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 What if a single sustainable material could be made rigid in one area, flexible in another and strong somewhere else—without joining different materials together? Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have developed a new approach that could make this possible. By adding tiny amounts of different metal ions to chitosan, the team found a way to locally control how stiff, strong and flexible the material becomes while keeping the same basic polymer. The research, published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A , takes inspiration from one of nature’s most efficient designs: the insect exoskeleton. Learning from insect exoskeletons Modern products often depend on several different materials. A bottle may have a rigid body and a flexible cap or seal. Electronic devices can contain hard casings, soft protective layers and flexible components. Although combining materials can provide useful properties, it creates a major problem when the product reaches t...

Swimming through water requires considerable force, but a new experiment from MIT shows that even a single thin layer of living muscle cells can propel a tiny robot through water. Engineers have developed a paper-thin, muscle-powered swimming robot that uses genetically engineered cells and flashes of light to move, turn and navigate. The research, published September 28 in Advanced Functional Materials , introduces a new type of two-dimensional biohybrid robot —a machine that combines living biological tissue with engineered materials. Unlike conventional swimming robots that rely on motors, batteries and rigid mechanical parts, this tiny machine is powered by living skeletal muscle cells. A Robot Powered by Living Muscle At the heart of the new robot is a thin film of gel roughly the length and width of a stick of gum. The film acts as the robot's skeleton, while its two sides form flexible fins. Each fin is covered with a layer of living muscle cells that is thinner than a human...

Nature has developed remarkably efficient ways to sense the world and respond to it. One striking example is the Venus flytrap, a plant that can detect stimulation and rapidly close its leaves to capture prey. Inspired by this simple but powerful mechanism, researchers at KAIST have developed a soft material that combines sensing and movement in a single structure. Called the “Ionograsper,” the new ionic soft robot can detect nearby electrically charged objects without touching them and then bend to grasp them when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. Even more interestingly, it can maintain its deformed shape for more than 10 minutes after the light is switched off. The research could offer a new approach to building soft robots with fewer electronic components, sensors, actuators and wires. A Robot That Combines Skin and Muscle Traditional robots usually need different systems for sensing and movement. Sensors act like a robot's skin, detecting objects and changes in the environme...

Imagine covering the walls of your home with wallpaper that does more than improve the appearance of a room. Instead of simply decorating your walls, the wallpaper could quietly produce electricity from moisture naturally present in the air. Researchers at Binghamton University have developed a new type of moisture-powered wallpaper designed to harvest small amounts of electrical energy from indoor humidity. The technology could eventually provide power for low-energy devices such as environmental sensors, wireless communication systems and smart-building equipment. The research was led by Professor Seokheun “Sean” Choi from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Binghamton University’s Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science. Doctoral students Guangya “Roger” Yuan and Yang “Lexi” Gao also contributed to the project. Their findings were published in Advanced Energy Materials in a 2026 paper titled “Moist-Electric Wallpaper With Engineered Unidire...

For decades, radio waves have been the backbone of communication between spacecraft and Earth. But as NASA prepares for a new era of lunar exploration, the amount of information missions need to send home is growing rapidly. High-resolution images, ultra-high-definition video, scientific measurements, navigation data and spacecraft health information can quickly overwhelm traditional communication systems. A new technology could help solve that problem: laser communication . NASA demonstrated the potential of this technology during the Artemis II mission, showing how invisible beams of infrared light could carry enormous amounts of information between the Moon and Earth. Why Space Communication Needs an Upgrade Modern spacecraft generate huge volumes of data. Future lunar missions will involve not only astronauts, but also rovers, scientific instruments, autonomous systems and potentially permanent infrastructure. All of these systems will need to communicate with Earth. Traditional ra...

Imagine picking up a fragile glass. Your fingers automatically adjust their grip—strong enough to prevent the glass from slipping, but gentle enough to avoid breaking it. You do not consciously calculate the pressure. Your skin and nervous system handle it almost instantly. Now, scientists are trying to recreate this remarkable ability in machines. Researchers at Aarhus University have developed a tiny artificial sensor inspired by the way human sensory cells convert touch into electrical signals. The technology could eventually help prosthetic hands detect physical contact and, potentially, allow users to actually feel what their artificial limbs are touching. The breakthrough was reported in the journal Advanced Functional Materials in a study titled “Bio-Inspired Artificial Ionic Mechanoreceptor.” How Human Skin Turns Touch Into Electrical Signals Human touch is far more sophisticated than it appears. When you press your fingertip against an object, mechanical forces affect special...

Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a new type of electronic skin that can sense pressure and directly turn it into visible light . Called eLuminator , the soft and ultrathin device could make tactile information much easier to see and understand, with potential applications ranging from medical care and surgical training to robotics, prosthetics and wearable technology. The research, published in Nature Communications , introduces a different approach to electronic skin. Instead of depending on hundreds or thousands of individual sensing pixels connected to complicated electronics, eLuminator uses a continuous, pixel-free structure that can visualize pressure directly where it is applied. A New Approach to Electronic Skin Electronic skin, or e-skin, is being developed to give machines and wearable devices a sense of touch similar to human skin. These systems can detect pressure, force and contact, making them useful for robots, prosthetic limbs, me...