{"@attributes":{"version":"2.0"},"channel":{"title":"Hi-Tech Innovation News - Information Technology, Inventions News","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/rss-feed\/hi-tech-news\/","language":"en-us","description":"The latest news on hi-tech, innovation and new inventions technology, computer news and information","item":[{"title":"From waste wood to load-bearing feature, a simple calculation could change the way we use 'misfit wood'","description":"Urging industry to make better use of wood that is wasted or burned for energy, researchers have released the first structural tests of non-straight, forked, and double-curved roundwood logs used as columns. In his mission to normalize the use of \"misfit wood,\" Aalto University architect and researcher Jaakko Torvinen has shown how standard, business-as-usual calculation methods can predict load-bearing capacity for organically shaped logs.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-wood-feature-simple-misfit.html","category":"Engineering","pubDate":"Thu, 04 Jun 2026 20:00:01 EDT","guid":"news699807121"},{"title":"Standalone 'leaf' produces liquid fuel from sun, water and CO\u2082 with record efficiency","description":"A Yale-led research team has developed the first standalone device that produces the liquid fuel methanol using only sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide as the ingredients. The artificial \"leaf,\" like its namesake in nature, is a chemistry marvel. It brings the scientific mimicry of photosynthesis\u2014the process of converting sunlight and water into chemical energy\u2014to a new level, converting sunlight to methanol 32 times more efficiently than the previous conversion record for artificial leaf technologies that generate alcohol products.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-standalone-leaf-liquid-fuel-sun.html","category":"Energy & Green Tech","pubDate":"Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:20:01 EDT","guid":"news699797941"},{"title":"Looping lasers whisk molten metals together during 3D printing, opening new alloy design route","description":"Like modern-day alchemists, metallurgists are constantly discovering and perfecting recipes for better alloys. A crucial step in those recipes is to get different metals to mix evenly. Unveiling a new utensil for the metallurgical kitchen, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have invented a way to whisk metal with a laser as it's 3D-printed, opening a new route for creating hard-to-make metal alloys. To verify their success, they also developed a way to watch changes in the metal using X-rays as they melted and solidified in a fraction of a second.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-looping-lasers-whisk-molten-metals.html","category":"Engineering","pubDate":"Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:20:07 EDT","guid":"news699793802"},{"title":"Battleship-trained AI learns to ask sharper questions, boosting win rate from 8% to 82%","description":"In 2026, the hype for artificial intelligence agents is louder than ever before. These semi-autonomous programs can \"think\" and execute well-defined tasks in areas like customer service and software development, typically using language models (LMs). But fields like medical diagnosis and scientific discovery require them to inquire about a vast range of solutions in uncertain environments which LMs struggle with.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-battleship-ai-sharper-boosting.html","category":"Hi Tech & Innovation","pubDate":"Thu, 04 Jun 2026 08:40:02 EDT","guid":"news699780783"},{"title":"From tough plant waste to everyday products, this light-powered advance opens a path to greener plastics","description":"A pioneering technology capable of converting lignin, one of the world's most abundant organic compounds, into vanillin and biodegradable materials has been unveiled by the University of Alicante (UA), in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV). The study, published in Nature Communications, offers a sustainable method for repurposing plant waste and identifies viable alternatives to the fossil fuels that currently drive the chemical industry.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-tough-everyday-products-powered-advance.html","category":"Energy & Green Tech","pubDate":"Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:20:04 EDT","guid":"news699711482"},{"title":"Next-generation computing relies on extremely thin semiconductors\u2014now there's a better way to make them","description":"The ability to develop extremely thin semiconductors is key to advancing the fields of electronics and computing. But so far, there's been a trade-off between the quality of these semiconductors and the ability to make them at industrial scale. Prof. Cong Su and his research team have found a solution that combines the best aspects of two methods to make high-quality materials at scale.