Researchers at the University of Queensland’s have created miniature microchip backpacks that can be used to remotely guide darkling beetles (Zophobas morio) via video game controllers. According to the researchers, the backpack-equipped beetles could one day be used to help search and rescue crews locate survivors within hours instead of days following disasters such as … [Read more...] about ‘Cyborg’ beetles could revolutionise urban search and rescue
Technology
New fuel cell can stabilise power grid by making and storing energy
A team of engineers at West Virginia University (WVU) has designed and successfully tested a fuel cell that can switch between storing or making electricity and also generate hydrogen from water. Unlike similar technologies, the fuel cell can withstand the heat and steam generated when running at an industrial scale for long periods at high power. Additionally, it addresses the … [Read more...] about New fuel cell can stabilise power grid by making and storing energy
New alloy could enable exoplanet discovery
A unique new material that shrinks when heated and expands when cooled could help enable the ultra-stable space telescopes that future NASA missions require to search for habitable worlds. One of the goals of NASA’s Astrophysics Division is to determine whether we’re alone in the universe. NASA’s astrophysics missions seek to answer this question by identifying planets … [Read more...] about New alloy could enable exoplanet discovery
University of Bath crowned winners of the IMechE UAS Challenge
Students from the University of Bath’s Team Bath Drones have secured the title of grand champions of Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ UAS Challenge, having seen off a record number of challengers at the fly-off finals event, which was held at the BMFA Buckminster, the British Model Flying Association’s national centre on the Leicestershire–Lincolnshire border. They … [Read more...] about University of Bath crowned winners of the IMechE UAS Challenge
Tiny new laser can measure objects at ultrafast rates
Researchers from the University of Rochester and University of California, Santa Barbara, have engineered a laser device smaller than a penny that they say could power everything from the LiDAR systems used in self-driving vehicles to gravitational wave detection, one of the most delicate experiments in existence to observe and understand our universe. Laser-based … [Read more...] about Tiny new laser can measure objects at ultrafast rates