ScienceDaily: Engineering News

Security risks found in sensors for heart devices, consumer electronics

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:39:39 EDT

The type of sensors that pick up the rhythm of a beating heart in implanted cardiac defibrillators and pacemakers are vulnerable to tampering, according to a new study conducted in controlled laboratory conditions.

New insights into how materials transfer heat could lead to improved electronics

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:56:56 EDT

Researchers have published new insights into how materials transfer heat, which could lead eventually to smaller, more powerful electronic devices.

3-D modeling technology offers groundbreaking solution for engineers

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:56:56 EDT

New software has the potential to enable engineers to make 'real world' safety assessments of structures and foundations with unprecedented ease.

Nanoscavengers could usher in next generation water purification

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:15:15 EDT

A new synthetic nanoparticle could disinfect, depollute, and desalinate contaminated water and then get removed magnetically. This improves upon existing technologies through ultraresponsiveness to magnetism.

First direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly fractal observed in moiré superlattices

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:15:15 EDT

Scientists have directly observed a rare quantum effect that produces a repeating butterfly-shaped energy spectrum, confirming the longstanding prediction of this quantum fractal energy structure called Hofstadter's butterfly.

Engineers design, test taller, high-strength concrete towers for wind turbines

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:48:48 EDT

Engineers have designed and tested a concept for concrete towers to replace the steel towers used for wind turbines. The concrete towers could be a practical way to raise turbine towers from today's 80 meters to the better winds at 100 meters or higher.

Engineered biomaterial could improve success of medical implants

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:28:28 EDT

Expensive, state-of-the-art medical devices and surgeries often are thwarted by the body's natural response to attack something in the tissue that appears foreign. Now, engineers have demonstrated in mice a way to prevent this sort of response.

New software spots, isolates cyber-attacks to protect networked control systems

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:29:29 EDT

Researchers have developed a software algorithm that detects and isolates cyber-attacks on networked control systems -- which are used to coordinate transportation, power and other infrastructure across the United States.

Technique helps robotic vehicles find their way, help humans

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:26:26 EDT

Engineers have developed a technique called LOBOT that provides accurate, real-time, 3-D positions in both indoor and outdoor environments.

Solar panels as inexpensive as paint?

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:36:36 EDT

Researchers are helping develop a new generation of photovoltaic cells that produce more power and cost less to manufacture than what's available today.

Nano-breakthrough: Solving the case of the herringbone crystal

Sun, 12 May 2013 14:12:12 EDT

Leading nanoscientists created beautiful, tiled patterns with flat nanocrystals, but they were left with a mystery: Why did some sets of crystals arrange themselves in an alternating, herringbone style? To find out, they turned to experts in computer simulation.

Sense of touch reproduced through prosthetic hand

Thu, 09 May 2013 16:38:38 EDT

Neurobiologists have shown how an organism can sense a tactile stimulus, in real time, through an artificial sensor for the first time.

'Power plants': How to harvest electricity directly from plants

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:43:43 EDT

The sun provides the most abundant source of energy on the planet. However, only a tiny fraction of the solar radiation on Earth is converted into useful energy.

Device for portable, ultra-precise clocks and quantum sensors developed

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:08:08 EDT

Researchers have developed a portable way to produce ultracold atoms for quantum technology and quantum information processing.

Graphene quantum dots may someday tell if it will rain on Mars

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:18:18 EDT

Chemical engineers may be able to improve humidity and pressure sensors, particularly those used in outer space.

Engineers fine-tune the sensitivity of nano-chemical sensor

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:28:28 EDT

Researchers have discovered a technique for controlling the sensitivity of graphene chemical sensors.

'Invisibility cloak' for thermal flow constructed

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:29:29 EDT

By means of special metamaterials, light and sound can be passed around objects. Researchers have now succeeded in demonstrating that the same materials can also be used to specifically influence the propagation of heat. A structured plate of copper and silicon conducts heat around a central area without the edge being affected.

Scientists build a living patch for damaged hearts

Mon, 06 May 2013 13:24:24 EDT

Biomedical engineers have grown three-dimensional human heart muscle that acts just like natural tissue. This advancement could be important in treating heart attack patients or in serving as a platform for testing new heart disease medicines.

