Students investigating one of Scotland’s most congested road junctions have developed an innovative conceptual redesign. The idea explores how a minimum-interruption approach, based on alternative junction layouts, could significantly improve traffic flow and environmental performance while avoiding the scale of disruption often associated with major infrastructure … [Read more...] about Engineering students unveil impressive concept to tackle nightmare junction
Innovative, safer all-solid-state sodium battery could cut grid storage costs and reduce lithium dependence
Researchers from the National University of Singapore have developed a safer all-solid-state sodium battery using a low-cost 2D material. According to the researchers, the breakthrough overcomes key safety and durability barriers, advancing sodium batteries as a practical alternative to lithium for large-scale storage. Lithium-ion batteries dominate the market for … [Read more...] about Innovative, safer all-solid-state sodium battery could cut grid storage costs and reduce lithium dependence
Omnidirectional, sea-urchin-like robot defies traditional designs
Engineers at Duke University have developed a robot with no front, no back and 20 eyes set into telescoping legs, as proof-of-concept for a new design principle called dynamic symmetry. Symmetry is everywhere in nature, from the bilateral form of vertebrates to the radial geometry of starfish. For decades, roboticists have tried to copy these shapes and their abilities with … [Read more...] about Omnidirectional, sea-urchin-like robot defies traditional designs
A simple calculation could change the way we use misfit wood
Urging industry to make better use of wood that’s wasted or burned for energy, researchers have released the first structural tests of non-straight, forked and double-curved roundwood logs used as columns. In his mission to normalise the use of ‘misfit wood’, Aalto University architect and researcher Jaakko Torvinen (pictured above) has shown how standard, business-as-usual … [Read more...] about A simple calculation could change the way we use misfit wood
Researchers develop architectural material made from yeast
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed a new, entirely bio-based material from yeast. The material is 3D-printed and customised for use in architectural and interior design elements that are currently made from non-renewable or fossil-based materials such as plaster, plastic or synthetic textiles. The construction sector … [Read more...] about Researchers develop architectural material made from yeast