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-generation-extremely-thin-semiconductors.html","category":"Electronics & Semiconductors","pubDate":"Wed, 03 Jun 2026 13:20:02 EDT","guid":"news699710402"},{"title":"'Baked' yeast-based materials power 3D-printed architectural materials","description":"Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a new, entirely bio-based material from a somewhat unexpected ingredient: yeast. The material is 3D printed and customized for use in architectural and interior design elements that are currently made from non-renewable or fossil-based materials, such as plaster, plastic or synthetic textiles. These may be daylight modulating and sunlight protecting screens, room partitions or wall systems.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-yeast-based-materials-power-3d.html","category":"Engineering","pubDate":"Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:40:06 EDT","guid":"news699705541"},{"title":"Real-time X-ray compression shrinks file size by 8,000 times","description":"Researchers led by Takaki Hatsui at the RIKEN SPring-8 Center (RSC) in Japan and collaborators have developed a new approach to compressing X-ray imaging data in real time, reducing the size of data files by more than 8,000 times, while at the same time preserving the detailed X-ray intensity information required for quantitative analysis.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-real-ray-compression-size.html","category":"Hardware","pubDate":"Wed, 03 Jun 2026 09:00:01 EDT","guid":"news699695943"},{"title":"Ultra-thin semiconductors overcome performance limits with localized thick-contact design","description":"As semiconductor chips become increasingly thinner, the components inside chips are locked in a fierce race to achieve the ultimate ultra-thin state. However, this has presented a structural limitation: the thinner the device, the harder it is for electricity to flow.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-ultra-thin-semiconductors-limits-localized.html","category":"Electronics & Semiconductors","pubDate":"Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:00:09 EDT","guid":"news699622374"},{"title":"Liquid metal unlocks hydrogel that stretches 900% and resists freezing when other electrolytes fail","description":"A research group led by Prof. Sungjune Park from the Department of Chemical Engineering has developed an ultra-stretchable, anti-freezing hydrogel electrolyte using liquid metal particles. The material can stretch up to nine times its original length while maintaining stable electrochemical performance, even at \u221220 \u00b0C. This work provides a promising platform for energy storage devices that must operate reliably under extreme environmental conditions.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-liquid-metal-hydrogel-resists-electrolytes.html","category":"Energy & Green Tech","pubDate":"Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:40:02 EDT","guid":"news699622261"},{"title":"AI brings object-level vision prosthetics closer to reality","description":"EPFL researchers are developing AI models that could one day enable vision prosthetics able to restore meaningful, object-level sight for the blind. The research, from the NeuroAI Lab of Martin Schrimpf, part of EPFL's Schools of Computer and Communication Sciences and Life Sciences, uses AI models to predict exactly where to stimulate the brain to evoke images of faces and specific objects in the users instead of simply evoking spots of light.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-ai-vision-prosthetics-closer-reality.html","category":"Hi Tech & Innovation","pubDate":"Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:40:03 EDT","guid":"news699610999"},{"title":"Smart building skins and eco-friendly hydrogen production technology","description":"The JC STEM Lab of Circular Bio-economy (the Lab) at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) has recently achieved a breakthrough in the field of sustainable development technologies. A research team led by Professor Lee Duu-Jong, Director of the Lab and Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has successfully developed a bio-inspired \"all-weather building skin\" that cools in sunlight and harvests energy from rain, alongside a \"turbocharged\" solar hydrogen system powered by low-cost copper ions.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-smart-skins-eco-friendly-hydrogen.html","category":"Energy & Green Tech","pubDate":"Mon, 01 Jun 2026 19:40:02 EDT","guid":"news699537817"},{"title":"Your phone screen doesn't have the same color range as the human eye, and AI widens the gap","description":"A peacock feather in sunlight shifts from blue to green to bronze as you turn it. Photograph it, and this shimmer collapses into one angle, one exposure, one compromise.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-screen-doesnt-range-human-eye.html","category":"Consumer & Gadgets","pubDate":"Mon, 01 Jun 2026 18:20:04 EDT","guid":"news699539883"},{"title":"New 3D gaze forecasting could help AR devices render scenes before users look","description":"Augmented reality (AR) devices like smart glasses may soon be able to predict where a user will look and provide an enhanced interactive experience.