Articles in ‘Technology’

Meta could face one of the largest corporate penalties in US history after a New Mexico jury found Facebook repeatedly misled consumers about how their personal information was collected, protected, shared and used. The state is seeking as much as US$40 billion, but the final penalty has yet to be determined and Meta argues the proposed amount is excessive. INR Report: Based on reporting by RT HERE · A privacy case originating in the Cambridge…

Artificial intelligence is rapidly improving the brains of robots, but building their bodies remains surprisingly old-fashioned. Hungarian robotics startup Allonic believes the answer could be to stop assembling increasingly complicated machines and start manufacturing them more like biological bodies. eLocal Report: Based on information published by Allonic and additional robotics and manufacturing reporting. · For decades, advances in…

What happens when a robot becomes so small there is no longer room for a conventional battery or motor? Researchers in Switzerland have demonstrated an unusual solution: microscopic acoustic cavities that convert sound energy directly into thrust and movement. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by Maryna Holovnova for New Atlas, with research published by EPFL. The New Atlas report was published on 26 August 2026. · The drive to make…

China has unveiled a new tunnelling machine designed to solve one of underground construction’s persistent problems: what happens when soft ground suddenly turns into solid rock. The 4.5-metre-wide Xianglong can excavate conventionally, drill explosive charges into a rock face and then continue boring after the rock has been fractured. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by David Szondy for New Atlas HERE. · China has rolled out what is being…

The Fairphone 6+ has launched in the United States with an unusually simple proposition: when something wears out or breaks, replace the part rather than the entire phone. With a removable battery, replaceable components, expandable storage and long-term software support, Fairphone is betting some consumers would rather own their smartphone for longer than continually replace it. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by Monica J. White for New…

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…

Could you imagine being able to "feel" the images on your screen? UCSB researchers have made this sci-fi-like idea a reality. They've developed a display where pixels physically rise off the surface when activated by laser light. Even our most advanced screens today have a limitation that makes them distinctly still feel like, well, screens: they're flat. They can display entire worlds with a level of detail that just a couple of decades ago…