MIT researchers have turned WiFi signals into electricity
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Wireless charging is becoming more popular, which is why we’re seeing breakthrough after breakthrough in the space, and new innovations. Noone likes having to shove a battery into things or plug everything they own into an electrical plug socket, whether it’s your phone, your...
Futuristic transparent electronics get closer thanks to a Swiss supercomputer
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Transparent electronics will help revolutionise a variety of industries and products, and make computing even more ubiquitous than it is today. If you search the internet for images of the future of smartphones, as well as other gadgets, then it’s highly likely that included...
New glasses will beam augmented and virtual reality directly into your eyes
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Augmented Reality glasses and Virtual Reality headsets use complex computers and optics to create their effects, researchers believe they can eliminate these overheads by beaming the images directly into your eyes. Researchers have proposed a new way to build Augmented Reality (AR) smart glasses...
DARPA splashes $1.5bn to re-invent the way electronics are designed and made
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF There is a concern that the lack of focus on developing new, advanced hardware will put US business and its military at a serious disadvantage in the future so DARPA is quadrupling its investments. There is now question that the electronics industry has been...
Solar panels made from cyborg bacteria promise even cheaper energy
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Cyborg bacteria could be used to replace today’s silicon solar panels with higher efficiency, lower cost panels that help accelerate the renewable energy revolution. Although most life on Earth relies upon photosynthesis as its sole source of energy, the process has a weak link...
A solar panel the size of a book could soon power your entire home
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF A three fold increase in the energy efficiency of solar panels could revolutionise almost every industry on Earth. In our efforts to make solar panels even more efficient a team of scientists in the UK have found a way of funnelling the Sun’s power...
3D printed Graphene Aerogel, stronger than steel and 99.8% lighter
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Tomorrow’s materials will be lighter, stronger and more flexible than todays, and that opens up a whole host of new applications. The world’s lightest 3D printed structure, a Graphene Aerogel, is so lightweight that it can be placed on top of a cotton ball...
UC Berkeley’s atom thin display paves the way for truly invisible displays
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We’re traditionally used to displays being bulky and stiff, but increasingly scientists are finding new ways to create new types of displays that break the status quo, and which will open up millions of new use cases, from health monitoring to way beyond. We’ll...
Samsung unveils their new ultra fast charging, energy dense battery
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF When asked what irritates them most about their smartphones most people reply battery life, but Samsung’s latest breakthrough might mean we have to moan about something else. All our mobile devices have been hamstrung for ages by their reliance on traditional Lithium-Ion (LiOn) batteries...
New nano material gives buildings, energy and stealth a big boost
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF A new nano material that can selectively tune out specific parts of the electromagnetic spectrum paves the way for cheaper solar power, stealthier fighter aircraft and more energy efficient buildings. A new flexible nano super material that’s been developed by a team at the University...
Artificial atom breakthrough to usher in era of secure communications
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF By 2031 Quantum computing will be able to crack most of today’s most commonly used encryption systems, Quantum Key Distribution will provide organisations and governments with a way to communicate that is immune from attacks and eavesdropping. From credit card numbers to bank account...
World first as researchers observe atoms interacting
Being able to observe the interactions of individual atoms will one day lead to the creation of better superconductors In a world first, researchers at MIT have managed to capture images of individual potassium atoms distributed on an optical lattice, providing them with a unique opportunity to see how they interact...
