Currently, nuclear powerplant inspectors use indirect methods to monitor buried piping by generating a voltage gradient to identify areas where pipe coatings may have corroded, and by using ultrasonic waves to screen lengths of pipe for cracks. A team of researchers from MIT is developing small, egg-sized robots designed to inspect nuclear reactor underground pipes… »

Unlike other touch sensors we previously wrote about, a University of Tokyo spin-off company Touchence has designed ShokacCube – the world’s first soft and flexible touch sensor capable to detect changes in 3D. The technology could aid in robotics and present a major breakthrough in bionics where it could be used for better feedback and… »

The idea of reversibly storing solar energy in chemical bonds is gaining a lot of attention these days. A group of researchers from MIT have developed a novel application of carbon nanotubes which shows potential as an effective approach to store solar energy for use whenever it’s needed. The method simplifies the process by combining… »

Cohen Home in Lenado, Colorado, is located on altitude of 2,636 meters (8650 feet) where there are only 4 and a half hours of sun per day in the dead of winter, manages to generate more power than needed. The off-grid Cohen Home is one of the most energy-efficient homes in the state with HERS… »

A team of researchers from University of Connecticut (UConn) perfected a method for creating quick-changing, variable colors in films and displays. They managed to make them less expensive and less wasteful to manufacture compared to any previous method. The technology could be used for displays, solar cells, OLEDs, transistors, vanity glasses, or glasses used by… »

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is currently testing an intelligent street lighting system on their campus. Compared with the street-lighting system in use, the proposed intelligent system can reduce energy consumption and CO2 emission by up to 80%, it is cheaper and easier to maintain, and it could lessen the problem of light pollution… »

last year we wrote about a group of researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) who have been conducting a field study at an experimental two-acre wind farm in northern Los Angeles County. In their new findings, the researchers  came up with a way to increase the power output of wind farms simply by… »

Virginia Tech’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory team dominated the international robot soccer competition known as RoboCup 2011 which was hosted this past weekend in Istanbul, Turkey. Team CHARLI took first place at the Louis Vuitton Humanoid Cup, the Adult Size class with the humanoid robot CHARLI-2, and the Kid Size class with the miniature-humanoid-robot DARwIn-OP…. »