Topic

Creators of an experimental bracelet, the Galvanic Skin Response monitor, want to use their device to assess student engagement in the classroom, and then use that information to inform teaching methods. The wireless-sensor technology, worn by a student, analyzes...

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering have developed a technique that enables metallic nanocrystals to self-assemble into larger, complex materials for next-generation antennas and lenses. The metal nanocrystals are cube-shaped and,...

University of Utah physicists have developed an inexpensive, highly accurate magnetic field sensor for scientific and possibly consumer uses. The magnetic-sensing thin film, an organic semiconductor polymer named MEH-PPV, measures magnetic fields accurately with a drop of "plastic...

A powerful color-based imaging technique is making the jump from remote sensing to the operating room, with the efforts of scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). A technique called hyperspectral imaging (HSI) has frequently been used in satellites...

Ear infections are the most common conditions that pediatricians treat. Studies have found that patients who suffer from chronic ear infections may have a film of bacteria or other microorganisms that builds up behind the eardrum; finding and monitoring these so-called biofilms are...

The development of body-powered prosthetic hands has stagnated over the past 20 years, concludes a recent study from the Netherlands. Researchers at TU Delft and the University of Groningen conducted a test comparing the results of contemporary body-powered prosthetic hands to earlier measurements...

You’ve no doubt heard about fantasy camps that give ordinary, everyday people the opportunity to step out of their routine 9-to-5 lives and live out their dreams for a few days in the company of those who have done it – and in some cases are still doing it – at the professional level. There are baseball fantasy...

MIT researchers have devised an algorithm that enables a robot to quickly learn an individual’s preference for a certain task, and adapt accordingly to help complete the task. The group is using the algorithm in simulations to train robots and humans to work together.The researchers say...

An organization would like to increase the oxygen barrier in thermoplastic elastomers by an order of magnitude or more to preserve the shelf life of food/beverages. This organization is seeking an order-of-magnitude improvement in oxygen blocking, without a substantial increase in...

Image-generating ability is not limited to people with working eyesight. With this phenomenon in mind, neuroscientists at the Texas Medical Center are researching a way to use the brain's image-generating ability to help some of the estimated 39 million people worldwide who are blind. The...

A recent transportation conference demonstrated a possible advancement in automotive safety: cars that communicate with each other and warn drivers of impending collisions. Later this summer, the government will begin a year-long test involving nearly 3,000 vehicles. The vehicles will be equipped to...

Cloud computing presents an array of potential uses in many engineering domains, including medical. Technology makes it possible to deliver disease screening to remote areas of the globe where conventional medical tools are unavailable — and now, that technology is taking advantage of the cloud, as...

Researchers at Rice University have created a tiny coaxial cable that is about a thousand times smaller than a human hair, and has higher capacitance than previously reported microcapacitors. The nanocable could be used to build next-generation energy-storage systems. It could also find use in wiring...

Harnessing the energy of sunlight can be as simple as tuning the optical and electronic properties of metal oxides at the atomic level by making an artificial crystal or super-lattice “sandwich,” according to Binghamton University researcher Louis Piper. “Metal oxides are cheap, abundant, and...

With the age of the incandescent light bulb fading rapidly, the holy grail of the lighting industry is to develop a highly efficient form of solid-state lighting that produces high-quality white light. One of the few alternative technologies that produce pure white light is white-light quantum dots –...

Team CADET at Rice University have developed a slingshot-driven device that stops high-velocity projectiles without destroying them. Currently, the Air Force simulates deceleration by firing cannons into walls. The strategy is expensive and the sensor module and target are typically destroyed...