concepts | TechieTonics

Robotic Needle Achieves Precision Navigation in Living Model

October 6, 2023October 6, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

When it comes to cancer-related fatalities, lung cancer tops the list. One of the main reasons could be the presence of tiny tumors in deep within the lung tissue. This poses a major challenge for surgical accessibility. To address this challenge, researchers at UNC Chapel Hill and Vanderbilt University have been trying to fabricate an exceptionally flexible yet durable robot. The device will have the capability of maneuvering through the intricate terrain of the lungs.

SEI Insights in Advanced Aqueous Potassium-Ion Batteries

September 20, 2023September 20, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

In the recent times, there has been significant focus around the development of high-performance energy storage solutions. Consequently, the idea has become the driving force behind the advancing battery technology. With the emergence of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar power including electric vehicles (EVs), the need for advanced energy storage systems has grown exponentially.

Controlling Atomic Quantum Dots with a Solid-State Device: Quantum Microscopy

July 18, 2023July 18, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Physicists and engineers have been working on quantum technologies, like quantum microscopes, for years. The tool enables for in-depth study of the properties of quantum particles and states. Recently, a team from SQC/UNSW Sydney and the University of Melbourne has developed a solid-state quantum microscope. The microscope can manipulate and analyse atomic qubits in silicon.

Sugar Additive Powers Up Flow Battery Performance: Energy Sweetener

July 15, 2023July 15, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) achieved a breakthrough by using a common food and medicine additive, β-cyclodextrin, derived from starch, in flow battery design. The battery maintained ability to store and release energy for more than a year of continuous charge and discharge.

Artificial Skin to Mimic Sensory Feedback of Biological Skin: E-Skin talking to Brain

May 22, 2023May 22, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Researchers at Stanford University have created a special kind of electronic skin that can sense things like heat and pressure and send signals to the brain. Electronic skin has been around for a while, but in the past, the devices used to convert these sensations into signals were bulky and inflexible. However, the new electronic skin is as soft and thin as real skin.

Gravity is Holographic Projection from a Higher-Dimension: De Sitter Space

April 2, 2023April 2, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

According to Einstein’s theory of general relativity, gravity arises from the curvature of spacetime, caused by the presence of massive objects. This curvature, also, impacts the motion of all nearby objects thus, causing them to move in curved paths. General relativity however breaks down under extreme conditions such as those found in black holes and the early universe. These conditions comprise of high energies and densities, which exponentially influences the effects of quantum mechanics. And it has been observed that the laws of general relativity no longer provide a complete…

Book review: Surfing Through Hyperspace by Clifford A. Pickover

March 11, 2023March 11, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Surfing Through Hyperspace: Understanding Higher Universes in Six Easy Lessons by Clifford A. Pickover hovers around the concept of fourth dimension. In simple words, it’s a walkthrough of higher dimensions. Clifford A. Pickover is an American author, editor, and columnist in the fields of science, mathematics, science fiction, innovation, and creativity. A futurist and science writer, Pickover likes to contemplate realms beyond our 3-dimensional reality. Interestingly, he puts his ideas down on paper for readers like us to experience his visualizations.

Dynamics between Quantum Entanglement: Coupling at a Distance

March 10, 2023March 10, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Entanglement is a unique and powerful feature of quantum mechanics. It allows two or more particles, such as photons of light, to become correlated in such a way that the state of one particle is immediately determined by the state of the other particle, regardless of the distance between them. This phenomenon has been studied extensively in the field of quantum physics. It has important implications for the development of quantum technologies such as quantum cryptography and quantum computing.

Interview: Dr Jie Yin, Associate Professor at North Carolina State University

January 11, 2023January 11, 2023 Pooja Kashyap

Dr. Yin received his Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics from Columbia University. Prior to join NC State, he worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT and an Assistant and Associate Professor at Temple University. He is the recipient of the NSF CAREER Award and Extreme Mechanics Letters (EML) Young Investigator Award.

Wearable Electrotactile Feedback System: Skin VR

December 29, 2022December 29, 2022 Pooja Kashyap

Haptic systems are mainly designed to control virtual objects. Their efficacy is good, but when it comes to controllers, joysticks, and steering wheels, things look slightly bulky. And tangled wires is another task to deal with. Researchers at City University of Hong Kong have come up with a portable solution to enhance the tactile VR experience.

Crab Inspired all weather Vision System: Biomimicry

August 4, 2022August 4, 2022 Pooja Kashyap

To improve the imaging component in robotics, researchers have been trying to create various types of highly performing cameras, sensors and artificial vision systems. Most of the vision systems are bio-inspired that is, they have been emulated from the systems and elements of nature including humans, animals, insects and fish. These systems, however, have their own restrictions because they operate in limited environment respectively. For instance, majority of (bio-inspired) existing sensors and cameras works either one of the following scenarios: on the ground like biomimetic eye with a hemispherical…

Two Neutron Stars could give Birth to a Third: Stellar Formation

April 7, 2022April 7, 2022 Pooja Kashyap

An international team of astrophysics from Manly Astrophysics and Universidad de Murcia has proposed for a new type of exotic neutron star. According to astronomers Arthur Suvorov and Kostas Glampedakis, the novel neutron star could be the result of a super strong magnetic field that emanates during a collision between old neutron stars.

Magnetic Tentacle Robot for Autonomous Endoscopy: Soft Catheters

April 5, 2022April 5, 2022 Pooja Kashyap

Magnetic tentacle robot, strange it may sound but researchers at STORM Lab at the University of Leeds have come up with a tiny canular form of robot that can explore the smallest bronchial tubes in the lungs. The nano tubiform bot measures around 2 millimetres in diameter. That happens to be two times the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. The tentacle robot will be guided from the outside with the help of (external) magnets.

Insulation-free Magnet to Facilitate Development of Fusion Power Plant: Superconductors

March 7, 2022March 7, 2022 Pooja Kashyap

Replicating fusion on earth is one of the things that scientists globally look forward to. Once they are able to reach a state through which fusion could be created, we might get virtually inexhaustible supply of power to generate electricity.

Light controlled Organic Microswimmers: Semi Autonomous Microrobots

February 3, 2022February 3, 2022 Pooja Kashyap

The idea that nanobots flowing through our blood streams to deliver localised medication or to detect any tumour formation is no more a far-fetched dream. A group of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (MPI-FKF), have developed microswimmers that can navigate through biological fluids, areas that are otherwise difficult to access. Steering is done through external form of light energy.