Articles from ‘Independent News Roundup’ in ‘Technology’

By Bronwyn Thompson · !Humanoid robots competing in a half marathon in Beijing · There was no stopping Lightning – nor the Honor team, which took the top three spots with its humanoid models. Image: Xinhua via China Daily · The era of laughing at humanoid robots attempting human sports may now be over. A recent half marathon in Beijing has demonstrated just how rapidly robotics technology has advanced in the space of a single year. · A field…

By Etiido Uko · This supraball (left) is 2,100 nanometers in diameter and is made from hundreds of tiny gold nanoparticles (right) engineered to boost solar energy absorptionAdapted from ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2026, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5c23149 · At any given moment, 89,000 terawatts of solar power hits the Earth’s surface. While significant advancements have been made in harvesting this power, existing technologies do not…

By Malcolm Azania - Traditional carbon fiber (pictured) is strong and lightweight, but can be difficult to repair once damaged · Imagine trying to design machines that will last forever, regardless of use or destination. Instead of those machines requiring a steady stream of spare parts (essentially impossible for space probes or exoplanetary landers to haul or acquire), they’ll be able to heal their super-durable “flesh” more than a…

By C.C. Weiss · A fast-rising name in the hybrid vehicle market, Horse Powertrain has spent the past three years transitioning into one of the world's leading engine manufacturers while developing a portfolio of electric motors, hybrid powertrains and other net-zero-supporting technologies. Now it's looking ahead into the future, showing an early concept version of a next-generation hybrid engine system powered by 100% renewable…