Technology

Team improves solar-cell efficiency

New light has been shed on solar power generation using devices made with polymers, thanks to a collaboration between scientists in the University of Chicago's chemistry department, the Institute for Molecular Engineering, and Argonne National…

Soft robotics 'toolkit' features everything a robot-maker needs

A new resource unveiled today by researchers from several Harvard University labs in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin provides both experienced and aspiring researchers with the intellectual raw materials needed to design, build, and operate…

Reflected smartphone transmissions enable gesture control

With almost all of the U.S. population armed with cellphones – and close to 80 percent carrying a smartphone – mobile phones have become second-nature for most people. What's coming next, say University of Washington…

CloudFlare tackles lost SSL key risk with Keyless SSL

Organizations looking for and concerned about optimal security protection are the targets of a new service announced by San Francisco-based CloudFlare. The offering is called Keyless SSL. CloudFlare explained that "An SSL key is the…

When does Google hand over your data to governments?

Governments around the world want to know a lot about who we are and what we're doing online and they want communications companies to help them find it. We don't know a lot about when…

Electric car breaks 200 mph barrier to set new land speed record

An electric car built by BYU engineering students has once again set a world land speed record, this time besting the previous mark by nearly 50 mph. Electric Blue, an E1 streamliner designed and modified…

Fingertip sensor gives robot unprecedented dexterity

Researchers at MIT and Northeastern University have equipped a robot with a novel tactile sensor that lets it grasp a USB cable draped freely over a hook and insert it into a USB port. The…

'Honeybee' robots replicate swarm behaviour

Computer scientists have created a low-cost, autonomous micro-robot which in large numbers can replicate the behaviour of swarming honeybees Colias - named after a genus of butterfly - is an open-platform system that can be…

Chinese buyers lead charge in iPhone 6 global debut

Buyers from China, deprived of the latest iPhone launch at home, were Friday among the first in line in Japan to grab the "6" and its new large-screen cousin as Apple hit back at rivals.…