News

Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia have achieved a new bandwidth record for data communication using visible light. They developed a new visible light communication (VLC) device that uses a color converter that combines traditional materials with perovskites, the crystals that better known for their potential for solar cells. The new color converter has a bandwidth that is 40 times greater than today’s commercial converters.

Terahertz lasers could potentially be used in security and medical diagnostics because of their ability to detect chemicals and evaluate materials. However, the technology will need to be improved before it is widely adopted.

Soft robotics is a growing field involving flexible robots that have several advantages over their rigid predecessors. Soft robots can squeeze into tight spaces, maneuver uneven terrain, and they are safer around humans. An international team of researchers is now developing artificial muscles to give robots the ability to grasp, stretch, and squish objects.

Spartan Motors USA is recalling 67 model year 2012-2015 Utilimaster Aeromaster vehicles because of a problem with the electrical system. The push-to-trip circuit breaker for the lift gate system may have been installed on the wrong side of the vehicles and not wired into the electrical portion of that system

Researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter in the UK are developing inexpensive, high efficiency solar cells made of gold and diamond-like (amorphous) carbon. They created a cell that can potentially reach much higher temperatures than traditional surfaces because it can minimize the emission of thermal radiation.

STIHL Inc. is recalling 8,000 battery-powered hedge trimmers for a laceration hazard. The hedge trimmer can operate faster than expected, continue running after the trigger is released or operate by depressing either the trigger or the front handle switch individually.

In May, Nikola Motor Company made its public debut as an electric truck company....

Direct Distributors is recalling its 4-inch air angle grinders. The spring-loaded safety switch can fail and allow the grinder to turn on even with the safety switch locked in place, posing a finger, hand or other laceration risk. The firm has received one report of the safety spring failing and resulting in a cut finger.

Sony Electronics is recalling 1,700 Panasonic battery packs that were used in Sony’s VAIO Series laptop computers. The lithium-ion battery packs can overheat, posing burn and fire hazards.

Silicon microchips just got a boost from the power of sound. A team of Yale scientists developed a new waveguide system that can precisely control the way that light and sound waves interact on a chip. This innovation could become the foundation for new lasers, fiber-optic communications, and signal processing technologies.