Emerging Technologies News - New Displays, Shape-shifting Robot, New Battery, Solar oven, Medical innovations, and Espresso blockchain
1. World’s first distortion-free stretchable micro-LED meta-display technology
For the first time in the world, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) research team successfully developed a 3-inch micro-LED meta-display that does not distort the displayed image, even when the display is pulled in a given direction. This was achieved by using the design and manufacturing technology of metamaterials with unique mechanical properties that do not exist in nature.
2. The next generation of robots will be shape-shifters
Physicists have discovered a new way to coat soft robots in materials that allow them to move and function in a more purposeful way. The research, led by the UK's University of Bath, is described in the journal Science Advances.
3. How to clean solar panels without water
A team of researchers at MIT has devised a way of automatically cleaning solar panels, or the mirrors of solar thermal plants, in a waterless, no-contact system that could significantly reduce the dust problem.
4. Researchers use flat lenses to extend viewing distance for 3D display
Researchers have demonstrated a prototype glasses-free 3D light field display system with a significantly extended viewing distance thanks to a newly developed flat lens. The system is an important step toward compact, realistic-looking 3D displays that could be used for televisions, portable electronics and table-top devices.
5. Toward batteries that pack twice as much energy per pound
A method for stabilizing the interfaces in solid-state lithium-ion batteries opens new possibilities.
6. This sustainable solar oven allows rural communities to cook without coal or firewood
A new design for a solar cooking system may help rural communities prepare food more sustainably. The materials used in this system should be easily accessible for people in places where there are few options besides burning wood or coal.
7. Stanford's blockchain "Espresso" optimizes both scaling & privacy using zero-knowledge proofs
Stanford University’s applied cryptography research group is coming out of stealth mode with Espresso, a new layer-one blockchain they are building to allow for higher throughput and lower gas fees while prioritizing user privacy and decentralization. Espresso aims to optimize for both privacy and scalability by leveraging zero-knowledge proofs, a cryptographic tool that allows a party to prove a statement is true without revealing the evidence behind that statement.
8. Single test for over 50 genetic diseases will cut diagnosis from decades to days
A new DNA test, developed by researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney and collaborators from Australia, UK and Israel, has been shown to identify a range of hard-to-diagnose neurological and neuromuscular genetic diseases quicker and more-accurately than existing tests.
9. MIT's new MRI probe can reveal more of the brain’s inner workings
Using a novel probe for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), MIT biological engineers have devised a way to monitor individual populations of neurons and reveal how they interact with each other.