Technology
press releases.

Technology17 Apr 2025

Rice scientists uncover quantum surprise: Matter mediates ultrastrong coupling between light particles

HOUSTON – (April 17, 2025) – A team of Rice University researchers has developed a new way to control light interactions using a specially engineered structure called a 3D photonic-crystal cavity. Their work, published in the journal Nature Communications, lays the foundation for technologies that could enable transformative advancements in quantum computing, quantum communication and other quantum-based technologies. “Imagine standing in a room surrounded by mirrors,” said Fuyang Tay, an alumnus of Rice’s Applied Physics Graduate Program and first author of the study. “If you shine a flashlight inside, the light will bounce back and ...

Read the release

Technology17 Apr 2025

A wearable smart insole can track how you walk, run and stand

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new smart insole system that monitors how people walk in real time could help users improve posture and provide early warnings for conditions from plantar fasciitis to Parkinson’s disease. Constructed using 22 small pressure sensors and fueled by small solar panels on the tops of shoes, the system offers real-time health tracking based on how a person walks, a biomechanical process that is as unique as a human fingerprint. This complex personal health data can then be transmitted via Bluetooth to a smartphone for quick and detailed analysis, said Jinghua Li, co-author of the study and an assistant ...

Read the release

Technology17 Apr 2025

A cool fix for hot chips: Advanced thermal management technology for electronic devices

Tokyo, Japan – The exponential miniaturization of electronic chips over time, described by Moore's law, has played a key role in our digital age. However, the operating power of small electronic devices is significantly limited by the lack of advanced cooling technologies available. Aiming to tackle this problem, a study published in Cell Reports Physical Science, led by researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, describes a significant increase in performance for the cooling of ...

Read the release

Technology17 Apr 2025

Bluetooth-based technology could help older adults stay independent

A new Bluetooth-based positioning system could offer healthcare systems a low-energy, low-cost method of tracking older adults’ mobility, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS Digital Health by Qiyin Fang of McMaster University, Canada, and colleagues. Global Positioning System (GPS) is the dominant positioning technology today, but its use indoors is limited due to the difficulty in communicating with GPS satellites. However, the knowledge of a person’s position is critical for many real-time healthcare applications, ...

Read the release

Technology16 Apr 2025

Study finds dramatic boost in air quality from electrifying railways

Switching from diesel to electric trains dramatically improved the air quality aboard the San Francisco Bay Area’s Caltrain commuter rail line, reducing riders’ exposure to the carcinogen black carbon by an average of 89%, finds a new study published today in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters. The electrification of the system also significantly reduced the ambient black carbon concentrations within and around the San Francisco station, the study found. “The transition from diesel to electric trains occurred over just a few weeks, and yet we saw the same drop in black carbon concentrations in the station as California ...

Read the release

Technology16 Apr 2025

Novel machine learning model can predict material failure before it happens

A team of Lehigh University researchers has successfully predicted abnormal grain growth in simulated polycrystalline materials for the first time—a development that could lead to the creation of stronger, more reliable materials for high-stress environments, such as combustion engines. A paper describing their novel machine learning method was recently published in Nature Computational Materials. “Using simulations, we were not only able to predict abnormal grain growth, but we were able to predict it far in advance of ...

Read the release

Technology16 Apr 2025

Ultrafast multivalley optical switching in germanium for high-speed computing and communications

Opaque materials can transmit light when excited by a high-intensity laser beam. This process, known as optical bleaching, induces a nonlinear effect that temporarily alters the properties of a material. Remarkably, when the laser is switched on and off at ultrahigh speeds, the effect can be dynamically controlled, opening new possibilities for advanced optical technologies. Multicolored optical switching is an important phenomenon with potential applications in fields such as telecommunications and optical computing. However, most materials typically exhibit single-color optical nonlinearity under intense laser illumination, ...

Read the release

Technology16 Apr 2025

Farm robot autonomously navigates, harvests among raised beds

Strawberry fields forever will exist for the in-demand fruit, but the laborers who do the backbreaking work of harvesting them might continue to dwindle. While raised, high-bed cultivation somewhat eases the manual labor, the need for robots to help harvest strawberries, tomatoes, and other such produce is apparent. As a first step, Osaka Metropolitan University Assistant Professor Takuya Fujinaga has developed an algorithm for robots to autonomously drive in two modes: moving to a pre-designated destination and moving alongside ...