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-3d-ar-devices-scenes-users.html","category":"Hi Tech & Innovation","pubDate":"Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:20:01 EDT","guid":"news699549183"},{"title":"Wood bark-based coating delivers pilot run for paper packaging","description":"In the COCOBIN project, coordinated by the University of Oulu, coating materials are being developed from suberin, a natural compound found, for example, in birch bark. In plants, suberin acts as a protective layer and prevents the loss of water. Up to 1,500 meters of a bio-based coating material prototype have been produced at semi-pilot scale.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-wood-bark-based-coating-paper.html","category":"Energy & Green Tech","pubDate":"Mon, 01 Jun 2026 15:00:01 EDT","guid":"news699544501"},{"title":"Efficiently cooling satellite components in space","description":"Space is a vacuum. Heat therefore cannot be transferred to the surroundings by thermal conduction. This poses a problem for any type of space-capable electronics, which can quickly overheat under these conditions. The only way to dissipate heat in space is through radiation into space. A radiator converts the heat into thermal radiation. The material used must emit as much thermal radiation as possible for the process to work efficiently.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-efficiently-cooling-satellite-components-space.html","category":"Engineering","pubDate":"Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:00:02 EDT","guid":"news699531601"},{"title":"Bridges may get round-the-clock crack tracking from new 32-channel acoustic system","description":"In its 2022 condition assessment, the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) classified 8,000 highway bridges as requiring rehabilitation. In other words, it is time to start continuously monitoring Germany's bridges. With the COMOBASE modular acoustic emission monitoring system, the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS presents an innovative solution for continuous infrastructure monitoring, specially customized for the respective requirements and significantly more economical than conventional technologies.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-bridges-clock-tracking-channel-acoustic.html","category":"Engineering","pubDate":"Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:20:04 EDT","guid":"news699531421"},{"title":"Extraction method of pop music singing beats identification based on audio features","description":"A study in the International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology has developed an improved way to determine the underlying beat, or tempo, in recorded music. It addresses persistent issues in analyzing modern popular music where vocals, multiple instruments, and background noise overlap.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-06-method-music-identification-based-audio.html","category":"Hi Tech & Innovation","pubDate":"Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:11:29 EDT","guid":"news699523816"},{"title":"Single-layer zigzag-type metallic glass film enables precisely tunable emissivity for infrared camouflage","description":"A new study from National Taiwan University reports a single-layer zigzag-type metallic glass film with precisely tunable emissivity for thermal infrared camouflage technology. A glancing-angle deposition method was used to fabricate the zigzag-type structure. According to the infrared lossy characteristics of metallic glass and the strong optical anisotropy induced by the zigzag microstructure, the absorptance\/emissivity of the film is sensitive to the in-plane rotation angle and sample-tilt angles.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-05-layer-zigzag-metallic-glass-enables.html","category":"Engineering","pubDate":"Sun, 31 May 2026 20:30:05 EDT","guid":"news699112889"},{"title":"Wafer-thin silicon with millions of patterns redirects vibrations along predefined paths","description":"Metamaterials\u2014the term may sound esoteric to the layman. In science and engineering, however, this is an interesting field of research that has developed at a highly dynamic pace, particularly since the 1990s.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-05-wafer-thin-silicon-millions-patterns.html","category":"Engineering","pubDate":"Sun, 31 May 2026 09:00:03 EDT","guid":"news699200635"},{"title":"Tabletop 3D printer cuts semiconductor 3D patterning from days to minutes","description":"Faculty in the Cockrell School of Engineering have developed a rare printer as part of a larger project to speed up production and lower costs of manufacturing semiconductors critical to modern electronics.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-05-tabletop-3d-printer-semiconductor-patterning.html","category":"Electronics & Semiconductors","pubDate":"Sat, 30 May 2026 15:50:01 EDT","guid":"news699115290"},{"title":"Computer scientists clear a path to stream 3D 'volumetric' video","description":"New research by Brown University computer scientists may be a key step in bringing volumetric video\u2014video that can be viewed from virtually any perspective in a 3D scene\u2014to computers and smart televisions.