University of Surrey

Sodium-ion batteries offer multiple advantages over their lithium-ion cousins. Energy storage, however, isn't one of them. That might be set to change thanks to a new method of creating the batteries involving water-rich cathodes.

Pangolins already dig in the dirt, so why not get them planting trees while they're at it? Well, training them would be pretty hard, which is why a California high school student named Dorothy designed a pangolin-inspired robot to do the planting.

An ambitious project out of the University of Surrey aims to stop potholes from developing, using super-efficient ground source heat pumps and phase change microcapsules. We spoke to team leader Dr. Benji Cao to find out how it works.

Imagine if there were a robotic fish that filtered microplastic particles out of the water as it swam. Well, now there is one, and it's the physical version of the winning concept in the first-ever Natural Robotics Contest.

Scientists have developed a new type of supercapacitor with the kind of flexibility and durability needed to feature in footwear and clothing, along with other devices making up the Internet of Things.

When leaping geckos crash head-first into vertical surfaces such as tree trunks, they're able to hang onto that surface instead of bouncing off and falling to the ground. Scientists have discovered what allows them to do so, and copied the capability in a small robot.

Soon, movie directors may likewise be able to alter an actor's facial expressions after their performance has been shot. They could do so using FaceDirector, a program created through a collaboration between Disney Research Zurich and the University of Surrey.