotten easier thanks to work carried out at UC Berkeley.