Tech Xplore

A new 3D printing technique enables precise, point-by-point control of material properties within a single printed object. By manipulating light intensity, wavelength, and temperature during the printing process, it is now possible to tailor the crystallinity and optical characteristics of materials. This advancement allows for innovative applications such as embedding invisible QR codes or temperature-sensitive warning symbols within printed components. The technology opens new possibilities for data security, product authentication, and monitoring of heat-sensitive goods, offering significant potential across sectors including manufacturing, logistics, and biomedical engineering. The findings are published in Nature Communications.

Recent advancements in semi-transparent organic photovoltaics (ST-OPVs) have led to record light utilization efficiency, supporting their potential for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). A new evaluation parameter, FoMLUE, enables more effective screening of photoactive materials, balancing transparency and power conversion. ST-OPVs demonstrated improved thermal insulation, operational stability, and natural color rendering. Modeling across 371 cities showed significant annual energy load reductions, particularly in regions with hot summers and warm winters. These findings underscore the multifunctionality and commercial promise of ST-OPVs for sustainable smart windows and other applications in renewable energy.

A new electrochemical method has been developed to advance the understanding of charge transport in materials essential for next-generation batteries, bioelectronics, and neuromorphic computing. This approach enables faster battery charging, improved energy density, and extended operational lifespan by providing a robust framework for analyzing mixed ionic-electronic conductors. The findings establish a quantitative link between microscopic dynamics and measurable device performance, offering valuable design principles for optimizing electrochemical systems. These insights are expected to inform future innovations in energy storage, conversion technologies, and advanced electronic devices across multiple industries.

OpenAI has launched Atlas, a new web browser designed to integrate AI-driven search and information summarization, positioning the company as a direct competitor to Google Chrome. Atlas debuts on Apple laptops, with plans for broader platform support. This move reflects the growing trend of AI-powered tools reshaping how users access information online. While Atlas introduces features such as an "agent mode" for automated browsing, it faces significant challenges in a market dominated by Chrome’s 3 billion users. The rise of AI browsers also raises important questions about information accuracy, user privacy, and the future of digital advertising.

A new generative AI model has been developed that accurately simulates garment motion and avatar interactions in 3D space by learning and applying physical laws. This advancement addresses the limitations of 2D-based video AI, enabling more realistic rendering of avatars for applications in film, gaming, and the metaverse. The technology leverages multi-view reconstruction, Gaussian Splatting, and the Material Point Method to achieve physically accurate movement and deformation. It also introduces advanced collision handling for complex object interactions, reducing reliance on motion capture and manual 3D graphics, and supporting zero-shot generation for unseen scenarios.

Robotic carts are being piloted in select Chicago-area grocery stores to promote and sell bananas directly to shoppers. These AI-powered robots autonomously navigate produce aisles, interact with customers, and offer fresh fruit. Early results indicate increased banana sales compared to traditional displays, with mixed customer reactions ranging from amusement to inconvenience. The two-month pilot will inform decisions on broader adoption. This initiative reflects a growing trend of automation in food retail, as companies assess the potential for robotics to enhance customer engagement and operational efficiency in diverse environments.

A new flash-freezing observation method, cryo-XPS, has been developed to improve the accuracy of analyzing lithium metal batteries. Traditional X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) can alter the battery’s protective layer during measurement, potentially leading to misleading conclusions about battery performance. By flash-freezing battery samples, cryo-XPS preserves the protective layer’s original state, enabling more reliable insights into the chemistry that underpins battery stability and longevity. This advancement not only supports the development of higher-performing lithium metal batteries but also offers broader applications for studying other battery types and materials.

Recent advancements demonstrate that nanoporous silicon can generate electricity through friction with water confined in nanometer-sized pores. This process, enabled by an Intrusion–Extrusion Triboelectric Nanogenerator (IE-TENG), achieves energy conversion efficiencies of up to 9%, among the highest for solid–liquid nanogenerators. The technology relies on engineered silicon structures that are conductive, nanoporous, and hydrophobic, allowing stable and scalable energy conversion. This innovation holds potential for autonomous, maintenance-free sensor systems in applications such as water detection, smart garments, and robotics, utilizing abundant materials like silicon and water.

A new artificial intelligence tool leverages large language models to predict the impact of changes in traffic infrastructure, such as traffic light timing, on accident rates. Trained on over 66,000 accident descriptions, the model evaluates individual and combined risk factors, including road conditions and driver behavior, and provides confidence scores for its predictions. This approach offers infrastructure designers and policymakers data-driven insights to mitigate crashes. The tool’s adaptability allows customization for different regions and cultures, addressing the complexities of local traffic patterns and supporting efforts to reduce traffic-related fatalities.

Recent advancements in organic thin-film tunnel transistors (OTFTTs) have demonstrated the ability to surpass the thermionic limit, achieving sub-60 mV dec⁻¹ subthreshold swing and record-high signal amplification efficiency. This breakthrough enables ultra-low-power operation, making OTFTTs highly suitable for flexible, wearable, and IoT applications. The new design leverages a hybrid inorganic-organic heterojunction and molecular decoupling layer to enhance tunneling efficiency. These transistors are compatible with existing fabrication processes and hold promise for next-generation biomedical sensors, environmental monitoring, and neuromorphic computing, supporting the development of intelligent, energy-efficient electronic systems.