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-05-scientists-path-stream-3d-volumetric.html","category":"Computer Sciences","pubDate":"Sat, 30 May 2026 09:00:01 EDT","guid":"news699204074"},{"title":"Phosphonate groups lift organic transistor performance by balancing ions and charge flow","description":"By electrochemically introducing phosphonate ester groups into conductive polymer films, researchers at Science Tokyo have addressed a fundamental trade-off between electronic charge transport and ion transport, overcoming a key performance limitation in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs).","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-05-phosphonate-groups-transistor-ions.html","category":"Electronics & Semiconductors","pubDate":"Fri, 29 May 2026 14:00:01 EDT","guid":"news699280202"},{"title":"New technology for smarter indirect Time-of-Flight cameras","description":"Researchers from Kyushu University and DENSO IT Laboratory, Inc. have developed a new method to improve the accuracy of indirect Time-of-Flight (I-ToF) cameras. The technology considers the practical limitations of real-world sensors during the design process.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-05-technology-smarter-indirect-flight-cameras.html","category":"Engineering","pubDate":"Fri, 29 May 2026 13:00:01 EDT","guid":"news699263058"},{"title":"Quantum computing could transform energy grid optimization and security","description":"Modern power systems are rapidly evolving into highly digitized smart grids, increasing their complexity at an unprecedented pace. Renewables, batteries, electric vehicles, power electronics, sensors and real-time control systems are all expanding rapidly, and this is making electricity grids significantly harder to simulate, optimize, secure and operate.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-05-quantum-energy-grid-optimization.html","category":"Energy & Green Tech","pubDate":"Fri, 29 May 2026 12:40:07 EDT","guid":"news699276182"},{"title":"Underground acoustic signals reveal hidden tunnels","description":"For decades, engineers have searched for underground tunnels by sending signals from the surface downward\u2014an approach that can miss what lies below. By reversing that approach, researchers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have demonstrated a method to reveal hidden underground structures using acoustic signals generated below ground.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-05-underground-acoustic-reveal-hidden-tunnels.html","category":"Engineering","pubDate":"Fri, 29 May 2026 10:00:03 EDT","guid":"news699267364"},{"title":"Abandoned oil and gas wells could help cut emissions, study suggests","description":"Repurposing old oil and gas wells for geothermal power could significantly reduce environmental harm and unlock cleaner energy from existing infrastructure, but new research shows the approach will need targeted support to become economically viable.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-05-abandoned-oil-gas-wells-emissions.html","category":"Energy & Green Tech","pubDate":"Fri, 29 May 2026 09:40:03 EDT","guid":"news699265022"},{"title":"New smart material could let windows store solar power and tint on demand","description":"The growing demand for sustainable and energy-efficient technologies has increased interest in smart materials that can perform more than one function at the same time. In his doctoral dissertation, MSc Sachin Kochrekar developed materials that can both change color and store electrical energy. In the future, this technology could be used, for example, in energy-storing, self-tinting smart windows.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-05-smart-material-windows-solar-power.html","category":"Energy & Green Tech","pubDate":"Fri, 29 May 2026 09:00:03 EDT","guid":"news699262921"},{"title":"Everlasting copper becomes a reality with novel reactive printing ink","description":"A new invention from a team that includes a University of Maryland researcher halts the copper degradation cycle that turns statues, roofs, and even nickels green. Researchers have developed a liquid reactive ink that can print copper onto nearly any surface without oxidation or corrosion.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-05-everlasting-copper-reality-reactive-ink.html","category":"Engineering","pubDate":"Thu, 28 May 2026 17:20:01 EDT","guid":"news699207301"},{"title":"MetaBeeAI could speed systematic reviews of nearly 1,000 papers with human oversight","description":"Queen Mary University researchers have developed a new AI-powered framework, MetaBeeAI, designed to help scientists review and analyze vast amounts of literature faster, more transparently, and with greater human oversight.","link":"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2026-05-metabeeai-systematic-papers-human-oversight.html","category":"Hi Tech & Innovation","pubDate":"Thu, 28 May 2026 13:00:02 EDT","guid":"news699190931"}]}}