https://techxplore.com/ en-us Tech Xplore internet news portal provides the latest news on electronics, technology, and engineering. UCLA materials scientists have developed a compact cooling technology that can pump away heat continuously using layers of flexing thin films. The design is based on the electrocaloric effect, in which an electric field causes a temporary change in a material's temperature. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-generation-wearables-compact-cooling-temperatures.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 14 Jan 2025 15:20:04 EST news656090401 Water droplets under freezing conditions do not spontaneously detach from surfaces as they do at room temperature due to stronger droplet-surface interaction and lack of an energy transformation pathway. Since accumulated droplets or ice have to be removed manually or with mechanical equipment, which is costly and inefficient, preventing droplet accretion on surfaces is both scientifically intriguing and practically important. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-nature-elastic-pillars-eject-droplets.html Engineering Tue, 14 Jan 2025 14:19:48 EST news656086785 Automatic speech recognition (ASR) has made incredible advances in the past few years, especially for widely spoken languages such as English. Prior to 2020, it was typically assumed that human abilities for speech recognition far exceeded automatic systems, yet some current systems have started to match human performance. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-bar-chatter-automatic-speech-recognition.html Machine learning & AI Tue, 14 Jan 2025 13:24:03 EST news656083441 Using pine cones as a model, researchers at the universities of Stuttgart and Freiburg have developed a new, energy-autonomous facade system that adapts passively to the weather. The journal Nature Communications has published the research results. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-adjusting-mimics-cones-energy-autonomous.html Engineering Tue, 14 Jan 2025 13:16:04 EST news656082961 In recent years, more than 60 countries have developed strategies to stimulate the market ramp-up of hydrogen, particularly in the industrial sector. However, in 2023, less than 10% of the originally announced green hydrogen production was realized, shows a new study published in the journal Nature Energy. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-green-hydrogen-big-gaps-ambition.html Business Tue, 14 Jan 2025 12:16:04 EST news656079361 A recent study involving Central European University (CEU) is paving the way for a new field of research that merges artificial intelligence and complexity science to understand how ongoing interaction between humans and algorithms can profoundly impact social dynamics. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-coevolution-ai-society-explores-opportunities.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 14 Jan 2025 11:08:04 EST news656075281 A team of AI researchers at Mohamed bin Zayed University of AI, in Abu Dhabi, working with a colleague from the University of Central Florida, has developed a curriculum learning–based LLM, called LlamaV-o1, that its makers claim shows the benefits of step-by-step reasoning in AI systems. In their study, published on the arXiv preprint server (and also on GitHub), the group built their LLM with a new level of step-by-step reasoning to understand how it arrives at its answers. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-llamav-o1-curriculum-learningbased-llm.html Machine learning & AI Tue, 14 Jan 2025 10:45:22 EST news656073918 The world is hurtling rapidly towards a developed future, and carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) play a key role in enabling technological and industrial progress. These composite materials are lightweight and highly strong, making them desirable for applications in various fields, including aviation, aerospace, automotive, wind power generation, and sports equipment. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-electrical-pulse-method-carbon-fiber.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 14 Jan 2025 10:34:04 EST news656073241 Imec, a research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, has announced a significant milestone in silicon photonics with the successful demonstration of electrically driven GaAs-based multi-quantum-well nano-ridge laser diodes fully, monolithically fabricated on 300 mm silicon wafers in its CMOS pilot prototyping line. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-silicon-photonics-advance-paves-effective.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 14 Jan 2025 10:00:21 EST news656071216 Years ago, as she sat in waiting rooms, Maytal Saar-Tsechansky began to wonder how people chose a good doctor when they had no way of knowing a doctor's track record on accurate diagnoses. Talking to other patients, she found they sometimes based choices on a physician's personality or even the quality of their office furniture. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-ai-tool-aims-expert-decision.html Computer Sciences Tue, 14 Jan 2025 08:35:25 EST news656066114 Conventional electronics based on silicon are approaching their limits in terms of performance and scalability. In recent years, engineers have thus been trying to introduce alternative designs that could help reduce the size of electronic components while also improving their speed and energy efficiency. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-framework-scalable-3d-transistors-based.html Engineering Tue, 14 Jan 2025 06:50:01 EST news655991155 A study from Oxford University has uncovered why the deep neural networks (DNNs) that power modern artificial intelligence are so effective at learning from data. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-key-ai-power-inbuilt-special.html Machine learning & AI Tue, 14 Jan 2025 05:00:03 EST news655980680 Researchers at the College of Engineering at Seoul National University have developed an innovative technology for rapid durability assessment and identification of degradation mechanisms of hydrogen fuel cell catalysts. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-technique-enables-rapid-fuel-cell.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 13 Jan 2025 17:30:04 EST news656011801 AI applications like ChatGPT are based on artificial neural networks that, in many respects, imitate the nerve cells in our brains. They are trained with vast quantities of data on high-performance computers, gobbling up massive amounts of energy in the process. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-technique-door-neural-networks-require.html Hi Tech & Innovation Mon, 13 Jan 2025 16:27:54 EST news656008069 A recent study has demonstrated the benefits of using 3D printing to make headlight lenses. The results highlight the ability of additive manufacturing to overcome the limitations of traditional manufacturing methods for greater flexibility and better performance in manufacturing a variety of product types. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-3d-headlight-lens.html Engineering Mon, 13 Jan 2025 16:17:04 EST news656007421 Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are an integral part of society, from cellphones and laptops to electric vehicles. While Li-ion batteries have been a major success to date, scientists worldwide are racing to design even better "beyond Li-ion" batteries in the shift toward a more electrified world. Commercial Li-ion batteries are less energy-dense than alternative batteries and rely on relatively expensive substances, such as cobalt and nickel compounds, which are also heavily dependent on vulnerable supply chains. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-electrolyte-additives-potential-lithium-sulfur.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 13 Jan 2025 15:39:57 EST news656005185 Sunlight is a powerful energy source that scientists can leverage to unlock important chemical conversions. In a recent study, researchers used solar energy with a two-step process to convert carbon dioxide (CO2), a potent greenhouse gas, into a valuable chemical commodity. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-chemical-power-solar-energy.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 13 Jan 2025 15:07:33 EST news656003249 A new study overcomes a key challenge to switching commercial aircraft in the U.S. from their near-total reliance on fossil fuels to more sustainable aviation fuels. The study details a cost-effective method for producing ethylbenzene—an additive that improves the functional characteristics of sustainable aviation fuels—from polystyrene, a hard plastic used in many consumer goods. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-team-sustainable-aviation-fuel-additive.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 13 Jan 2025 15:03:03 EST news656002980 Birth asphyxia (BA) is a condition that occurs when newborn babies do not receive enough oxygen during delivery, and it's one of the primary causes of neonatal death. Developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, experience the highest under-five mortality rates. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University are developing a new mobile application, called HumekaFL, to detect BA. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-mobile-app-birth-asphyxia.html Computer Sciences Mon, 13 Jan 2025 13:52:17 EST news655998718 The mobile game advertisements that pop up all over social media platforms may promise better, more complete games than they actually deliver. Researchers at Penn State studying these "fake games"—or those that promote inaccurate depictions of their gameplay and development—identified five characteristics that gamers could use when deciding how much time and money to invest in a mobile game. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-ways-fake-mobile-games-advertised.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 13 Jan 2025 13:43:11 EST news655998184 Federated learning represents a significant shift in the landscape of machine learning, enabling many clients or devices to collaboratively train models while substantially enhancing the privacy of the data involved. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-future-ai-decentralized-federated.html Security Mon, 13 Jan 2025 12:40:01 EST news655984932 Many people around the globe are living in energy poverty, meaning they spend at least 8% of their annual household income on energy. Addressing this problem is not simple, but an experiment by MIT researchers shows that giving people better data about their energy use, plus some coaching on the subject, can lead them to substantially reduce their consumption and costs. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-amsterdam-households-energy.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 13 Jan 2025 11:58:39 EST news655991915 Technological advances have led to the widespread use of electric devices and vehicles. These innovations are not only convenient but also environmentally friendly, offering an alternative to polluting fuel-driven machines. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-quasi-solid-battery-combines-safety.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 13 Jan 2025 11:43:03 EST news655990981 Today, nearly all personal electronic devices rely on antennas to send and receive data. In fact, demand is also rising for lightweight antennas for new applications, including the latest in 5G/6G networks, advanced wearable devices and aerospace applications like CubeSats. However, standard manufacturing techniques have limited the structural complexity and use of multiple materials that would unlock still more features and capabilities from antennas. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-3d-tiny-intricate-antennas.html Engineering Mon, 13 Jan 2025 11:24:04 EST news655989842 The process of updating deep learning/AI models when they face new tasks or must accommodate changes in data can have significant costs in terms of computational resources and energy consumption. Researchers have developed a novel method that predicts those costs, allowing users to make informed decisions about when to update AI models to improve AI sustainability. The study is published on the arXiv preprint server. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-method-energy-sustainable-ai.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 13 Jan 2025 09:39:11 EST news655983545 Imagine controlling apps with your feet while you walk. This concept is the focus of new research which explores using gait gestures—intentional variations in how you walk—as controls for augmented reality (AR) devices. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-coffee-feet-explores-foot-based.html Computer Sciences Mon, 13 Jan 2025 09:36:21 EST news655983125 Legions of battery engineers and their supporters have sought for years to build batteries cheaper than the dominant lithium-ion technology, hoping to capture some of lithium-ion's $50 billion-a-year and growing market. The latest darling contender among researchers, startups, and venture capitalists—sodium-ion batteries—has received much attention after COVID-induced mineral supply chain challenges sent lithium prices on a wild ride. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-lithium-sodium-ion-batteries-breakthroughs.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 13 Jan 2025 05:00:01 EST news655732201 The language "engines" that power generative artificial intelligence (AI) are plagued by a wide range of issues that can hurt society, most notably through the spread of misinformation and discriminatory content, including racist and sexist stereotypes. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-bias-discrimination-ai-sociolinguistics-key.html Machine learning & AI Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:01 EST news655720281 Cement production is the second-largest industrial contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, but its carbon footprint could be dramatically reduced with a new low-cost, scalable approach demonstrated at the University of Michigan. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-sustainable-cement-electrochemical-neutralize-industry.html Engineering Sat, 11 Jan 2025 06:26:20 EST news655799175 Producers of hi-tech connected eyewear are multiplying their innovations with increasingly discreet models in an attempt to make a difference in a highly competitive—and fast-emerging—market. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-smart-glasses-era-sleeker-prices.html Consumer & Gadgets Sat, 11 Jan 2025 06:05:37 EST news655797931