Read the release

Technology15 Apr 2025

Busted! Researchers revolutionize fraud detection with machine learning

Fraud is widespread in the United States and increasingly driven by technology. For example, 93% of credit card fraud now involves remote account access, not physical theft. In 2023, fraud losses surpassed $10 billion for the first time. The financial toll is staggering: credit card fraud costs $5 billion annually, affecting 60% of U.S. cardholders, while identity theft resulted in $16.4 billion in losses in 2021. Medicare fraud costs $60 billion each year, and government losses range from $233 billion to $521 billion annually, with improper payments totaling $2.7 trillion since 2003. Machine learning plays a critical ...

Read the release

Technology15 Apr 2025

Earthworm-inspired multimodal pneumatic continuous soft robot enhanced by winding transmission

A research paper by scientists at Tianjin University presented an earthworm-inspired multimodal pneumatic continuous soft robot enhanced by wire-winding transmission. The research paper, published on Mar. 19, 2025 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems, proposes an earthworm-inspired multimodal pneumatic continuous soft robot to simultaneously achieve multimodal motion and good motion performance. Using the derived overlapped continuous control law (DOCCL) and wire-winding transmission, the robot can achieve a maximum planar crawling speed that surpasses that of other robots of the same type by an order of magnitude. With ...

Read the release

Technology15 Apr 2025

Machine learning unlocks superior performance in light-driven organic crystals

Materials that convert external stimuli into mechanical motion, known as actuators, play a crucial role in robotics, medical devices, and other advanced applications. Among them, photomechanical crystals deform in response to light, making them promising for lightweight and remotely controllable actuation. Their performance depends on factors such as molecular structures, crystal properties, and experimental conditions. A key performance indicator of these materials is the blocking force—the maximum force exerted when deformation is completely ...

Read the release

Technology15 Apr 2025

Explainable AI for ship navigation raises trust, decreases human error

The Titanic sunk 113 years ago on April 14-15, after hitting an iceberg, with human error likely causing the ship to stray into those dangerous waters. Today, autonomous systems built on artificial intelligence can help ships avoid such accidents, but could such a system explain to the captain why it was maneuvering a certain way? That’s the idea behind explainable AI, which should help human actors trust autonomous systems more. Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Engineering have developed an explainable AI model for ships that quantifies the collision risk for all vessels ...

Read the release

Technology15 Apr 2025

No “uncanny valley” effect in science-telling AI avatars

If you’re among the 1.5 billion people worldwide using TikTok, you may have come across exceptional “testimonials” like Nikola Tesla or Marie Curie delivering short science-related messages that have garnered millions of views. This is just one of many examples where AI-generated avatars are used to communicate science — a strategy that might also have its drawbacks. The generation of images and animations through artificial intelligence is a rapidly growing field, constantly improving in quality. Yet many avatars, though realistic, still present minor flaws — glitches, delays, inconsistent ...

Read the release

Technology14 Apr 2025

Computer science professor elected AAAS Fellow

Dr. Latifur Khan, professor of computer science at The University of Texas at Dallas, has been elected to the 2024 class of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellows. Khan is one of 471 scientists, engineers and innovators to be recognized across 24 disciplinary sections. The new fellows will be honored at a June 7 event in Washington, D.C. The AAAS elected Khan in the section on information, computing and communication for “distinguished contributions to the field of machine learning with applications to cybersecurity, social sciences ...

Read the release

Technology14 Apr 2025

Using AI to monitor inaccessible locations of nuclear energy systems

Whether it’s for your vehicle or your home, from small-scale uses to the largest, the debate over the most efficient and cost-effective fuels continues. Currently, there’s no shortage of options either. Nuclear power provides an alternative to more conventional energy options but requires rigorous systems monitoring and safety procedures. Machine learning could make keeping a close eye on key elements of nuclear systems easier and response time to issues faster. Syed Bahauddin Alam, an assistant professor ...

Read the release

Technology14 Apr 2025

Structural optimization of microfluidic chips for enhancing droplet manipulation and observation via electrodynamics simulation

A research paper by scientists at Beijing Institute of Technology and City University of Hong Kong presented a versatile electrodynamics simulation model designed to analyze the driving forces of partially filled electrodes to optimize the structural parameters of Digital microfluidic chips. The research paper, published on Mar. 06, 2025 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems, utilizes finite element analysis to determine the voltage distribution within the Digital microfluidic chip and calculates the driving force acting on the droplets using the principles of virtual work. Digital microfluidic chips (DMCs) have shown huge potential for biochemical analysis ...

Read the release

Technology11 Apr 2025

KIST develops full-color-emitting upconversion nanoparticle technology for color displays with ultra-high color reproducibility

Dr. Ho Seong Jang and colleagues at the Extreme Materials Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) have developed an upconversion nanoparticle technology that introduces a core@multi-shell nanostructure, a multilayer structure in which multiple layers of shells surround a central core particle, and enables high color purity RGB light emission from a single nanoparticle by adjusting the infrared wavelength. Luminescent materials are materials that light up on their own and are used in a variety of display devices, including TVs, tablets, monitors, and smartphones, to allow us to view a variety of images ...

