Headliner
"Spin-flip" system pushes solar cell energy conversion efficiency past 100%
by Etiido Uko
Energy can never be created or destroyed. That's basic, unchangeable Physics 101. You just cannot create energy out of thin air. Yet researchers say they have developed a technology that pushes the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells to 130%!
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Highlights
Tiny HousesOutdoors
24-ft tiny house designed for comfortable full-time life on wheels
by Adam Williams
Designed to maximize comfort in a compact footprint, the Currumbin combines a smart layout with some well-thought-out features to create an off-grid-capable tiny house suited to full-time life on wheels.
AI and HumanoidsTechnology
AI suit teaches you new skills by taking control of your muscles
by Omar Kardoudi
An AI-powered suit developed by PhD students at the University of Chicago teaches physical skills by literally moving your muscles for you with electrical pulses. No pre-programming needed – it reads the situation and adapts on the fly.
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More Stories
RVs and MotorhomesAdventure VehiclesOutdoors
Hand-carry camper pod supersizes into sub-$5K squaredrop lounge
by C.C. Weiss
The Freedom Camper pod is back, and this time it launches in its biggest, boldest spec to date. The new XL model grows out of any and all pickup truck boxes, requiring a utility trailer or flatbed to serve as a spacious, comfy mobile RV solution.
RoboticsEngineering
Versatile robot uses tracked flippers to traverse varying terrain
by Etiido Uko
Disaster sites vary as widely as rescue missions. Using robotics often requires multiple robots to survey, climb, lift, or manipulate objects. Athena unites all these capabilities in a single, rugged, autonomous platform built for search and rescue.
GearOutdoors
Pocket 'zoom' flashlight can focus its beam over half a mile away
by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
The new BTL50 flashlight from EDC brand Imalent is a lot more versatile than most other models designed for outdoorspeople, thanks to a clever feature and its surprisingly compact build.
ArchitectureEngineering
Regulatory roadblock transformed into striking triangular design
by Stefan Ionescu
The Trim House in Vilnius, by KWK Promes, turns strict building limitations into a bold triangular design, blending privacy, daylight, and garden space with minimalist interiors and a dramatic spiral staircase.
MilitaryEngineering
Autonomous wing-in-ground effect aircraft has US military in its sights
by David Szondy
Regional Electric Ground Effect Nautical Transport (REGENT) has completed the maiden flight of Squire, an autonomous variant of the company's Wing-in-Ground Effect Seaglider aircraft that's being pitched to the US military for logistical duty.
Consumer TechTechnology
A swivel display disguises this gaming handheld as a media player
by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
Anbernic makes a wide range of gaming handhelds whose designs leave nothing to the imagination, with the usual arrays of controller buttons alongside or below a display. With its upcoming device, it's taking a more discreet design direction.
Refractor: Science & Health
BiologyScience
Cheeky caterpillars trick ants into treating them as queens
by Jay Kakade
Baby caterpillars have figured out how to get themselves the royal treatment in certain ant colonies – getting carried around like precious cargo, fed on demand, guarded and being rescued from danger – by posing as queen ants.
BiologyScience
A strange new eye cell is rewriting how vision works
by Chelsea Haney
Researchers have identified a hybrid photoreceptor in the eyes of fish that carries traits of both rods and cones – a combination that doesn’t fit either category. It suggests the retina may be far more flexible than scientists have long assumed.
Elsewhere
Using vehicle sensors to alert drivers about potholes and other road hazards.
Photo: Honda
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