New device can extract human DNA with full genetic data in minutes

Mon, 06 May 2013 13:21:21 EDT

Engineers have created a device that can extract human DNA from fluid samples in a simpler, more efficient and environmentally friendly way than conventional methods.

More than a good eye: Robot uses arms, location and more to discover objects

Mon, 06 May 2013 11:40:40 EDT

A robot can struggle to discover objects in its surroundings when it relies on computer vision alone. But by taking advantage of all of the information available to it -- an object's location, size, shape and even whether it can be lifted -- a robot can continually discover and refine its understanding of objects, say researchers.

Engineers manipulate a buckyball by inserting a single water molecule

Mon, 06 May 2013 10:33:33 EDT

Engineering researchers have developed a technique to isolate a single water molecule inside a buckyball and drive motion of the "big" nonpolar ball through the encapsulated "small" polar H2O molecule, a controlling transport mechanism in a nanochannel under an external electric field. This method could lead to new applications including effective ways to control drug delivery and to assemble C60-based functional 3D structures at the nanoscale level.

Robots take part in a space simulation

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:41:41 EDT

The two robots Flobi and Nao worked full time for three weeks in an isolation study in Cologne. Scientists were studying how these intelligent assistance systems can help astronauts to keep fit – both physically and mentally. However, it was not just the people who were on trial, but the robots as well. The scientists were testing both their suitability and their durability. The experiment ended on Saturday.

Robotic insects make first controlled flight

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:26:26 EDT

In the very early hours of the morning, in a Harvard robotics laboratory last summer, an insect took flight. Half the size of a paperclip, weighing less than a tenth of a gram, it leaped a few inches, hovered for a moment on fragile, flapping wings, and then sped along a preset route through the air. This demonstration of the first controlled flight of an insect-sized robot is the culmination of more than a decade's work.

Some 'green' hot water systems fail to deliver on promises, study shows

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:29:29 EDT

A new research paper reports that hot water recirculating systems touted as "green" actually use both more energy and water than their standard counterparts.

Transfer of ultraprecise time signals over a wireless optical channel demonstrated

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:51:51 EDT

By bouncing eye-safe laser pulses off a mirror on a hillside, researchers have transferred ultra-precise time signals through open air with unprecedented precision equivalent to the "ticking" of the world's best next-generation atomic clocks.

Use of laser light yields versatile manipulation of a quantum bit

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:51:51 EDT

By using light, researchers have manipulated the quantum state of a single atomic-sized defect in diamond -- the nitrogen-vacancy center -- in a method that not only allows for more unified control than conventional processes, but is more versatile, and opens up the possibility of exploring new solid-state quantum systems.

Seahorse's armor gives engineers insight into robotics designs

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:21:21 EDT

The tail of a seahorse can be compressed to about half its size before permanent damage occurs, engineers have found. The tail's flexibility is due to its structure, made up of bony, armored plates, which slide past each other. Researchers are hoping to use a similar structure to create a flexible robotic arm, which could be used in medical devices, underwater exploration and unmanned bomb detection and detonation.

Bug's eye inspires hemispherical digital camera

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:19:19 EDT

Inspired by the complex fly eye, a research team has developed a hemispherical digital camera with nearly 200 tiny lenses, delivering exceptionally wide-angle field of view and sharp images. The new camera -- a rounded half bubble, similar to a bulging fly eye -- has 180 microlenses mounted on it, allowing it to take pictures across nearly 180 degrees. Only a camera shaped like a bug's eye can do this.

Talking tissue boxes and other smart objects may be welcomed by most people

Wed, 01 May 2013 09:18:18 EDT

Just as people have embraced computers and smart phones, they may also give their blessing to talking tissue boxes and other smart objects, according to researchers.

New research helps to show how turbulence can occur without inertia

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:21:21 EDT

For more than a century, the field of fluid mechanics has posited that turbulence scales with inertia, and so massive things, like planes, have an easier time causing it. Now, new research has shown that this transition to turbulence can occur without inertia at all.

'Smart' paper and antennaless RFID tags

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:59:59 EDT

Researchers have developed a method to embed radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in paper, which could help combat document counterfeiting, and have developed antennaless RFID tags for use on metal.

