New Atlas

Wearables Audio available

Wearable could keep you cool when the office gets hot

Paul Ridden May 21, 2019

Engineers from the University of California San Diego have developed a proof-of-concept armband that can keep the wearer's skin at a constant temperature, even when the ambient temperature is raised or lowered. And the technology is being scaled up to vest size.

The UC San Diego engineers reckon that a scaled up version of the technology could help ...

Materials Audio available

Feather-inspired tech may give Velcro a run for its money

Ben Coxworth January 16, 2019

For decades, when people have wanted to stick two things together but later pull them back apart, Velcro has been the answer. In the future, however, the material may get some competition from bird feather-inspired technology.

A feather's barbs are pulled apart, in a manner that was replicated using large-scale 3D-printed models

Aircraft

Robotic gliders train themselves to soar on thermals

David Szondy September 22, 2018

Researchers from the University of California San Diego have created robotic gliders that literally fly like an eagle. They use reinforcement learning to determine how to exploit updrafts of warm air, soaring to altitudes of up to 2,300 ft.

One of the gliders used in the University of California San Diego research

Science

LiveTag is out to make dumb objects smart

Ben Coxworth August 16, 2018

"Smart" internet-connected devices could indeed make life easier for us, but the things DO typically have to be equipped with battery-powered electronics. That may not necessarily be the case for much longer, however, if the Wi-Fi-based LiveTag system reaches fruition.

A couple of the LiveTag tags, as compared to a sheet of photographic paper at the ...

Robotics

Soft robotic fingers use gecko-inspired coating for some heavy lifting

Nick Lavars April 10, 2018

One particularly active area of robotics research involves the exploration of soft parts, which are opening up new possibilities and making machines safer for humans to work around. Now they are gaining a helping hand from the amazing adhesive properties of the gecko.

Scientists have created a robotic gripper that uses a gecko-inspired adhesive coating and can lift heavy ...

Space

How a quietening Sun could help slow (but not stop) our warming climate

Michael Irving February 6, 2018

New research suggests the Sun might be headed towards a “grand minimum” of a centuries-long cycle, during which the Earth would receive much less ultraviolet radiation. If so, it may even help slow – but not stop – the progression of the climate’s general warming trend.

A new study suggests that the Sun may be heading towards a quiet period known as ...

Energy

Electric eel inspires bio-friendly power source, what happens next may shock you

Nick Lavars December 13, 2017

An organism that is pretty good at generating biocompatible power (for itself, at least) is the electric eel, and scientists have now used the high-voltage species as a blueprint for a promising new self-charging device that could one day power things like pacemakers and prosthetics.

Could a device inspired by the electric eel offer a safer way to power medical implants?

Science

Single-lens, light field 4D camera to give robots and autonomous cars better vision

David Szondy August 18, 2017

Engineers have developed a new "4D" single-lens, light field camera that greatly enhances robotic vision. The new system uses a spherical lens and algorithms to capture information across a 138-degree field of view to allow robots to not only navigate, but also better understand their environment.

Two 138-degree light field panoramas (top and center) and a depth estimate of the second panorama ...

Good Thinking

Smart glove translates sign language gestures into text

Michael Irving July 13, 2017

Most people don’t understand sign language, to the frustration of those who rely on it to communicate. Now engineers have developed a prototype called “The Language of Glove,” a Bluetooth-enabled, sensor-packed glove that reads the hand gestures of sign language and translates them into text.

The Language of Glove is a sensor-packed glove that translates the gestures of sign language into ...

Science

Is climate change keeping you awake at night?

Lisa-Ann Lee May 28, 2017

Scientific observations have shown that nights are getting warmer faster than days so what impact do these warmer-than-usual nights have on sleep quality? If you're already finding it hard to go to sleep in the dog days of summer, be prepared to toss and turn even more.

If you're already finding it hard to go to sleep in the dog days of summer, ...