The Innovation Report
High-Energy-Density Chemical Fuel Powers Bug-Sized Robots To Leap, Lift And Race
Cornell researchers combined soft microactuators with high-energy-density chemical fuel to create an insect-scale quadrupedal robot that is powered by combustion and can outrace, outlift, outflex and outleap its electric-driven competitors. The group's paper,...
Scientists Invent A Bright Way To Upcycle Plastics Into Liquids That Can Store Hydrogen Energy
The new process is very energy-efficient and can be easily powered by renewable energy in the future, unlike other heat-driven recycling processes like pyrolysis. This innovation overcomes the current challenges in recycling plastics such as polypropylene (PP),...
A Big Telescope On The Moon Could Peer Deeper Into The Universe Than James Webb
A robotic telescope on the moon could peer deeper into the universe than the famed James Webb Telescope can and perhaps even help find life on exoplanets, scientists say. Astronomers think that powerful instruments on the moon may open the next frontier in...
Stellantis Is Looking To Cut EV Battery Weight By 50%
Stellantis wants to reduce the weight of its electric vehicle battery packs by 50% before the end of the decade. As it stands, the conglomerate believes that battery packs are too heavy and it is looking to cut weight with advanced battery technologies and...
All Electric Flying Car On Display At NAIAS
While the Big 3 are grabbing most of the headlines out of the North American International Auto Show, a startup company is hoping to muscle their way into the news by unveiling their vision for the future of personal transportation. Alef Aeronautics is on the floor of...
Drones And Other Technology Map Dinosaur Tracks Amid Erosion
Dinosaur Ridge in Jefferson County is going high-tech trying to preserve footprints where dinosaurs once roamed. Drones are being used to map the footprints to study how to stop the erosion. Guides offered perspective on the period visitors of the area are learning...
California’s Autonomous Truck Bill Passes Senate, Goes to Governor
The California State Senate this week passed a bill that, if signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, will ban driverless autonomous trucks on the state’s roads. Basically, Assembly Bill 316 prohibits autonomous trucks weighing 10,001 pounds or more from...
Torpedo-Shaped Robots Scanning Waters Under Hurricanes Help Improve Forecasts
To better understand the world’s largest storms, submersibles known as "gliders" are being deployed underneath hurricanes to monitor and collect data that help create more accurate forecasts. The gliders are torpedo-shaped watercraft developed by the...
Microflier Robots Use Science Of Origami To Fall Like Leaves
Origami has inspired yet another robot—in this case, one that dynamically changes its shape after dropping from drones in order to glide through the air while collecting environmental data. As detailed via a new study published in Science Robotics,...
Standoff Over EV Workers Poses Risk For Biden
President Biden has been highly attuned to the politics of electric vehicles, helping to enact billions in subsidies to create new manufacturing jobs and going out of his way to court the United Automobile Workers union. But as the union and the big U.S....