'Super-resolution' microscope possible for nanostructures

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:42:42 EDT

Researchers have found a way to see synthetic nanostructures and molecules using a new type of super-resolution optical microscopy that does not require fluorescent dyes, representing a practical tool for biomedical and nanotechnology research.

Patterned hearts: Bioengineers create rubber-like material bearing micropatterns for stronger, more elastic hearts

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:36:36 EDT

Bioengineers report creating artificial heart tissue that closely mimics the functions of natural heart tissue through the use of human-based materials. Their work will advance how clinicians treat the damaging effects caused by heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

How Would You Like Your Assistant -- Human or Robotic?

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:55:55 EDT

More than half of healthcare providers interviewed for a new study said that if they were offered an assistant, they preferred it to be a robotic helper rather than a human. However, they don’t want robots to help with everything.

Researchers design nanometer-scale material that can speed up, squeeze light

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:46:46 EDT

In a process one researcher compares to squeezing an elephant through a pinhole, researchers have designed a way to engineer atoms capable of funneling light through ultra-small channels.

'Taxels' convert mechanical motion to electronic signals

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:22:22 EDT

Using bundles of vertical zinc oxide nanowires, researchers have fabricated arrays of piezotronic transistors capable of converting mechanical motion directly into electronic controlling signals. The arrays could help give robots a more adaptive sense of touch, provide better security in handwritten signatures and offer new ways for humans to interact with electronic devices.

Vaterite: Crystal within a crystal helps resolve an old puzzle

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:22:22 EDT

With the help of a solitary sea squirt, scientists have resolved the longstanding puzzle of the crystal structure of vaterite, an enigmatic geologic mineral and biomineral.

Engineers generate world-record mmWave output power from nanoscale CMOS

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:11:11 EDT

Electrical engineers have generated a record amount of power output —- by a power of five —- using silicon-based nanoscale CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) technology for millimeter-wave power amplifiers. Power amplifiers are used in communications and sensor systems to boost power levels for reliable transmission of signals over long distances as required by the given application.

Supertough, strong nanofibers developed

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:23:23 EDT

Materials engineers have developed a structural nanofiber that is both strong and tough, a discovery that could transform everything from airplanes and bridges to body armor and bicycles.

FlipperBot: Sea turtles and flipper-driven robot reveal principles of moving on sand and other granular media

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:17:17 EDT

Based on a study of both hatchling sea turtles and "FlipperBot" -- a robot with flippers -- researchers have learned principles for how both robots and turtles move on granular surfaces such as sand.

Repairing articular cartilage defects with an injectable gel engineered with gene modified BMSCs

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:43:43 EDT

Tissue engineering combined with gene therapy technology has the potential to manage the repair of defective articular cartilage. In this study, through minimally invasive injection methods the authors were able to repair rabbit articular cartilage defects with CS/PVA gel and gene modified BMSCs.

Anatomy of a blast: Researchers develop sensor system to assess the effects of explosions on soldiers

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:21:21 EDT

To study the effects of improvised explosive devices on soldiers and help provide continuing treatment, researchers have developed a sensor system that measures the physical environment of an explosion and collects data that can correlate what the soldier experienced with long-term outcomes.

New fatigue model leads to more durable ships

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:09:09 EDT

Scientists have developed a model making it possible to determine how fatigue sets in with various welded steel materials. The model allows for the development of lighter structures, and as a consequence, more energy-efficient ships.

Physicists find right (and left) solution for on-chip optics: Nanoscale router converts and directs optical signals efficiently

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:33:33 EDT

Scientists have created a new type of nanoscale device that converts an optical signal into waves that travel along a metal surface. Significantly, the device can recognize specific kinds of polarized light and accordingly send the signal in one direction or another.

Near-field behavior of semiconductor plasmonic microparticles measured

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:30:30 EDT

For the first time, researchers have measured nanometer-scale infrared absorption in semiconductor plasmonic microparticles using a technique that combines atomic force microscopy with infrared spectroscopy.

Engineer working to put more science behind bloodstain pattern analysis

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:39:39 EDT

Scientists are working to put more fluid dynamics behind the bloodstain pattern analysis used at crime scenes. They are developing instruments and methods to produce, study and analyze bloodstains.

