innovation11.285 min read
Switchable quantum material promises real-time control for future chips
15 days ago•Source: Interesting Engineering
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11.225 min•29 days ago
MOTHRA sprint starts: 1,140 lenses to map the cosmic web
Construction has begun on MOTHRA, the world’s largest all-lens telescope, which uses 1,140 Canon telephoto lenses as a distributed aperture to detect faint hydrogen gas linking galaxies and map the cosmic web, revealing the distribution of dark matter. Built at the El Sauce Observatory in Chile, it aims to begin scientific observations by the end of 2026, funded by Alex Gerko and Convergent Research as part of the Dragonfly FRO initiative.
12.31 min•1 month ago
EyeDAR Streetlight Radar Expands Self-Driving Cars' View
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LEGO-powered motor reaches 4,000 RPM with minimalist parts
Interesting Engineering•1 month ago
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China unveils ultrafast holographic 3D printing at 0.6 seconds
Interesting Engineering•1 month ago
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NASA’s Athena hits 20 petaflops, boosting rockets, aircraft, and AI
NASA has unveiled Athena, its most powerful supercomputer to date, delivering over 20 petaflops at the Ames Research Center to run complex rocket and aircraft simulations, train large AI models, and analyze vast mission data with a hybrid on-site and cloud approach; the system is available to NASA researchers and external scientists, as Artemis II preparations continue.
Hair-thin fiber chips turn garments into microcomputers
Researchers at Fudan University have created fully flexible fiber chips that embed complete electronic circuits inside hair-thin strands, forming fiber integrated circuits (FICs) with high transistor density capable of processing digital, analog, and neural-style computing; these fibers survive thousands of bending cycles, washing, and heat, enabling self-contained computing in smart textiles and wearables, with early scalable manufacturing and publication in Nature.
Wood-based smart window tunes daylight and blocks UV without power
Researchers created a wood-based transparent window that passively adjusts visible light with temperature, blocks nearly all UVA rays without electricity, and offers insulation far better than glass, enabling energy-efficient buildings and new uses like smart greenhouses and health-monitoring skins.
Under-$1 3D-printed optics enable nanoscale super-resolution imaging
Researchers show that consumer-grade 3D printers, silicone molding, and UV-curable resin can create low-cost, multi-element lenslets for a multifocal structured illumination microscope, achieving about 150 nanometers resolution comparable to commercial systems and potentially democratizing access to high-performance imaging.