Research Bits: December 5


Neuromorphic nanowires Researchers from UCLA and University of Sydney built an experimental computing system physically modeled after the biological brain. The device is composed of a tangled-up network of wires containing silver and selenium that were allowed to self-organize into a network of entangled nanowires on top of an array of 16 electrodes. The nanowire network physically reconfigure... » read more

Research Bits: March 29


Brain-like AI chip Researchers from Purdue University, Santa Clara University, Portland State University, Pennsylvania State University, Argonne National Laboratory, University of Illinois Chicago, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and University of Georgia built a reprogrammable chip that could be used as the basis for brain-like AI hardware. “The brains of living beings can continuously l... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Nov. 6


Camera for object recognition Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign developed a new camera that could improve object detection in vehicles. Inspired by the visual system of mantis shrimp, the camera detects the polarization of light and has a dynamic range about 10,000 times higher than today's commercial cameras. "In a recent crash involving a self-driving car, th... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: May 29


Using bandwidth like a fish Researchers from the University of Georgia developed a method to make fuller use of wireless bandwidth, inspired by a cave-dwelling fish's jamming avoidance response. Eigenmannia fish live in complete darkness, sensing their environment and communicating through emitting an electric field. When two fish emit signals at similar frequencies they can interfere with ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Jan. 9


Eel-inspired power Researchers at the University of Michigan, the University of Fribourg, and the University of California-San Diego developed soft power cells with the potential to power implanted medical devices. Made of hydrogel and salt, the soft cells form the first potentially biocompatible artificial electric organ that generates more than 100 volts at a low current, the team says, enou... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Nov. 21


Greener greenhouses Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz are testing greenhouses capable of generating some of their own energy, without hampering plant growth. Greenhouses use electricity to control temperature and power fans, lights, and other monitoring systems. Electricity-generating solar greenhouses utilize Wavelength-Selective Photovoltaic Systems (WSPVs), a novel ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Nov. 14


Bacteria power wastewater cleanup Researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) are exploring ways to detoxify warm, salty industrial wastewater while simultaneously generating electricity. They are using bacteria with remarkable properties: the ability to transfer electrons outside their cells (exoelectrogenes) and the capacity to withstand extremes of temperat... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: July 3


Transient electronics Researchers at Vanderbilt University took a new approach to transient electronics, creating circuits that, rather than requiring active behavior to destruct, will dissolve if not kept above a certain temperature. Using silver nanowires embedded in a polymer that dissolves in water below 32 degrees Celsius – between body and room temperature – the team made a simple... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Nov. 25


Insect robots on the water Taking inspiration from water beetles and other swimming insects, academics at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory have developed the "Row-bot," a robot that thrives in dirty water. The Row-bot mimics the way that one aquatic insect, the water boatman, moves and the way that it feeds on rich organic matter in the dirty water it swims in. The Row-bot project aims to ... » read more