Nanoparticles found in everyday items can inhibit fat storage: Gold nanoparticles accelerate aging

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:21:21 EDT

An increase in gold nanoparticles can accelerate aging and wrinkling, slow wound healing and cause the onset of diabetes.

Robot hands gain a gentler touch: Tactile sensing technology builds on tiny barometer chips

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:42:42 EDT

What use is a hand without nerves, that can't tell what it's holding? A hand that lifts a can of soda to your lips, but inadvertently tips or crushes it in the process? Scientists have now developed a very inexpensive tactile sensor for robotic hands that is sensitive enough to turn a brute machine into a dextrous manipulator.

Helpful for robotics: Brain uses old information for new movements

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:46:46 EDT

Information from the senses has an important influence on how we move. For instance, you can see and feel when a mug is filled with hot coffee, and you lift it in a different way than if the mug were empty. Neuroscientists have discovered that the brain uses two forms of old information in order to execute new movements well. This discovery can be useful for the field of robotics.

Frog-like robot will help surgeons

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:47:47 EDT

Researchers are using the feet of tree frogs as a model for a tiny robot designed to crawl inside patients' bodies during keyhole surgery.

Scientists produce best image yet of atoms moving in real time

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:19:19 EDT

Call it the ultimate nature documentary. Scientists have recorded atomic motions in real time, offering a glimpse into the very essence of chemistry and biology at the atomic level. Their recording is a direct observation of a transition state in which atoms undergo chemical transformation into new structures with new properties -- in this case the transfer of charge leading to metallic behavior in organic molecules.

Plasma device could revolutionize energy generation and storage

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:19:19 EDT

Engineers have developed a method of creating and controlling plasma that could revolutionize American energy generation and storage.

Small in size, big on power: New microbatteries the most powerful yet

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:19:19 EDT

The most powerful batteries on the planet are only a few millimeters in size, yet they pack such a punch that a driver could use a cellphone powered by these batteries to jump-start a dead car battery -- and then recharge the phone in the blink of an eye. The new microbatteries out-power even the best supercapacitors and could drive new applications in radio communications and compact electronics.

Researchers devise X-ray approach to track surgical devices, minimize radiation exposure

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:44:44 EDT

Researchers have developed a new tool to help surgeons use X-rays to track devices used in "minimally invasive" surgical procedures while also limiting the patient's exposure to radiation from the X-rays.

Plant protein shape puzzle solved by molecular 3-D model

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:25:25 EDT

Researchers believe they have solved a puzzle that has long vexed science. The researchers provide the first three-dimensional model of an enzyme that links a simple sugar, glucose, into long-chain cellulose, the basic building block within plant cell walls that gives plants structure. Cellulose is nature's most abundant renewable biomaterial and an important resource for production of biofuels that represent alternatives to fossil fuels.

Engineers craft new material for high-performing 'supercapacitors'

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:48:48 EDT

Taking a significant step toward improving the power delivery of systems ranging from urban electrical grids to regenerative braking in hybrid vehicles, researchers have synthesized a material that shows high capability for both the rapid storage and release of energy.

Rigid growth matrix: A key to success of cardiac tissue engineering

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:36:36 EDT

A new study suggests that the elasticity of the physical matrix used for growing heart muscle cells outside of the body may be critical to the success of cardiac tissue engineering.

Advancing secure communications: A better single-photon emitter for quantum cryptography

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 14:50:50 EDT

In a development that could make the advanced form of secure communications known as quantum cryptography more practical, researchers have demonstrated a simpler, more efficient single-photon emitter that can be made using traditional semiconductor processing techniques.

Shape changers: Surface diffusion plays a key role in defining the shapes of catalytic nanoparticles

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:29:29 EDT

Controlling the shapes of nanometer-sized catalytic and electrocatalytic particles made from noble metals such as platinum and palladium may be more complicated than previously thought.

Technique finds software bugs in surgical robots and helps developers fix flaws, ensure safety

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:33:33 EDT

Surgical robots could make some types of surgery safer and more effective, but proving that the software controlling these machines works as intended is problematic. Researchers have demonstrated that methods for reliably detecting software bugs and ultimately verifying software safety can be applied successfully to this breed of robot.