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Research team at the University of Freiburg develops 3D-printed pneumatic logic modules that control the movements of soft robots using only air pressure In the future, soft robots will be able to perform tasks that cannot be done by conventional robots. These soft robots could be used in terrain that is difficult to access and in environments where they are exposed to chemicals or radiation that would harm electronically controlled robots made of metal.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have recently developed artificial muscles for robot motion. Their solution offers several advantages over previous technologies: it can be used wherever robots need to be soft rather than rigid or where they need more sensitivity when interacting with their environment. Many roboticists dream of building robots that are not just a combination of metal or other hard materials and motors but also softer and more adaptable.

Scientists at EPFL break new ground in quantum physics, revealing a mysterious and unique behavior in a quantum magnetic material and hinting at future tech breakthroughs. In the mysterious world of quantum materials, things don't always behave as we expect. These materials have unique properties governed by the rules of quantum mechanics, which often means that they can perform tasks in ways traditional materials cannot - like conducting electricity without loss - or having magnetic properties that may prove useful in advanced technologies.

A significant breakthrough has been achieved by quantum physicists from Dresden and Würzburg. They've created a semiconductor device where exceptional robustness and sensitivity are ensured by a quantum phenomenon. Semiconductor devices are tiny switching components that control electron flow in modern electronic devices.

A system designed at MIT could allow sensors to operate in remote settings, without batteries. MIT researchers have developed a battery-free, self-powered sensor that can harvest energy from its environment. Because it requires no battery that must be recharged or replaced, and because it requires no special wiring, such a sensor could be embedded in a hard-to-reach place, like inside the inner workings of a ship's engine.

Engineers from UK universities have developed a new method of measuring temperature through the interaction of a soft and flexible 'smart skin' sensor with electromagnetic waves. Engineers from UK universities have developed a new method of measuring temperature through the interaction of a soft and flexible 'smart skin' sensor with electromagnetic waves.

An international research team recently demonstrated how magnetism can be actively changed by pressure. Magnetism occurs depending on how electrons behave. For example, the elementary particles can generate an electric current with their charge and thereby induce a magnetic field. However, magnetism can also arise through the collective alignment of the magnetic moments (spins) in a material.

Along with ElaadNL, PhD researcher Tim Slangen studied the phenomenon known as supraharmonic disturbances, which can adversely affect the operation and efficiency of electrical appliances. With the growing and obvious concerns about climate change, the transition from fossil to renewable energy is accelerating.

As industrial computing needs grow, the size and energy consumption of the relevant hardware must keep up with those demands. A solution to this dilemma could lie in superconducting materials, which reduce that energy consumption exponentially. Imagine cooling a giant data center - full of constantly running servers - down to nearly absolute zero, enabling large-scale computation with incredible energy efficiency.

To ensure safe and efficient traffic, the various objects in road and air traffic must be able to quickly detect their spatial environment using radar and communicate with each other via radio networks. In order to investigate the radar reflection of a so-called VTOL drone (short for "Vertical Take-Off and Landing"), which can take off and land vertically without a runway, the Electronic Measurements and Signal Processing (EMS) Group at TU Ilmenau has set up a test facility at the BiRa test facility has just completed an extensive measurement campaign at the BiRa test facility.

Researchers have detected a new type of magnetism in an artificially produced material. The material becomes ferromagnetic through minimization of the kinetic energy of its electrons. For a magnet to stick to a fridge door, inside of it several physical effects need to work together perfectly. The magnetic moments of its electrons all point in the same direction, even if no external magnetic field forces them to do so.

Transparent conductors are essential for many devices, such as touch screens and solar cells. Copper iodide (CuI) can conduct electricity while staying see-through but is not as good as some other materials. Researchers from the University of Twente managed to improve the conductivity of CuI while keeping 75% of its transparency.

Anouk Hubrechsen defended her PhD thesis cum laude at the Department of Electrical Engineering on October 26th. We are using ever more (smart) devices connected to the 5G network. The high-frequency antennas they contain are often integrated with chips, and this adds a layer of complexity to testing.

A research collaboration has uncovered a surprising magnetic property of an exotic material that might lead to computers that need less than one-millionth of the energy required to switch a single bit. The world of materials science is constantly discovering or fabricating materials with exotic properties.

For the first time, experimental physicists from the Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat have demonstrated a new quantum effect aptly named the "spinaron." In a meticulously controlled environment and using an advanced set of instruments, they managed to prove the unusual state a cobalt atom assumes on a copper surface.

Quantum physicists at Delft University of Technology have shown that it's possible to control and manipulate spin waves on a chip using superconductors for the first time. These tiny waves in magnets may offer an alternative to electronics in the future, interesting for energy-efficient information technology or connecting pieces in a quantum computer, for example.

Research testing new technology to more effectively locate polar bear dens across the Arctic is showing promising results. Researchers from Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Brigham Young University (BYU), collaborating with Polar Bears International, hope that improving detection tools to locate dens-which are nearly invisible and buried under snow-will help efforts to protect mother polar bears and their cubs.

MIT researchers show how topology can help create magnetism at higher temperatures. Researchers who have been working for years to understand electron arrangement, or topology, and magnetism in certain semimetals have been frustrated by the fact that the materials only display magnetic properties if they are cooled to just a few degrees above absolute zero.

Amith Varambally of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, comes to Caltech as a first-year undergraduate student in fall 2023 already a co-author of a journal article related to his work as a high school intern at MIT in summer 2022. It is uncommon for undergraduates to publish in STEM journals. Still less common is to see a high school student appearing as a co-author in the pages of an esteemed physics journal.

Researchers at TU Wien discover excellent thermoelectric properties of nickel-gold alloys. These can be used to efficiently convert heat into electrical energy. Thermoelectrics enable the direct conversion of heat into electrical energy - and vice versa. This makes them interesting for a range of technological applications.