Read the release

Technology11 Apr 2025

Towards a fully automated approach for assessing English proficiency

In today’s increasingly interconnected world, language learning has become essential for education, business, and cultural exchange. However, accurately measuring proficiency in language learners is a complex matter. One particularly valuable approach involves asking learners to listen to sentences and then repeat them back as accurately as possible. Known as elicited imitation (EI), this method reveals much more than mere memory and mimicking abilities. When sentences exceed our working memory capacity—typically beyond 8 to 10 syllables—successful repetition requires learners to quickly process and ...

Read the release

Technology10 Apr 2025

A novel strategy for detecting trace-level nanoplastics in aquatic environments: Multi-feature machine learning-enhanced SERS quantification leveraging the coffee ring effect

A new publication from Opto-Electronic Advances; DOI 10.29026/oea.2025.240260 discusses a novel strategy for detecting trace-level nanoplastics in aquatic environments. Plastic materials have revolutionized human lifestyles through their versatile applications, yet their environmental legacy now presents critical challenges to global ecosystems and public health. Current models estimate annual plastic influx into aquatic systems at 4.8-12.7 million metric tonnes, with projections suggesting cumulative marine plastic accumulation ...

Read the release

Technology10 Apr 2025

On-chip multi-channel near-far field terahertz vortices with parity breaking and active modulation

A new publication from Opto-Electronic Advances; DOI 10.29026/oea.2025.240250, discusses on-chip multi-channel near-far field terahertz vortices with parity breaking and active modulation. Vortex beams with helical phase wavefronts can carry orbital angular momentum (OAM) and have promising applications in high-capacity communication, information processing and high-resolution imaging. With the further development of terahertz (THz) technology in the fields of communication, radar and substance detection, ...

Read the release

Technology10 Apr 2025

Engineering invites submissions on AI for engineering

Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly pivotal role in revolutionizing the field of engineering, triggering a new era of technological and industrial evolution. A series of recent breakthroughs in areas like natural language processing, computer vision, and machine learning, with the Nobel Prize-winning work in artificial neural networks and protein structure prediction serving as prime examples, have effectively bridged the gap between the physical and digital worlds. The emergence of general AI technologies, especially large language models, has given rise ...

Read the release

Technology10 Apr 2025

New platform leverages AI and quantum computing to predict salmonella antimicrobial resistance

A recent study published in Engineering presents a novel approach to predict Salmonella antimicrobial resistance, a growing concern for public health. The research, led by Le Zhang from Sichuan University, combines large language models (LLMs) and quantum computing to develop a predictive platform. Salmonella is a common foodborne pathogen. The overuse of antimicrobials and genetic mutations have led to the rise of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella strains, making it crucial to predict resistance accurately for effective treatment. However, traditional methods like bacterial antimicrobial susceptibility tests (ASTs) are inefficient, ...

Read the release

Technology10 Apr 2025

Meditation and critical thinking are the ‘key to meaningful AI use’

People should learn to meditate and hone their critical thinking skills as AI becomes more integrated into daily lives, an expert suggests. Digital strategy expert Giulio Toscani has spoken with 150 AI experts across 50 countries to understand the challenges and opportunities around human interactions with artificial intelligence. He argues in his new book, Augmented: prAIority to Enhance Human Judgment through Data and AI, that as humans operate largely unconsciously by design, they are inclined toward immediacy and instant rewards, often overlooking potential ...

Read the release

Technology9 Apr 2025

World’s first birth following conception with a fully automated remotely operated ICSI system

10 April 2025: The world’s first baby has been born following conception with a fully automated, digitally controlled intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) system. ICSI, developed and adopted into widespread use in the 1990s and now a routine method of assisted conception, achieves fertilisation by injecting a single sperm cell into the centre of a mature egg. The details are reported today in the peer-review medical journal Reproductive Biomedicine Online.(1) The automated system was described and developed by a multidisciplinary team of specialists from Conceivable ...

Read the release

Technology9 Apr 2025

Engineer aims to make giant leap for welding materials on the moon

Before humans can colonize the moon or Mars, scientists and engineers must first develop techniques for building permanent structures and pressurized habitats in harsh, thin-atmosphere and low-gravity environments. Dr. Wei Li, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas, is developing a virtual lunar welding platform to troubleshoot assembling large structures in such conditions. “As we try to return to the ...

Read the release