Future Innovations

Soft robots made out of flexible, biocompatible materials are in high demand in industries from health care to manufacturing, but precisely designing and controlling such robots for specific purposes is a perennial challenge. What if […]

Sensors small enough to disappear into the body, microrobots that move without wires, and smart systems hidden inside everyday materials—all require a battery to function. As electronics shrink towards the micrometer scale, conventional batteries become […]

A research team has used advanced 3D printing techniques to develop low-temperature, “sinterless” silica glass. They converted 3D-printed objects into silica glass structures at significantly lower temperatures than traditional sintering, offering a promising route for […]

Researchers have fabricated a hair-thin microphone made entirely of silica fiber that can detect a large range of ultrasound frequencies beyond the reach of the human ear. Able to withstand temperatures up to 1,000°C, the […]

Dynamic digital product passports—real-time, intelligent digital records that capture the true condition of perishable goods such as food and drink throughout their life cycle—could dramatically cut waste and improve safety, thanks to a new framework […]

A team of EPFL researchers has taken a major step towards resolving the problem of drift in generative video, which is what causes sequences to become incoherent after a handful of seconds. Their breakthrough paves […]

Tungsten carbide–cobalt (WC–Co) is prized for its hardness, but that same property makes it unusually difficult to shape. The current process is wasteful and expensive for the yield produced, and an economically sensible method for […]

In a typical online meeting, humans don’t always wait politely for their turn to speak. They interrupt to express strong agreement, stay silent when they are unsure, and let their personalities shape the flow of […]

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have used virtual reality (VR) to demonstrate that pedestrians’ behaviors, such as stopping or turning their heads, can induce gaze following (the “honey-pot effect”) among individuals walking behind them, thereby […]

Skeleton is an exhilarating Winter Olympic sport in which athletes race head-first down an ice track at speeds reaching over 80 miles per hour (130km/h). While the event can look basic at first glance, success […]